Macroalgae biodiversity in coral reefs of the Campeche Sound, the Mexican Caribbean and Belize

Abstract

We analyse macroalgae coverage of 24 coral reefs of the Campeche Sound, Mexican Caribbean and Belize. Most of the
73 species correspond to the tropical flora and even though a large number of them has a reduced distribution there are
representatives pan-tropical and cosmopolitan. Given the scarcity of macroalgae quantitative data in these areas, this paper
discusses the importance of some ecological attributes in their regional distribution. Those surveys involve records of 1 to
50 m of depth through underwater photography and selective collects. Greater dominance the green and red algae, recorded
it the brown and blue-green algae were recorded to a lesser extent. The sites most different according to the Simpson index
were: Chemuyil (14.9 bits/ind.) and Punta Allen (7.9 bits/ind.) in the Caribbean and Bajo Obispo (7.4 bits/ind.) and Arrecife
Alacranes (7.2 bits/ind.) in Campeche Sound. High levels of affinity between the sites belonging to the same region, were
recorded which is discussed on the basis of each system. The spatial distribution given by the PCA shows also groups that
characterized to some system reef.