Abstract
BackgroundAlacranes Reef was declared as a National Marine Park in 1994. Since then, many efforts have been made to inventory its biodiversity. However, groups such as amphipods have been underestimated or not considered when benthic invertebrates were inventoried. Here we present a dataset that contributes to the knowledge of benthic amphipods (Crustacea, Peracarida) from the inner lagoon habitats from the Alacranes Reef National Park, the largest coral reef ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico. The dataset contains information on records collected from 2009 to 2011. Data are available through Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).New informationA total of 110 amphipod species distributed in 93 nominal species and 17 generic species, belonging to 71 genera, 33 families and three suborders are presented here. This information represents the first online dataset of amphipods from the Alacranes Reef National Park. The biological material is currently deposited in the crustacean collection from the regional unit of the National Autonomous University of Mexico located at Sisal, Yucatan, Mexico (UAS-Sisal). The biological material includes 588 data records with a total abundance of 6,551 organisms. The species inventory represents, until now, the richest fauna of benthic amphipods registered from any discrete coral reef ecosystem in Mexico.
Highlights
Alacranes Reef is a highly diverse protected coral reef ecosystem, located in the southern sector of the Gulf of México. It is considered as one of the largest coral reefs of the Gulf of Mexico (Liceaga-Correa and Hernández-Núñez 2000, Tunnell et al 2007a). It was declared as a National Marine Park by the Mexican government in 1994 and as a Biosphere Reserve, by the UNESCO, in 2006
Recent studies on reef-associated benthic fauna include sea anemones (González-Muñoz et al 2013), decapod crustaceans (Santana-Moreno et al 2013), polychaetes (Ramírez-Hernández et al 2015), sponges (Ugalde et al 2015) and mollusks (Reyes-Gómez et al 2017).The peracarid crustaceans, such as the amphipods, are one of the underestimated groups not considered in the main inventory lists reported for the reef (CONANP 2006, Tunnell et al 2007b)
The present contribution intends to show the high species richness of benthic amphipods inhabiting the bottom habitats from the inner reef lagoon by providing a dataset with taxonomic checklist
Summary
Alacranes Reef was declared as a National Marine Park in 1994. Since many efforts have been made to inventory its biodiversity. We present a dataset that contributes to the knowledge of benthic amphipods (Crustacea, Peracarida) from the inner lagoon habitats from the Alacranes Reef National Park, the largest coral reef ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico. A total of 110 amphipod species distributed in 93 nominal species and 17 generic species, belonging to 71 genera, 33 families and three suborders are presented here. This information represents the first online dataset of amphipods from the Alacranes Reef National Park. The species inventory represents, until now, the richest fauna of benthic amphipods registered from any discrete coral reef ecosystem in Mexico. Peracarida, Macrofauna, Benthos, Species diversity, Coral Reef, Campeche Bank, Gulf of Mexico, occurrence record
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
