Sedimentación en comunidades arrecifales de Bahías de Huatulco, Oaxaca, México

 

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Autores: R. Granja Fernández, María, A. López Pérez, Ramón
Formato: artículo original
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de Publicación:2008
Descripción:Although coral reef sedimentation is important because it modifies processes like symbioses, reproduction, recruitment and coral growth, Mexican Pacific studies are lacking. On this regard, spatio-temporal variations in sedimentation rate were investigated in six coral reef communities from Oaxaca. During February 2006-January 2007 (exclud-ing April, July and August) two sediment structures, with four sediment traps each, were randomly installed. Sediment traps were replaced with a mean periodicity of 38 days, and the sediments were washed, filtered, dried and weighted in order to calculate sedimentation rate. Sedimentation rate was heterogeneous among localities (F5,36 = 7.06, P < 0.01). It was high at Isla Montosa (653.31 kg m-2 year-1) and Isla Cacaluta (450.09 kg m-2year-1), intermediate at San Agustín, Jicaral-Chachacual and Dos Hermanas (155.18-92.53 kg m-2 year-1) and low at La Entrega (14.33 kg m-2 year-1). Sedimentation rate was homogeneous through time (F7,34 = 0.85, P > 0.5); nonetheless, during the dry season (November-March) sedimentation rate in the area oscillated between 6.8-73.5 mg cm-2 day-1, whereas during the rainy season (May-October) the values were 141-1088 % higher (74.5-147.6 mg cm-2 day-1, Mann-Whitney U = 137, n = 42, P = 0.03). There was a significant relationship between sedi-mentation rate and pluvial precipitation (Spearman R = 0.83, n = 8, P = 0.009), suggesting that the amount of sediment reaching coral communities is closely tied to regional precipitation. Sedimentation rates recorded at Isla Montosa (366.64 mg cm-2 day-1) and Isla Cacaluta (366.03 mg cm-2 day-1) during the rainy season can be considered lethal-sublethal considering sediment tolerance and rejection efficiency of stony corals. The absence of coral mortality during the rainy season may result from: a) high efficiency of active sediment removal, b) increased physiological tolerance to sediments, and c) a high degree of passive sediment removal via turbulence. Nonetheless, the combined effect of natural and anthropogenic induced sedimentation may cause a shift in coral community structure and eventually a loss of the reef areas in Bahías de Huatulco.
País:Portal de Revistas UCR
Institución:Universidad de Costa Rica
Repositorio:Portal de Revistas UCR
Lenguaje:Español
OAI Identifier:oai:portal.ucr.ac.cr:article/5702
Acceso en línea:https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/5702
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Sedimentos
tasa de sedimentación
comunidades coralinas
Oaxaca
Pacífico mexicano
Sediments
sedimentation rate
coral communities
Mexican Pacific