Diversity of Seagrass-Associated Decapod Crustaceans in a Tropical Reef Lagoon Prior to Large Environmental Changes: A Baseline Study
The community composition of decapods associated with subtidal tropical seagrass meadows was analyzed in a pristine reef lagoon on the Mexican Caribbean coast in the summer of 1995 and winter of 1998. The macrophyte community was dominated by <i>Thalassia testudinum</i> followed by <i...
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doaj-e2875db2687447ae80473bb5a7a0d7da2020-11-25T03:24:21ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182020-05-011220520510.3390/d12050205Diversity of Seagrass-Associated Decapod Crustaceans in a Tropical Reef Lagoon Prior to Large Environmental Changes: A Baseline StudyPatricia Briones-Fourzán0Luz Verónica Monroy-Velázquez1Jaime Estrada-Olivo2Enrique Lozano-Álvarez3Unidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Puerto Morelos, 77580 Quintana Roo, MexicoUnidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Puerto Morelos, 77580 Quintana Roo, MexicoUnidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Puerto Morelos, 77580 Quintana Roo, MexicoUnidad Académica de Sistemas Arrecifales, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Puerto Morelos, 77580 Quintana Roo, MexicoThe community composition of decapods associated with subtidal tropical seagrass meadows was analyzed in a pristine reef lagoon on the Mexican Caribbean coast in the summer of 1995 and winter of 1998. The macrophyte community was dominated by <i>Thalassia testudinum</i> followed by <i>Syringodium filiforme</i>, with interspersed rhyzophytic macroalgae and large patches of drift algae. In each season, 10 one-min trawls were made with an epibenthic sled (mesh aperture 1 mm) during the day and 10 during the night on each of five sites. In all, 53,211 decapods belonging to 119 species were collected. The most diverse taxa were Brachyura and Caridea, but the most abundant were Caridea and Anomura. Dominance was high, with three species (<i>Latreutes fucorum</i>, <i>Cuapetes americanus</i>, and <i>Thor manningi</i>) accounting for almost 50% of individuals, and 10 species accounting for nearly 90% of individuals. There was great similarity in community composition and ecological indices between seasons, but significantly more individuals and species in night versus day samples. In the 20+ years elapsed since the samples were taken, the reef lagoon has undergone substantial environmental changes due to extensive coastal development and, more recently, the decay of massive beachings of floating <i>Sargassum</i> macroalgae. This study constitutes a valuable baseline for future studies investigating the potential impact of these stressors on tropical seagrass-associated communities.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/5/205crustaceansinvertebratesshrimpscrabshermit crabstropical seagrass ecosystems |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Patricia Briones-Fourzán Luz Verónica Monroy-Velázquez Jaime Estrada-Olivo Enrique Lozano-Álvarez |
spellingShingle |
Patricia Briones-Fourzán Luz Verónica Monroy-Velázquez Jaime Estrada-Olivo Enrique Lozano-Álvarez Diversity of Seagrass-Associated Decapod Crustaceans in a Tropical Reef Lagoon Prior to Large Environmental Changes: A Baseline Study Diversity crustaceans invertebrates shrimps crabs hermit crabs tropical seagrass ecosystems |
author_facet |
Patricia Briones-Fourzán Luz Verónica Monroy-Velázquez Jaime Estrada-Olivo Enrique Lozano-Álvarez |
author_sort |
Patricia Briones-Fourzán |
title |
Diversity of Seagrass-Associated Decapod Crustaceans in a Tropical Reef Lagoon Prior to Large Environmental Changes: A Baseline Study |
title_short |
Diversity of Seagrass-Associated Decapod Crustaceans in a Tropical Reef Lagoon Prior to Large Environmental Changes: A Baseline Study |
title_full |
Diversity of Seagrass-Associated Decapod Crustaceans in a Tropical Reef Lagoon Prior to Large Environmental Changes: A Baseline Study |
title_fullStr |
Diversity of Seagrass-Associated Decapod Crustaceans in a Tropical Reef Lagoon Prior to Large Environmental Changes: A Baseline Study |
title_full_unstemmed |
Diversity of Seagrass-Associated Decapod Crustaceans in a Tropical Reef Lagoon Prior to Large Environmental Changes: A Baseline Study |
title_sort |
diversity of seagrass-associated decapod crustaceans in a tropical reef lagoon prior to large environmental changes: a baseline study |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Diversity |
issn |
1424-2818 |
publishDate |
2020-05-01 |
description |
The community composition of decapods associated with subtidal tropical seagrass meadows was analyzed in a pristine reef lagoon on the Mexican Caribbean coast in the summer of 1995 and winter of 1998. The macrophyte community was dominated by <i>Thalassia testudinum</i> followed by <i>Syringodium filiforme</i>, with interspersed rhyzophytic macroalgae and large patches of drift algae. In each season, 10 one-min trawls were made with an epibenthic sled (mesh aperture 1 mm) during the day and 10 during the night on each of five sites. In all, 53,211 decapods belonging to 119 species were collected. The most diverse taxa were Brachyura and Caridea, but the most abundant were Caridea and Anomura. Dominance was high, with three species (<i>Latreutes fucorum</i>, <i>Cuapetes americanus</i>, and <i>Thor manningi</i>) accounting for almost 50% of individuals, and 10 species accounting for nearly 90% of individuals. There was great similarity in community composition and ecological indices between seasons, but significantly more individuals and species in night versus day samples. In the 20+ years elapsed since the samples were taken, the reef lagoon has undergone substantial environmental changes due to extensive coastal development and, more recently, the decay of massive beachings of floating <i>Sargassum</i> macroalgae. This study constitutes a valuable baseline for future studies investigating the potential impact of these stressors on tropical seagrass-associated communities. |
topic |
crustaceans invertebrates shrimps crabs hermit crabs tropical seagrass ecosystems |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/5/205 |
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1724602075981021184 |