INVESTIGATIONS ON MESOPHOTIC CORAL ECOSYSTEMS IN CUBA (1970-1973) AND MEXICO (1983-1984)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37543/oceanides.v33i2.230Keywords:
Mesophotic coral ecosystems, Scleractinia, Cuba, MexicoAbstract
After a pioneering study of Jamaican coral reefs, the Cuban archipelago was the second to be surveyed by SCUBA for scleractinian corals and reef life to a depth of 90m, sampling all phenotypes. Regrettably, the published data on the mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) of Cuba, collected 1970 to 1973, have been ignored. This is also true for the published data on the MCEs of the Mexican Yucatán Peninsula, collected 1983 to 1984. These two investigations described immense areas exhibiting a rich continuum of coral life, from shallow reefs into MCEs without scleractinian faunal break, and no depth-specialists species complex. Instead, a morphological changeover of three-dimensional corallum into two-dimensional corallum was observed and documented. The existing data on the Cuban and Mexican MCEs (now 45 and 34 years old, respectively) present a unique opportunity for long-term status and ecosystem trends analysis. MCEs require terminological clarification from collaborative efforts to effectively use the globally available data.
Investigaciones sobre ecosistemas coralinos mesofóticos en Cuba (1970-1973) y México (1983-1984)
RESUMEN. Después de un estudio pionero en arrecifes de Jamaica sobre corales escleratinios y vida arrecifal, el archipiélago cubano fue el segundo que se estudió mediante buceo SCUBA a profundidades de hasta 90m, incluyendo muestras de todos los fenotipos. Infortunadamente, los datos publicados sobre ecosistemas coralinos mesofóticos (ECM), recabados entre 1970 y 1973 han sido soslayados, al igual que los datos publicados sobre los ECM de la Península de Yucatán, México, recabados entre 1983 y 1984. Ambas investigaciones describen áreas inmensas que exhiben un rico continuo de vida coralina, desde arrecifes someros hasta ECM sin ruptura en la fauna escleratinia y sin complejos de especies especialistas de profundidad. En vez de esto, se observó y documentó un reemplazamiento de formas tridimensionales de corales por formas bidimensionales. La información existente sobre ECM cubanos y mexicanos con antigüedades de 45 y 34 años, respectivamente ofrecen una oportunidad única para realizar análisis sobre estatus a largo plazo y tendencias de ecosistema. Los ECM requieren aclaración terminológica de esfuerzos de colaboración para utilizar efectivamente los datos disponibles globalmente.
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