Abstract
Our work shows the efficacy of DNA barcoding for recognizing the early stages of freshwater fish. We collected 3195 larvae and juveniles. Of them, we identified 43 different morphotypes. After DNA barcodes of 350 specimens, we ascertained 7 orders, 12 families, 19 genera, 20 species, and 20 Barcode Index Numbers, corresponding to putative species. For the first time, we reported the presence of the brackish species, Gobiosoma yucatanum in Lake Bacalar. Specimens of the genus Atherinella sp. and Anchoa sp. are possibly new species. Using both methods, morphology, and DNA barcodes, we identified 95% of the total larvae collected (2953 to species, and 78 to genus), and all of them were native. From them, the order Gobiiformes represented 87%. The most abundant species were Lophogobius cyprinoides and Dormitator maculatus, followed by Gobiosoma yucatanum and Ctenobius fasciatus. The Muyil and Chuyanché lagoons have the highest number of species. We present for the first time a short description of Cyprinodon artifrons and Floridichthys polyommus. This information conforms an indispensable baseline for ecological monitoring, to evaluate impacts, and developing management and conservation plans of biodiversity, principally in areas under human pressure such as Sian Ka’an, and Lake Bacalar, where tourism is high and growing in disorder.
Highlights
Quintana Roo state, in the east of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, is among the places with higher levels of biodiversity
We collected in 18 places; 3 of them in Sian Ka’an, a Biosphere Reserve, 9 nearby the reserve, 4 in Lake Lake Bacalar, and 2 lagoons Xul-Ha, and Huay Pix associated with Bacalar (Figure 1 and Table 1)
We reported larvae from the poeciliid Gambusia yucatana
Summary
Quintana Roo state, in the east of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, is among the places with higher levels of biodiversity. The knowledge of the early stages of fish is essential as it provides information about the recruitment rates of juveniles and the size of the adult population [9,10]. These stages are helpful in the characterization of taxonomic diversity, times, and locations of spawning, and the assessment of connectivity between ecosystems [11]
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