Distribution of some Calanoida (Crustacea: Copepoda) from the Yucatán Peninsula, Belize and Guatemala

Abstract

Southern Mexico and Central America have many water bodies of different morphology and water chemistry with an interesting zooplankton fauna, originating from North or South America. A set of 63 samples, taken in 2005 and 2008, from water bodies of the Yucatan Peninsula karst, Belize and Guatemala, were studied for the content of calanoid copepods. Old and recent literature was used to determine animals to species level. Drawings were prepared with a microscope and a camera lucida. A total of 32 samples with totally six species contained calanoid copepods: one estuarine pseudodiaptomid and five freshwater diaptomids. Pseudodiaptomus marshi was found at different salinities. it is confirmed that the commonest diaptomids in the Yucatan Peninsula are Arctodiaptomus dorsalis and Mastigodiaptomus nesus. The former was also recorded from Lake Amatitlan. Mastigodiaptomus nesus is as widespread as A. dorsalis but it is absent from the Lake Peten area in Guatemala. Mastigodiaptomus reidae was found in two shallow habitats, these specimens differ from those from the type locality by having a set of peculiar large spine-like processes on the last thoracic and the urosome segments of the females. Leptodiaptomus siciloides was found only in Lake Ayarza with high salinity. Prionodiaptomus colombiensis occurred in the highlands of Guatemala in Lago de Güija and in the Peten area in Laguna Sacpuy. We contributed with our occurrence records to a better knowledge of the geographic distribution of some calanoid copepods. Morphological findings in some species are of value for taxonomic differentiation between species.

Remarks onMastigodiaptomus(Calanoida: Diaptomidae) from Mexico using integrative taxonomy, with a key of identification and three new species

“…Distribution: Neotropical. Caribbean Islands (Bowman, 1986), Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico) states Quintana Roo, Yucatán, Campeche and Belize (Brandorff, 2012).…”

Historical biogeography of the neotropical Diaptomidae (Crustacea: Copepoda)

“…We infer that diaptomid copepods were distributed in SA over period of time long enough for the group to have undergone major diversification but also to remain isolated from Central America. The weak influence of the SA diaptomid fauna in Central America and Mexico, being represented only by the presence of Prionodiaptomus colombiensis [3,22], together with the biogeographic affinity between the northernmost sector of South America and Central America (Figure 1) provides additional support for this inference. This interpretation is also supported by the species richness patterns of teleost fish and freshwater harpacticoid copepods.…”

Historical Composition of Zooplankton as an Indicator of Eutrophication in Tropical Aquatic Systems: the Case of Lake Amatitlán, Central America

“…The presence/absence of the actual zooplancton inventory, was compared with the inventories studied by [9], Basterrechea-Díaz (1997) [6], Wilson (1941) [15] and Brandorff (2012) [12] in order to analize the historical compositon of zooplankton of Amatitlan lake.…”

“…Due to this, some actions have been arisen to address this problem, either from the governmental level (Autoridad para el Manejo Sustentable de la cuenca del lago Amatitlán, AMSA 1996) and some descriptive studies of the lake considering the zooplankton biodiversity in the region, such as [9], Basterrechea-Díaz (1997) [6], Elías-Gutiérrez et al (2006) [10], García-Morales & Elías-Gutiérrez (2007) [11] and Brandorff (2012) [12]. Nevertheless, related studies related with tropical epicontinental waterbodies have been more focused on environmental factors rather than in the biological attributes or systems general limnology [13,14]; thus, biodiversity and species richness of zooplankton in all Guatemala is poorly known [4,5].…”