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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Main Authors: Patricia Briones-Fourzán, Luz Verónica Monroy-Velázquez, Jaime Estrada-Olivo, Enrique Lozano-Álvarez
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-05-01
Series:Diversity
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/5/205
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spelling 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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