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Diversity
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Marine Biodiversity and Ecology of the Gulf of California
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Marine Biodiversity and Ecology of the Gulf of California

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Diversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 March 2024) | Viewed by 3078

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Felipe Amezcua

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Joel Montes Camarena s/n, Mazatlán, Sinaloa 82040, Mexico
Interests: fisheries; fish ecology; ichthyology; estuarine ecology; trophic interactions; overfishing; bycatch; effects of environmental contamination in fish; climate change and fisheries

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Gulf of California was created approximately 6 million years ago when the waters of the tropical Pacific rushed into the newly formed basin, forming a complex landscape containing islands, rocky intertidal zones, coastlines, offshore benthic regions, pelagic waters, diverse types of estuaries, coastal lagoons, mangrove forests, wetlands, riparian systems, rocky reefs, etc. This rich landscape, in conjunction with abundant upwellings and the warm subtropical waters, created one of the most diverse seas on the planet, supporting high productivity and extraordinary biological diversity, which results in the presence of abundant populations of all marine taxa, ranging from invertebrates to large marine mammals. Because of this high production, the fishing industry thrives in the area; as half of Mexico’s total fishery production comes from this region. However, this biodiversity is currently being threatened by anthropogenic impacts. Activities such as shrimp ponds and other forms of aquaculture, coastal agriculture, urbanization, marina construction, tourism development, watershed pollution, local water extraction, deforestation, sea-level changes, and the fishing industry have modified or destroyed the original landscape. Because of this, the former diversity of the Gulf of California has been reduced, and the long-term viability of coastal fisheries has been threatened. Despite all the published research on the marine diversity of this region, still much more research is needed in order to understand the ecological importance of this complex ecosystem.

This Special Issue is an exciting opportunity to combine and synthesize recent research on the aquatic biodiversity and ecology of this fascinating region. Specific case studies with broad implications as well as large-scale and/or multi-specific studies, synthesis works, and reviews that could better enlarge our knowledge of the ecology and conservation of the Gulf of California are welcome.

Dr. Felipe Amezcua
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • trophic interactions
  • richness
  • communities
  • assemblages

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1412 KiB  
Article
Spatiotemporal Variability in Fish Assemblages in a Coastal and Estuarine System in the Tropical Eastern Pacific during the Anthropause
by Yareli Hernández-Álvarez, Georgina Ramírez-Ortiz, Francisco Flores-de-Santiago, Felipe Amezcua-Linares, Victor Muro-Torres, Daniel Arceo-Carranza and Felipe Amezcua
Diversity 2023, 15(8), 934; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15080934 - 17 Aug 2023
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Abstract
Differences in fish assemblages’ composition and their relationship with the environmental variables were analyzed in the Urías estuarine system, Mexican North Pacific. Environmental variables and fish catches were recorded bimonthly between June 2018 and November 2021, including a period before and during the [...] Read more.
Differences in fish assemblages’ composition and their relationship with the environmental variables were analyzed in the Urías estuarine system, Mexican North Pacific. Environmental variables and fish catches were recorded bimonthly between June 2018 and November 2021, including a period before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Multivariate analyses were performed in the studied area to define zones based on their environmental, biotic, and abiotic characteristics and the effect of these on the fish assemblages. Two zones were identified, an estuarine with mangrove forest and a surf zone in the coastal area outside the estuarine system. Fish composition, biomass, and diversity (α and β) were evaluated among the factors of the period (before–during COVID-19), climatic seasons, and zones. A total of 5947 fish individuals of 41 species were collected using beach seines as fishing gear. The structure of the fish assemblages was different between zones and periods. Abiotic (temperature, salinity, and total matter suspended), biotic (mangrove area), and temporal (season and period before–during COVID-19) variables had an effect on fish biomass and α diversity, while the results of the β diversity only indicate changes in the nestedness component before–during the lockdown. These results indicate a change in fish assemblages’ structure and composition between periods, which might be a consequence of the limitation of human activities derived from the pandemic, climatic changes, or a combination of both effects. Our results show that fish assemblages in the estuarine systems of the Tropical Eastern Pacific are unique, and there is a need to establish local management strategies for these ecosystems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Biodiversity and Ecology of the Gulf of California)
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68 pages, 288500 KiB  
Article
Epiphytic Diatoms from the Central Region of the Gulf of California: Floristics and Biogeographic Remarks
by David Alfaro Siqueiros Beltrones, Yuriko Jocselin Martínez and Francisco Omar López-Fuerte
Diversity 2023, 15(4), 510; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15040510 - 02 Apr 2023
Viewed by 1447
Abstract
The ecological significance of benthic diatom taxocoenoses in marine ecosystems renders them a suitable reference when making decisions on conservation, as well as ecological and biogeographical issues. This study focuses on floristics of epiphytic diatoms of macroalgae from the central region of the [...] Read more.
The ecological significance of benthic diatom taxocoenoses in marine ecosystems renders them a suitable reference when making decisions on conservation, as well as ecological and biogeographical issues. This study focuses on floristics of epiphytic diatoms of macroalgae from the central region of the Gulf of California and their biogeographical affinities. Based on current floristics for benthic diatoms of the Mexican NW, it was hypothesized that species richness would be higher for the central gulf (transitional) than for the tropical Revillagigedo Archipelago. Additionally, it was hypothesized that it would be composed mainly of common taxa of the region, with tropical and temperate components. Likewise, it was hypothesized that Mastogloia (tropical) would include less taxa and Lyrella would include more taxa in the transitional central gulf. The diatom flora yielded 333 taxa and 101 genera, and out of which the best represented were Navicula with 29 taxa, Amphora (27), Cocconeis (25), Nitzschia (24), Diploneis (19), Achnanthes (13), Halamphora (14), Fallacia (10), Lyrella (9), and Mastogloia (8), adding up to 53% of the total. The inspected diatom taxocoenosis included mostly taxa commonly distributed in the Mexican NW, albeit with 16 new records. This, plus the high species richness, as well as the proportions of selected taxa depicting this diatom taxocoenosis as being of transitional biogeographical affinity, back the posed hypotheses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Biodiversity and Ecology of the Gulf of California)
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