Determination of the Taxonomic Diversity of the Intertidal Fish Communities on the Pacific Coast of Baja California Sur, México from 2015-2019

Abstract

The coastal areas of the Baja California peninsula are characterized mainly by rocky areas, where rock pools dominate as important coastal habitats because of the tide cycle, when the water is trapped during the low tide, forming the pools. Environmental parameters like temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen of the water trapped in the pools are key factors for the flora and fauna that inhabit these areas, particularly during the warmer months when the mean values of these parameters are usually higher than the mean values of the sea surface. The aim of the present study was to determine the variation of the taxonomic diversity of the fish communities that inhabit the rock pools in the common land known as Conquista Agraria in the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, México, from 2015 to 2019. A total of 59 visual censuses were carried out monthly during the second low tide of the full moon. Temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen showed variation throughout the study period, with two distinct seasons (warm and cold), which influenced the taxonomic diversity and taxonomic distinctness of the species recorded in the area. There was a higher diversity in the warmer months (summer) and years (2015 and 2016). In addition, according to the MDS analysis, 2017 and 2018 showed high similarity of species.