Resumen del producto

Isla Lobos is the northernmost reef on southwestern margin of the Gulf of Mexico and like the others reefs in the area, these are frequently influenced by the action of natural (each winter cold fronts decrease seawater temperature and increase surf and turbidity) and anthropogenic stressors (chemical pollutants, unrestricted recreational diving, ship groundings, sewage effluents etc). It’s well known that some of these factors influence the coral community structure, so the aim of this work was to contribute with information about this coral reef and assess its condition. For this purpose, structural patterns on windward and Leeward fore-reefs were compared, at shallow (5-10m) - and deep (10-15) depths. At five sites of the reef, we use in 40 transects lines (50m each) underwater digital photography and employing Coral Point Count with Excel extensions (CPCe) we estimate coral abundance, species richness, Shannon- Weaver diversity and Pielou evenness index. Patterns in coral community structure were found by multivariate statistical analysis. Results shows that the reef is dominated by fleshy algae mostly and that stony coral common species are Colpophyllia natans, Montastraea cavernosa, Siderastrea siderea, Diploria strigosa, Porites astreoides and Montastraea annularis. Leeward has more species, more coral abundance, diversity than windward; significant differences (H(1,40)=8.83, P=0.003) between these two zones might be the reflex of several factors such as light intensity, depth, wave exposure and disturbance regimes.

Palabras clave: diversity; CPCe; Scleractinians; Marginal environment

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