Multi-scale analysis of hermatypic coral assemblages at Mexican Central Pacific

Joicye Hernández-Zulueta,Eduardo Ríos-Jara,Fabián A. Rodríguez-Zaragoza,Marco Ortiz,Leopoldo Díaz-Pérez,Ofelia Vargas-Ponce,Alma P. Rodríguez-Troncoso,Amílcar L. Cupul-Magaña,Rubén Araya

doi:10.3989/scimar.04371.12a

Joicye Hernández-Zulueta, Eduardo Ríos-Jara + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.04371.12a

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Abstract

The Mexican Central Pacific is located in a zone of oceanographic transition between two biogeographic provinces with particular conditions that affect the associated fauna. The objective of this study was to evaluate the variation of hermatypic coral assemblages in this region and to determine their relationship with the heterogeneity of the benthonic habitat and spatial variables. A total of 156 transects were carried out at 41 sites in the years 2010 and 2011. The sampling effort returned 96.7% of the coral richness expected for the area, with a total of 15 species recorded. The results showed that richness, diversity and cover of corals varied only at the site and state scales. However, the composition and coverage of all coral species, as well as the benthonic habitat structure, differed significantly across the study scales (i.e. sites, zones and states). Canonical redundancy analysis showed that variation in the richness, diversity and assemblages of corals was explained by the cover of live corals, articulated calcareous algae, sandy substrate, sponges and fleshy macroalgae. This study suggests that local scale (i.e. site) variation in the coral assemblages of the Mexican Central Pacific is the result of the heterogeneity of the benthonic habitat, while geomorphological and oceanographic characteristics play a greater role at regional scale.

Highlights

The coral ecosystems of the Mexican Pacific are currently considered among the most important of the Tropical Eastern Pacific, since they comprise more than 30 coral species (Glynn and Ault 2000, Reyes-Bonilla et al 2010) developed as coastal reefs, reef patches and patch type communities with isolated colonies of corals (López-Pérez et al 2012) of different species richness, cover, diversity and composition throughout the region (Reyes-Bonilla 2003)
A total of 15 species of hermatypic corals were recorded in the Mexican Central Pacific, belonging to four genera and four families
A total of 12 species were identified in the northern state of Nayarit, 9 and 11 in the central states of Jalisco and Colima, respectively, and 5 in the southern state of Michoacán (Supplementary Material, Table S1)

Summary

Introduction

The coral ecosystems of the Mexican Pacific are currently considered among the most important of the Tropical Eastern Pacific, since they comprise more than 30 coral species (Glynn and Ault 2000, Reyes-Bonilla et al 2010) developed as coastal reefs, reef patches and patch type communities with isolated colonies of corals (López-Pérez et al 2012) of different species richness, cover, diversity and composition throughout the region (Reyes-Bonilla 2003). In the Mexican Pacific, the highest richness and coverage of corals is found in the Mexican Central Pacific (Reyes-Bonilla 2003) This includes the coastal margin of the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima and Michoacán, where approximately 15 species of corals have been recorded, showing variable cover values of up to 60% and mainly comprising pocilloporid species (Reyes-Bonilla et al 2013). As in other regions of the world, the coral assemblage of the Mexican Central Pacific has been affected by El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, with positive (El Niño) and negative (La Niña) thermal anomalies causing bleaching and massive mortality

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