Abstract
Autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) have been proposed as a standardized, passive, nondestructive sampling tool. This study assessed the ability of ARMS to capture the cryptic species diversity of two coral reefs by recording species richness and taxonomic representativeness using conventional taxonomy. The capacity of ARMS, as artificial substrates, to favor the establishment of nonindigenous species over native species was also evaluated. The use of ARMS allowed the detection of 370 species morphotypes from nine phyla, yielding 13 new records of geographic distribution expansion, one exotic species for the Gulf of México and the Caribbean Sea, and six newly described species. It was also possible to make spatial comparisons of species richness between both reefs. ARMS captured cryptic diversity exceptionally well, with the exception of echinoderms. Furthermore, these artificial structures did not hinder the colonization ability of native species; in fact, the colonization patterns on the structures themselves represented the spatial differences in the structure of benthic assemblages. This study represents the first effort to make a conventional taxonomic description of the cryptic fauna of the Yucatan Peninsula using ARMS. It is recommended to assess coral reef species diversity, but more taxonomists specialized in marine invertebrates are needed.
Highlights
Coral reef cavities represent up to 75% of the total volume of a reef [1]
The use of Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) facilitated a significant contribution to the knowledge of the cryptic diversity of two reefs of the Yucatan Peninsula
The results show that the use of ARMS as a standardized method would allow for comparisons of species richness between reefs in environmentally different regions
Summary
Coral reef cavities represent up to 75% of the total volume of a reef [1]. The organisms that inhabit these cavities represent, in turn, a significant proportion of the reef biodiversity [2], similar to or greater than that of the exposed area of the reef [3]. Most efforts to describe and monitor the diversity of fauna in coral reefs have focused primarily on conspicuous organisms found on the surface, such as macroalgae, reef-building corals, massive sponges, fish, and megabenthos These organisms represent only a fraction of the known biomass and diversity of coral reefs [8], and, the total biodiversity of coral reefs tend to be underestimated [2]. The diversity estimates obtained are difficult to compare quantitatively due to the lack of common and standardized sampling procedures [11] This makes it very difficult to detect diversity patterns, and even harder to propose models and test hypotheses of ecological theories on the role of the diversity of reef cryptic fauna and the potential link with the state of reef health [2]
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