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Diversity of benthic diatoms in the Guerrero Negro Lagoon (El Vizcaíno Biosfere Reserve), Baja California Peninsula, Mexico

High species diversity renders benthic diatoms that are useful in assessing environmental impact, as well as an adequate reference for measuring biodiversity in protected areas. Preliminary observations suggested that the Guerrero Negro Lagoon (LGN), located in the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista mexicana de biodiversidad 2017-03, Vol.88 (1), p.21-35
Main Authors: Siqueiros-Beltrones, David A., Argumedo-Hernández, Uri, López-Fuerte, Francisco O.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:High species diversity renders benthic diatoms that are useful in assessing environmental impact, as well as an adequate reference for measuring biodiversity in protected areas. Preliminary observations suggested that the Guerrero Negro Lagoon (LGN), located in the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico, is an area with a high diversity of benthic diatoms comprising numerous species of certain genera, orders, class, etcetera, which were not equally diverse or common in other areas, and could thus yield new records for the region. Thus, samples of subtidal sediments from LGN were collected in order to analyze the species composition of epipelic diatoms by means of optical microscopy. The taxonomic study yielded a list with 232 taxa, which comprised 42 centric diatoms (>18%) and 190 pennates from 74 genera; 14 new records for the Mexican Pacific are included. This supported the hypothesis that epipelic diatoms from the LGN subtidal constitute assemblages with a high species richness and numerous taxa characteristic of subtropical regions. La alta diversidad de diatomeas bentónicas les confiere un uso en la evaluación de impacto ambiental; a la vez, son una referencia adecuada para estimar biodiversidad en áreas protegidas. Observaciones preliminares en la laguna Guerrero Negro (LGN), localizada en la península de Baja California, México, sugirieron que alberga taxocenosis de diatomeas bentónicas con alta diversidad de especies de varios géneros, órdenes, clases, etcétera, que no son igualmente diversas o comunes en otras áreas, por lo que se esperaría encontrar nuevos registros para la región. Con base en esto, se recolectaron muestras de sedimentos del submareal en la LGN con el objetivo de describir la composición de especies de diatomeas epipélicas mediante microscopia óptica. El análisis taxonómico resultó en una lista de 232 taxones que comprende 42 céntricas (>18%) y 190 pennadas contenidas en 74 géneros. Se encontraron 14 nuevos registros para el Pacífico mexicano. Las observaciones respaldan la hipótesis de que las diatomeas epipélicas en el submareal de LGN conforman taxocenosis con elevadas riquezas de especies, conformadas por numerosos taxones característicos de regiones subtropicales.
ISSN:1870-3453
2007-8706
2007-8706
DOI:10.1016/j.rmb.2017.01.026