Eastern Pacific Coral Reef Provinces, Coral Community Structure and Composition: An Overview

Abstract

Advances in our knowledge of eastern tropical Pacific (ETP) coral reef biogeography and ecology during the past two decades are briefly reviewed. Fifteen ETP subregions are recognized, including mainland and island localities from the Gulf of California (Mexico) to Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile). Updated species lists reveal a mean increase of 4.2 new species records per locality or an overall increase of 19.2 % in species richness during the past decade. The largest increases occurred in tropical mainland Mexico, and in equatorial Costa Rica and Colombia, due mainly to continuing surveys of these under-studied areas. Newly discovered coral communities are also now known from the southern Nicaraguan coastline. To date 47 zooxanthellate scleractinian species have been recorded in the ETP, of which 33 also occur in the central/south Pacific, and 8 are presumed to be ETP endemics. Usually no more than 20-25 zooxanthellate coral species are present at any given locality, with the principal reef-building genera being Pocillopora, Porites, Pavona, and Gardineroseris. This compares with 62-163 species at four of the nearest central/south Pacific localities. Hydrocorals in the genus Millepora also occur in the ETP and are reviewed in the context of their global distributions. Coral community associates engaged in corallivory, bioerosion, and competition for space are noted for several localities. Reef framework construction in the ETP typically occurs at shallow depths (2-8 m) in sheltered habitats or at greater depths (10-30 m) in more exposed areas such as oceanic island settings with high water column light penetration. Generally, eastern Pacific reefs do not reach sea level with the development of drying reef flats, and instead experience brief periods of exposure during extreme low tides or drops in sea level during La Niña events. High rates of mortality during El Niño disturbances have occurred in many ETP equatorial areas, especially in Panama and the Galápagos Islands during the 1980s and 1990s. Remarkably, however, no loss of resident, zooxanthellate scleractinian species has occurred at these sites, and many ETP coral reefs have demonstrated significant recovery from these disturbances during the past two decades.

Multi-scale analysis of hermatypic coral assemblages at Mexican Central Pacific

“…At the regional (i.e. state) scale, the species richness and composition recorded were similar to those reported at other locations of the Mexican Pacific (Aguilar-Medrano and Calderón-Aguilera 2015) and Central America (Glynn et al 2016). The region of the Mexican Central Pacific is considered one of the most important for its richness.…”

“…El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador, Glynn et al 2016), particularly in the case of the coral ecosystems located in the north and centre of the study area. These results are important in terms of updating the knowledge regarding coral assemblages in the Mexican Central Pacific, highlighting the importance of their species richness and live coral cover.…”

Gamma-diversity partitioning of gobiid fishes (Teleostei: Gobiidae) ensemble along of Eastern Tropical Pacific: Biological inventory, latitudinal variation and species turnover

“…The ETP includes a complex diversity of coastal environments and oceanic islands (i.e. Gulf of California, Cocos Island, Gorgona and Galapagos) with important environmental variation [40], from very dry in the Gulf of California, southern Ecuador and most oceanic islands to very wet from Costa Rica to northern Ecuador, including Cocos Island [41]. The oceanographic conditions within the ETP vary seasonally, annually and over longer time scales, and these conditions are mainly influenced by three water masses: (i) subtropical surface water (sea surface temperature [SST]<25°C, salinity>35) that is located in the central turns of the North Pacific and south of the ETP; (ii) tropical surface water (SST>25°C, salinity<34) north of the equator, and (iii) equatorial surface water (SST<25°C, salinity>34) along the equator [42].…”

High genetic diversity and limited genetic connectivity in 2 populations of an endemic and endangered coral species: Porites sverdrupi

“…En las costas mexicanas del Pacífico existen 9 especies de Porites (Reyes-Bonilla 2002, Glynn et al 2017a), incluyendo el único escleractinio endémico del golfo de California: Porites sverdrupi Durham, 1947(Chiriboga et al 2008. Su distribución geográfica abarca desde la isla Ángel de la Guarda (29ºN) hasta las islas Marías (20ºN), a profundidades de 1 a 40 m (Fig.…”

“…There are 9 Porites species in the Pacific coast of Mexico (Reyes-Bonilla 2002, Glynn et al 2017a), including the endemic scleractinian coral of the Gulf of California: Porites sverdrupi Durham, 1947(Chiriboga et al 2008. The distribution of this species ranges from Ángel de la Guarda Island (29ºN) to Marías Islands (20ºN), at depths from 1 to 40 m (Fig.…”