Diversity of mangrove root-dwelling sponges in a tropical coastal ecosystem in the southern Gulf of Mexico region
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Diversity of mangrove root‑dwelling sponges in a tropical coastal ecosystem in the southern Gulf of Mexico region Pedro de Jesús Castellanos‑Pérez1 , Laura Elena Vázquez‑Maldonado1 , Enrique Ávila2* , José Antonio Cruz‑Barraza3 and Julio César Canales‑Delgadillo4
Abstract Sponges are one of the most conspicuous groups of epibionts in mangrove prop root habitats. However, with the exception of the Caribbean and the Indo-Pacific regions, studies focused on species diversity are lacking in other loca‑ tions that have high mangrove coverage and are relatively distant from coral reef environments. Because mangroveroot epibiont communities, in general, have been understudied worldwide, this research contributes to filling this knowledge gap. In this study, a total of 30 sponge species (belonging to three subclasses, 14 families and 19 genera) were recorded as epibionts on prop roots of the red mangrove Rhizophora mangle in a tropical coastal ecosystem of the Southern Gulf of Mexico. Of these, five were new records for the Gulf of Mexico, 14 were new for the Mexican coasts of the gulf and 25 were new for the study area. Moreover, a similarity analysis based on presence/absence data of mangrove-associated sponges reported throughout the Western Central Atlantic region revealed that the sponge assemblage from the study area was more similar to those documented in most of the Caribbean locations (Jamaica, Cuba, Martinique, Panama, Venezuela, Belize and Colombia) rather than with those of the Northeast of the Gulf of Mexico, Guadeloupe and Trinidad. This relative intra-regional dissimilarity in the structure of mangrove-associated sponge assemblages may be related to differences in environmental conditions as well as taxonomic effort. The study area, unlike most of the Caribbean locations, is characterized by estuarine conditions and high productivity through‑ out the year. The inter-site variability recorded in the composition of mangrove-associated sponges was influenced by a set of factors such as salinity, dissolved oxygen and hydrodynamism. This study shows the importance of exploring the mangrove-associated sponge assemblages from different regions of the world as it furthers knowledge of the bio‑ diversity and global distribution of this group. Keywords: Porifera, Biodiversity, Southern Gulf of Mexico, Rhizophora mangle, Distribution Introduction Mangrove prop roots that extend into the intertidal and subtidal zone constitute a habitat for a wide diversity of sessile invertebrates [1, 2]. In these habitats, sponges (Phylum Porifera) in addition to being one of the most *Correspondence: [email protected] 2 Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Estación El Carmen), Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
conspicuous groups of epibionts [3–5], can establish mutualistic relationships with mangroves [6] and have been proposed as indicators of environment
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