New records of fishes from Guadalupe Island, northwest Mexico

The icthyofauna from Guadalupe Island, Mexico, has been scarcely studied. This paper presents additions to the systematic checklist of fishes from that oceanic island, and is based on data obtained from museums, field records and international databases. A total of 22 new records are depicted for the locality (19 deep-water species and 3 shallow reef-dwelling fishes), including one addition to the Mexican fauna (Nansenia candida). These reports complement the previous list of 328 species for Guadalupe Island,which now reaches 350 species, distributed in 5 classes, 44 orders and 127 families

Intertidal rockpool icthyofauna of El Pital, La Libertad, El Salvador

The composition of the rockpool fish community of El Pital was described. A total of 29 rockpools with volumes ranging from 0.12 to 0.83 m3 were sampled from March to September 2009 using dip nets and clove oil anesthetic solution. A total of 106 fishes belonging to 19 species were captured. The most abundant species were Bathygobius ramosus, Abudefduf concolor, Mugil curema and Mugil hospes, representing 66% of all fishes collected. Resident fish comprised 32%, transients comprised 60%, and accidental visitors comprised 8%. High percentages of juvenile fish were recorded (87%), showing that the intertidal zone may act as an important nursery site for fish

New records of fishes from Guadalupe Island, northwest Mexico

The icthyofauna from Guadalupe Island, Mexico, has been scarcely studied. This paper presents additions to the systematic checklist of fishes from that oceanic island, and is based on data obtained from museums, field records and international databases. A total of 22 new records are depicted for the locality (19 deep-water species and 3 shallow reef-dwelling fishes), including one addition to the Mexican fauna (Nansenia candida). These reports complement the previous list of 328 species for Guadalupe Island,which now reaches 350 species, distributed in 5 classes, 44 orders and 127 families

Determinants of reef fish assemblages in tropical Oceanic islands

Diversity patterns are determined by biogeographic, energetic, and anthropogenic factors, yet few studies have combined them into a large‐scale framework in order to decouple and compare their relative effects on fish faunas. Using an empirical dataset derived from 1527 underwater visual censuses (UVC) at 18 oceanic islands (five different marine provinces), we determined the relative influence of such factors on reef fish species richness, functional dispersion, density and biomass estimated from each UVC unit. Species richness presented low variation but was high at large island sites. High functional dispersion, density, and biomass were found at islands with large local species pool and distance from nearest reef. Primary productivity positively affected fish richness, density and biomass confirming that more productive areas support larger populations, and higher biomass and richness on oceanic islands. Islands densely populated by humans had lower fish species richness and biomass reflecting anthropogenic effects. Species richness, functional dispersion, and biomass were positively related to distance from the mainland. Overall, species richness and fish density were mainly influenced by biogeographical and energetic factors, whereas functional dispersion and biomass were strongly influenced by anthropogenic factors. Our results extend previous hypotheses for different assemblage metrics estimated from empirical data and confirm the negative impact of humans on fish assemblages, highlighting the need for conservation of oceanic islands.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (CIMAR

Fortalecimiento del manejo y conservación de corales en Áreas Naturales Protegidas del Pacífico mexicano mediante una red colaborativa

Most of the coral communities of the Mexican Pacific Ocean are located in Natural Protected Areas (NPAs); nevertheless, they are in risk for climatic and anthropogenic threats. In order to promote the conservation of coral reefs in the Mexican Pacific Ocean, one has formed the Coral Conservation Network of the Mexican Pacific. The efforts of collaboration have focused on four principal axes a) strengthening of the management in NPAs, b) training and diffusion of good tourism practices, c) evaluation of the state of conservation of the coral reefs, and d) environmental sensitization. There has been achieved the publication and diffusion of the State of Conservation of the Corals of the Mexican Pacific, in which there are estimated the indicators of coral coverage, abundance and biomass of fish, abundance of invertebrates, and the calculation of the Integrated Index of Reef Health. These indicators reflect the management implemented in the ANPs, participants of these analyses; the utility of standardized protocols that allow comparisons in the time and between NPAs, as well as the need to carry out the monitoring, adapted to the region, and coherent with the capacities of the actors on each ANP. On the other hand, sensitization has been carried out on the importance and the threats towards the corals to persons of different sectors across campaigns of environmental sensitization that reached 5,000 students, as well as the distribution of 12,000 guides of the identification of species and good tourism practices in NPAs. These efforts have been important, nevertheless the creation and permanence of the Coral Conservation Network of the Mexican Pacific Ocean has been perhaps the most impactful achievement on management and conservation in the Region.La mayoría de las comunidades coralinas del Pacífico mexicano están ubicadas en Áreas Naturales Protegidas (ANPs); sin embargo, están en riesgo por amenazas climáticas y antropogénicas. Con el fin de promover la conservación de arrecifes de coral en el Pacífico mexicano, se ha formado la Red de Conservación de los Corales del Pacífico mexicano. Los esfuerzos de colaboración se han enfocado en cuatro ejes principales a) fortalecimiento del manejo de ANPs, b) capacitación y difusión de buenas prácticas turísticas, c) evaluación del estado de conservación de los sistemas arrecifales, y d) sensibilización ambiental. Se ha logrado la publicación y difusión del Estado de Conservación de los Corales del Pacífico mexicano, en el cual se estiman los indicadores de cobertura de coral, abundancia y biomasa de peces, abundancia de invertebrados y el cálculo del Índice Integrado de Salud Arrecifal. Estos indicadores reflejan las medidas de manejo en las ANPs que participaron, la utilidad de protocolos estandarizados que permiten realizar comparaciones en el tiempo y entre ANPs, así como la necesidad de llevar a cabo los monitoreos de forma adaptada a la región y congruente con las capacidades de los actores en cada ANP. Por otro lado, también se ha llevado a cabo la sensibilización sobre la importancia y las amenazas hacia los corales a personas de diferentes sectores, a través de campañas de sensibilización ambiental que han alcanzado 5,000 estudiantes, así como de la distribución de 12,000 guías de identificación de especies y buenas prácticas turísticas en ANPs. Estos esfuerzos han sido importantes, sin embargo la creación y permanencia de la Red de Conservación de los Corales del Pacífico mexicano ha sido quizás el mayor logro de manejo y conservación en la Región

Global human footprint on the linkage between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in reef fishes

Copyright: © 2011 Mora et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Difficulties in scaling up theoretical and experimental results have raised controversy over the consequences of biodiversity loss for the functioning of natural ecosystems. Using a global survey of reef fish assemblages, we show that in contrast to previous theoretical and experimental studies, ecosystem functioning (as measured by standing biomass) scales in a non-saturating manner with biodiversity (as measured by species and functional richness) in this ecosystem. Our field study also shows a significant and negative interaction between human population density and biodiversity on ecosystem functioning (i.e., for the same human density there were larger reductions in standing biomass at more diverse reefs). Human effects were found to be related to fishing, coastal development, and land use stressors, and currently affect over 75% of the world's coral reefs. Our results indicate that the consequences of biodiversity loss in coral reefs have been considerably underestimated based on existing knowledge and that reef fish assemblages, particularly the most diverse, are greatly vulnerable to the expansion and intensity of anthropogenic stressors in coastal areas

Intertidal rockpool icthyofauna of El Pital, La Libertad, El Salvador

The composition of the rockpool fish community of El Pital was described. A total of 29 rockpools with volumes ranging from 0.12 to 0.83 m3 were sampled from March to September 2009 using dip nets and clove oil anesthetic solution. A total of 106 fishes belonging to 19 species were captured. The most abundant species were Bathygobius ramosus, Abudefduf concolor, Mugil curema and Mugil hospes, representing 66% of all fishes collected. Resident fish comprised 32%, transients comprised 60%, and accidental visitors comprised 8%. High percentages of juvenile fish were recorded (87%), showing that the intertidal zone may act as an important nursery site for fish

Listado actualizado de peces del arrecife de Cabo Pulmo, Golfo de California, México

Cabo Pulmo National Park is among the most successful protected areas in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and harbors the most northern coral reef in that region. The objective of this paper was to update the latest published checklist of fishes at the park. Over 500 censuses were conducted between 2004 and 2017. In addition, an extensive bibliographic review was conducted of records published on the local ichthyofauna from 2001 to 2017. As a result, 69 new records of reef fish species were added to the Cabo Pulmo reef checklist, corresponding to 24 orders, 35 families and 51 genera. With these additions, the current updated checklist consists of 302 species, corresponding to 194 genera, 74 families, and 24 orders.O Parque Nacional Cabo Pulmo está entre as áreas protegidas de mais sucesso do Oceano Pacífico Oriental, e alberga o recife coralino mais septentrional da região. O objetivo deste trabalho foi atualizar a última lista publicada de peixes presentes no parque. Foram realizadas observa­ções de espécimenes em mais de 500 imersões, os censos foram levados a cabo entre 2004 e 2017. Ademais, foram obtidos registros de uma extensa revisão bibliográfica sobre a ictiofauna local publicados entre 2001 e 2017. Aqui são agregados 69 novos registros de espécies de peixes recifosos presentes no recife de Cabo Pulmo, que correspondem a 24 ordens, 35 famílias e 51 gêneros. Com estas inclusões, a lista atual consiste em 302 espécies, correspondentes a 194 gêneros, 74 famílias e 24 ordens.El Parque Nacional Cabo Pulmo está entre las áreas protegidas más exitosas del Océano Pacífico Oriental, y alberga el arrecife coralino más septentrional de la región. El objetivo de este trabajo fue actualizar el último listado publicado de peces presentes en el parque. Se realizaron observaciones de especímenes en más de 500 inmersiones, los censos fueron llevados a cabo entre 2004 y 2017, adicionalmente, se obtuvieron registros de una extensa revisión bibliográfica acerca de la ictiofauna local publicados entre 2001 y 2017. Aquí se agregan 69 nuevos registros de especies de peces arrecifales presentes en el arrecife de Cabo Pulmo, estos corresponden a 24 órdenes, 35 familias y 51 géneros. Con estas adiciones, el listado actual consiste en 302 especies, correspondientes a 194 géneros, 74 familias y 24 órdenes

New records and range extensions of Astrodictyum panamense (Ophiuroidea: Gorgonocephalidae) in the eastern Pacific Ocean

The ringed basket star Astrodictyum panamense is an ophiuroid resident of coral and rocky reefs from the central and southern Gulf of California and oceanic islands from the eastern Pacific. This paper presents new records of this species obtained from field work and internet sources, and includes its northernmost and westernmost occurrence in the Eastern Pacific (Adair Bay, Gulf of California, and Tortugas Bay, on the Pacific side of Baja California, respectively), as well as Roca Partida Island, in the Revillagigedo Archipelago