Spatial and Temporal Studies in Marine Protected Areas: Mexican Chapter

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2024 | Viewed by 4324

Special Issue Editor

Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Sinaloa 82000, Mexico
Interests: remote sensing; mangroves ecology; marine biology; climate variability; geographical Information systems and drone-based studies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The loss of biodiversity is a crucial topic worldwide, as the evidence of its decline is increasing in both marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and therefore changes in ecosystem functioning. One mechanism to protect biodiversity is the establishment of Natural Protected Areas (NPA). However, the case of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) is less attended in many ways, e.g., number, spatial coverage, research, management, between others. On the other hand, MPA are also affected by climate and non-climate stressors which may compromise conservation of biodiversity (climate events, pollution, population growth). This Special Issue Spatial and Temporal Studies in Marine Protected Areas: Mexican Chapter is an exciting opportunity to synthesize recent studies Marine Protected Areas and marine/coastal Ramsar sites in Mexico for the following topics:

  • Satellite oceanography
  • Landscape ecology in islands and coastal lagoons
  • Drone-based studies
  • Geographical Information System
  • Monitoring programs
  • Trends in marine biodiversity
  • Fish diversity patterns
  • Spatial-temporal variability of marine species
  • Ecosystem services
  • Climate and non-climate stressors

Dr. Marlenne Manzano-Sarabia
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • marine protected areas
  • Ramsar sites
  • islands
  • wetlands
  • climate change
  • ocean warming
  • Gulf of California
  • California current system
  • Mexican Pacific
  • Gulf of Mexico

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2620 KiB  
Article
Socioenvironmental and Spatial Criteria as Tools for the Management and Conservation of Hydrozoans in Protected and Unprotected Areas
by Mariae C. Estrada-González, María Esther Jiménez-López, Leonardo Huato-Soberanis and María A. Mendoza-Becerril
Diversity 2023, 15(2), 182; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15020182 - 28 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1502
Abstract
The cnidarians of the class Hydrozoa comprise 3720 species, are globally distributed, and can have complex life cycles. In the Espíritu Santo Archipelago (ESA), Mexico, hydrozoans are understudied, and, for this reason, the present work describes the taxocene of hydrozoans and their oceanographic [...] Read more.
The cnidarians of the class Hydrozoa comprise 3720 species, are globally distributed, and can have complex life cycles. In the Espíritu Santo Archipelago (ESA), Mexico, hydrozoans are understudied, and, for this reason, the present work describes the taxocene of hydrozoans and their oceanographic preferences in the area. Hydrozoans were collected at 12 sampling stations in the archipelago during the temperate season; these organisms were morphologically identified and a systematic list including socioenvironmental attributes (SEA) was created. Species richness was used to assess the representativeness of the sampling and identify the distribution of species assemblages in relation to their SEA and environmental factors. In total, 31 species were described, representing 70% of the area’s potential diversity, and 97% of observations described species that had not yet been recorded in the area. Native, cryptogenic, and exotic species were found, including stinging and harvestable species. Groups with low, medium and high species richness were distributed heterogeneously, forming a spatial aggregation pattern. The results of this work suggest that the ESA has a highly diverse taxocene, with SEA and spatial aggregate structure relevant for integrative management and conservation of hydrozoans in natural protected areas. Full article
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20 pages, 1924 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Spatiotemporal Relationship between Coastal Habitats and Fish Assemblages at Two Neotropical Estuaries of the Mexican Pacific
by Victor Muro-Torres, Felipe Amezcua, Georgina Ramírez-Ortiz, Francisco Flores-de-Santiago, Felipe Amezcua-Linares and Yareli Hernández
Diversity 2022, 14(8), 619; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14080619 - 02 Aug 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1762
Abstract
Differences in fish assemblages’ structures and their relations with environmental variables (due to the variations in sampled seasons, habitats, and zones) were analyzed in two adjacent estuaries on the north Pacific coast of Mexico. Environmental variables and fish catches were registered monthly between [...] Read more.
Differences in fish assemblages’ structures and their relations with environmental variables (due to the variations in sampled seasons, habitats, and zones) were analyzed in two adjacent estuaries on the north Pacific coast of Mexico. Environmental variables and fish catches were registered monthly between August 2018 and October 2020. Multivariate analyses were conducted to define habitats and zones based on their environmental characteristics, and the effect of this variability on fish assemblages’ composition, biomass, and diversity (α and β) was evaluated. A total of 12,008 fish individuals of 143 species were collected using different fishing nets. Multivariate analyses indicated that fish assemblages’ structures were different between zones due to the presence, height, and coverage of distinct mangrove species. Additionally, depth and salinity showed effects on fish assemblages’ diversity (α and β-nestedness), which presented higher values in the ocean and remained similar in the rest of the analyzed zones and habitats. These results and the differences in species replacement (β-turnover) indicate the singularity of fish assemblages at estuaries (even in areas close to the ocean) and the necessity to establish local management strategies for these ecosystems. Full article
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