Marine diversity in the biosphere reserve of the most oceanic island in the Gulf of California: San Pedro Mártir

By

Amador-Castro, Imelda
Fernández-Rivera Melo, Francisco Javier
Torre, Jorge

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2021

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1062

Pages

177--201

Subjects

Diversity;ecological indicator;ichthyofauna;invert , Natural protected area , Systematic list

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1062.67964

 

Abstract

San Pedro Mártir island is of high biological, ecological, and fishery importance and was declared a biosphere reserve in 2002. This island is the most oceanic in the Gulf of California, and information on its rocky reefs is scarce. The present study aimed to generate the first list of conspicuous invertebrate and fish species based onin situobservations and to examine the community structure of the shallow rocky reefs of the reserve. In addition, we estimated the ecological indicators of richness, abundance, Shannon diversity, and Pielou evenness to evaluate the conservation status of the biosphere reserve. Data were collected annually from 2007 to 2017 through 2,192 underwater SCUBA transects. A total of 35 species of invertebrates and 73 species of fish were recorded. Most of the species are widely distributed along the eastern Pacific. Overall, 64% of the species found in this study are commercially important, and 11 species have been listed as protected. The abundance of commercially important invertebrate species (i.e., the sea cucumberIsostichopus fuscusand the spiny oysterSpondylus limbatus) is decreasing, while commercially important fish species have maintained their abundance with periods of increase. The ecological indicators and the abundance and size of the commercial species indicate that the reserve is in good condition while meeting its conservation objectives.