Birds of the Land of the Swallows: Cozumel Island

For being a relatively small island, of approximately 480 km2, Cozumel receives particular national and international attention for the coral reefs to which it is related, which are part of the Great Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Due to its ecological importance, in 1996 the Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park was decreed in order to protect these unique and invaluable natural resources. However, tourism takes advantage of its spectacular underwater attractions, being considered one of the most important sites for diving worldwide. The island's urban center, San Miguel de Cozumel, is currently home to more than 70,000 inhabitants and has grown significantly in recent years. Particularly in the case of birds, a great diversity of species can be found on the island, many of which are migratory, that is, they spend only one season of the year (generally winter) on the island. Over the years, more than 230 species have been recorded, which have been compiled at: www.avesdecozumel.org. However, there is a group of species that are very abundant, and sometimes very striking, that can be seen relatively easily on the island if you are in the right season and place, since some species are migratory and others only inhabit certain ecosystems. . Thus, this document provides information on 31 common and remarkable species of Cozumel Island.

High resolution spatiotemporal patterns of seawater temperatures across the Belize Mesoamerican Barrier Reef

Coral reefs are under increasingly severe threat from climate change and other anthropogenic stressors. Anomalously high seawater temperatures in particular are known to cause coral bleaching (loss of algal symbionts in the family Symbiodiniaceae), which frequently leads to coral mortality. Remote sensing of sea surface temperature (SST) has served as an invaluable tool for monitoring physical conditions that can lead to bleaching events over relatively large scales (e.g. few kms to 100 s of kms). But, it is also well known that seawater temperatures within a site can vary significantly across depths due to the combined influence of solar heating of surface waters, water column thermal stratification, and cooling from internal waves and upwelling. We deployed small autonomous benthic temperature sensors at depths ranging from 0–40 m in fore reef, back reef, and lagoonal reef habitats on the Belize Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System from 2000–2019. These data can be used to calculate depth-specific climatologies across reef depths and sites, and emphasize the dynamic and spatially-variable nature of coral reef physical environments.

New shallow water species of Caribbean Ircinia Nardo, 1833 (Porifera: Irciniidae)

Seven Ircinia growth forms were collected from three sites in the Caribbean (Bocas del Toro, Panama; the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, Belize; and the Florida Keys, United States of America). Previous research used an integrative taxonomic framework to delimit species boundaries among these growth forms. Here, we present descriptions for these species, six of which are new to science (Ircinia lowisp. nov., Ircinia bocatorensissp. nov., Ircinia radixsp. nov., Ircinia laeviconulosasp. nov., Ircinia vansoestisp. nov., Ircinia rutzlerisp. nov.) in addition to one species conferre (Ircinia cf. reteplana Topsent, 1923).

Horizontal and vertical distribution of cephalopod paralarvae in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System

Horizontal and vertical distribution of cephalopod paralarvae (PL) from the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (MBRS) in the Western Caribbean was studied during two oceanographic cruises in 2006 and 2007. A total of 1034 PL belonging to 12 families, 22 genera, 24 species, 5 morphotypes and a species complex were identified. Abralia redfieldi, Onychoteuthis banksii and Ornithoteuthis antillarum were the most abundant taxa. The taxonomic identification from these three species was corroborated with DNA barcoding (99.8–100% of similarity). Paralarvae of Octopus insularis were reported for the first time in the wild. Most PL occupied the Caribbean Surface Water mass in the 0–25 m depth stratum. Largest paralarval abundances were related to local oceanographic features favouring retention such as the Honduras Gyre and Cozumel eddy. No day-night differences were found in PL abundance, although Abralia redfieldi showed evidence of diel vertical migration. Distribution of PL in epipelagic waters of the MBRS was probably related to ontogenetic migration, hydrographic features of meso and subscale, and to the circulation regimes dominated by the Yucatan Current. The MBRS represents an important dispersion area for PL, potentially connecting a species-rich Caribbean community with the Gulf of Mexico and Florida waters.

Common Caribbean corals exhibit highly variable responses to future acidification and warming

We conducted a 93-day experiment investigating the independent and combined effects of acidification (280−3300 µatm p CO 2 ) and warming (28°C and 31°C) on calcification and linear extension rates of four key Caribbean coral species ( Siderastrea siderea , Pseudodiploria strigosa , Porites astreoides , Undaria tenuifolia ) from inshore and offshore reefs on the Belize Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. All species exhibited nonlinear declines in calcification rate with increasing p CO 2 . Warming only reduced calcification in Ps. strigosa . Of the species tested, only S. siderea maintained positive calcification in the aragonite-undersaturated treatment . Temperature and p CO 2 had no effect on the linear extension of S. siderea and Po. astreoides, and natal reef environment did not impact any parameter examined. Results suggest that S. siderea is the most resilient of these corals to warming and acidification owing to its ability to maintain positive calcification in all treatments, Ps. strigosa and U. tenuifolia are the least resilient, and Po. astreoides falls in the middle. These results highlight the diversity of calcification responses of Caribbean corals to projected global change.