Underwater Caves of the Yucatan Peninsula

Coke, James G.

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-814124-3.00127-8

Cited by 8 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Faulting, areas of low permeability, and progressive karstification are among the causes invoked by these authors to explain the existence of barriers to dispersal. The fact that similar features/processes have been documented for the YP karst aquifer (Bauer‐Gottwein et al., 2011; Coke, 2019; Gomez‐Nicolas et al., 2014; Perry et al., 2002), coupled with their spatial correspondence with major mtDNA lineages, offers support for the hypothesis that regional‐scale hydrogeology is a driver of phylogeographic structuring in R. guatemalensis inhabiting the YP, and perhaps in other fish species distributed throughout the YP aquifer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

“…The Yucatán Peninsula (YP), located in south‐eastern Mexico (Figure 1), contains one of the most spectacular and developed karstic aquifers on the planet (Bauer‐Gottwein et al., 2011), featuring the largest flooded cave, the Sac Actun system ( c . 350 km) (Kambesis and Coke 2016; Coke, 2019). Due to its karstic landscape, the YP largely lacks rivers, streams, and other forms of surface runoff (Schmitter‐Soto et al., 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While cave divers have been documenting these underground networks many kilometres from their entrances (i.e. cenotes), the bulk of this system remains to be explored and surveyed (Bauer‐Gottwein et al., 2011; Coke, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Regional‐scale aquifer hydrogeology as a driver of phylogeographic structure in the Neotropical catfish Rhamdia guatemalensis (Siluriformes: Heptapteridae) from cenotes of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico

et al. 2020

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The Yucatán Peninsula (YP) contains one of the most spectacular and developed karstic aquifers in the world, which connects to the surface through water‐filled sinkholes locally known as cenotes. Cenotes and their associated submerged caves are home to a remarkable diversity of aquatic fauna, yet very little is known about spatial patterns of intraspecific genetic and morphological variation across the aquifer. The strong affinity to cenotes (vs. submerged caves) exhibited by most fishes inhabiting the YP aquifer raises a fundamental question about the ecology and evolutionary history of its ichthyofauna: how genetically structured and morphologically divergent are fish populations from different cenotes across the YP? To shed light on this question, we investigated phylogeographic structure in the Neotropical catfish Rhamdia guatemalensis, arguably the most ubiquitous representative of the YP aquifer ichthyofauna. Geographic patterns of genetic variation were determined through phylogeographic and population genetics analyses of mitochondrial (mt)DNA sequence data. Body shape variation was investigated using both traditional and geometric morphometrics. Dense sampling across the previously overlooked YP region, coupled with the inclusion of samples from basins unrepresented in past studies, allowed for revision of previous estimates of phylogeographic structuring across the species’ range. Our results reveal a striking spatial correspondence between major mtDNA lineages and physiographic regions defined on the basis of broad‐scale patterns of groundwater flow. Morphological variation in populations from the YP, although considerable, neither reflects the observed spatial signal of genetic differentiation nor displays any other discernible geographic pattern. The resulting range‐wide phylogeographic pattern is largely consistent with a latitudinal, isolation‐by‐distance gradient, and the expectations from catchment hydrology, while revealing an unexpectedly close relationship between YP aquifer and epigean populations (both inside and outside the YP). Although the inferred range‐wide phylogeographic history is consistent with a single aquifer colonisation event followed by multiple instances of dispersal out of the aquifer and into neighbouring epigean basins, hypotheses regarding the colonisation and exodus of the YP by R. guatemalensis require further investigation. Within the YP aquifer, regional‐scale hydrogeological differences might impose limits to underground dispersal, potentially driving genetic divergence in populations of R. guatemalensis, and possibly in other cenote‐dwelling fishes as well. Future research focused on other YP aquifer species, however, is needed to test the generality of our findings. Phylogeographic research on the stygofauna of the YP aquifer is a relatively nascent field of inquiry. Besides shedding novel light into the patterns and drivers of genetic differentiation in fish populations from across the aquifer, this study sets the stage for future research aimed at unra...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Regional‐scale aquifer hydrogeology as a driver of phylogeographic structure in the Neotropical catfish Rhamdia guatemalensis (Siluriformes: Heptapteridae) from cenotes of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico

et al. 2020

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“…The Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico consists of an emerged carbonate platform spanning 165,000 km 2 that contains extensive karst aquifer ecosystems 1 with networks of inland and coastal caves, known as cenotes, the local term for sinkhole [2][3][4] . The Peninsula's unconfined aquifer has density stratification where marine origin saline groundwater mixes with the meteoric lens [5][6][7][8] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, the flooded caves are characterized by meromictic conditions with well-defined haloclines that occur progressively deeper from coastal to inland regions 4,7,9,10 Inland caves (Figure 1) are generally deep pit-style formations formed via collapse, whereas coastal caves are typically shallower and branch into extensive anastomotic networks 3,10 . Biogeochemical cycling associated with the haloclines have a vital role in sustaining the subterranean food web 11 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identity Crisis: An Integrative Re-Evaluation of Typhlatya Shrimp within the Karst Aquifer of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico.

Ballou

Brankovits

Chávez-Solís

et al. 2021

Preprint

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The Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico is a carbonate platform well-known for extensive karst networks of densely stratified aquifer ecosystems. This aquifer supports diverse anchialine fauna, including species of the globally distributed atyid shrimp genus Typhlatya. Four species (T. campecheae, T. pearsei, T. dzilamensis and T. mitchelli) are endemic to the Peninsula, of which three are federally listed in Mexico. This first integrative evaluation [i.e., molecular (public and newly generated), morphological, broad geographic and type locality sampling, and environmental data] of Yucatán Typhlatya reveals considerable species identity conflict in prior phylogenetic assessments, broad species ranges and sympatry within cave systems, five genetic lineages (three known and two new to science) with the endangered T. campecheae herein classified as junior synonym of the vulnerable T. pearsei. Ancestral/divergence reconstructions support convergent evolution of a low-salinity/stenohaline ancestor of a post-Paleogene arc Yucatán+Cuba Typhlatya clade within a euryhaline/anchialine-adapted atyid clade, and secondary adaptation of the coastal-restricted euryhaline [2-37 psu] T. dzilamensis (unknown conservation status), of which the remaining four species lineages are low-salinity/stenohaline adapted found in both inland and coastal regions. This study demonstrates the need for integrative/interdisciplinary approaches when conducting biodiversity assessments in complex and poorly studied aquifers.

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Speleogenesis

2022

Karst Hydrogeology, Geomorphology and Caves

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Underwater Caves of the Yucatan Peninsula

Cited by 8 publications

References 5 publications

Regional‐scale aquifer hydrogeology as a driver of phylogeographic structure in the Neotropical catfish Rhamdia guatemalensis (Siluriformes: Heptapteridae) from cenotes of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico

Regional‐scale aquifer hydrogeology as a driver of phylogeographic structure in the Neotropical catfish Rhamdia guatemalensis (Siluriformes: Heptapteridae) from cenotes of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico

Identity Crisis: An Integrative Re-Evaluation of Typhlatya Shrimp within the Karst Aquifer of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico.

Speleogenesis

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