Coverage and status of coral reefs and ichthyofauna associated in Cacique beach and Mamey island, Portobelo, Colón
Coral reefs are communities of protection of the coastal zone and feeding of many species. It is important to evaluate the state of coral reefs, in order to protect and maintain the health of these important ecosystems. This work was carried out in Playa Cacique and Isla Mamey in Colón (Caribbean co...
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| Other Authors: | , , |
| Format: | article |
| Language: | Spanish |
| Published: |
2020
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| Online Access: | https://revistas.utp.ac.pa/index.php/ric/article/view/2364 https://ridda2.utp.ac.pa/handle/123456789/10083 |
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| Summary: | Coral reefs are communities of protection of the coastal zone and feeding of many species. It is important to evaluate the state of coral reefs, in order to protect and maintain the health of these important ecosystems. This work was carried out in Playa Cacique and Isla Mamey in Colón (Caribbean cost of Panama), in two locations with different human activities. Two field trips were made with four field days with a total of 12 hours. At each station, 10-meter-long random transects were established perpendicular to the coast. The results yielded good percentages of live coral for both study areas, there was a diversity of 14 coral species and Faviidae being the most diverse family, and a comparison made 41% of live coral was noticed in the Mamey station, but Cacique has more vegetation, and Cacique has 13 of the 14 coral species. The reefs were mostly represented by fire corals in transects three and four in Cacique and transects one and two in Mamey, represented by shallow water. In addition, transect four in Mamey and one in Cacique presented a greater diversity of coral species. Regarding the abundance and diversity of associated ichthyofauna, there was no significant difference between the two study areas, presenting a diversity of 21 species and 11 families, Halichoeres pictus being the most common species, and Labridae the most diverse family. We performed the Simpson Index for fish diversity in the two study areas, resulting in: Cacique Beach (0.745) and Mamey Island (0.812), and the variance was 1.01, with Mamey having the greatest diversity of fish species. As conclusions, the Fire Coral species are presented and colonize the shallow waters of Cacique Beach and Mamey Island, and this last area presented a high diversity of coral species. However, Cacique corals are maintained in a better state, having a Mangrove ecosystem that mitigates sediment towards corals. The Halichoeres pictus species was present in most of the transects, due to its adaptation to waters with strong waves. An effort must be made to mitigate the anthropogenic activities of these two localities and to increase research on corals and associated fish in the area. |
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