Sea slugs (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) associated to Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) in southern Gulf of Mexico and Mexican Caribbean Sea

Xochitl G. Vital; Lilian A. Palomino-Alvarez; Deneb Ortigosa; Edlin J. Guerra-Castro; Nuno Simões

doi:10.15468/kfzrq4

Sea slugs (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) associated to Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) in southern Gulf of Mexico and Mexican Caribbean Sea

Citation

Caribbean OBIS Node: Sea slugs (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) associated to Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) in southern Gulf of Mexico and Mexican Caribbean Sea https://doi.org/10.15468/kfzrq4 accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-12-14.

Description

Cryptic species in coral reefs, such as sea slugs, represent and contribute an important portion of their biodiversity, which is usually underestimated. Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) have been implemented to estimate cryptic diversity in coral reefs. Therefore, this research aimed to contribute to the southern Gulf of Mexico (GM) and the Caribbean Sea (CAR) coral reefs sea slugs’ diversity and distribution using ARMS as a collection method. 58 ARMS were placed at three coral reefs in the GM and CAR, recovered after 1-2 years and then, disassembled at the laboratory. Plates were individually placed in trays with seawater, where we searched for sea slugs. A total of 242 organisms were found belonging to 37 species; 20 of them were identified to species level, while 17 were determined up to genus or family. More than half of the species (24) were found in Bajo de 10 (GM), while 16 species were found in the CAR localities. Unlike previous studies, we assessed sea slugs’ diversity exclusively by an indirect sampling method. In this work we found 11.2% of the sea slug diversity recorded in the Caribbean, and we report 20 species for the first time in the country. New records of species, and even one family for the GM stress the gap of information that we still need to fulfill in the area. We recognize ARMS as a useful tool to find juvenile, cryptic, and rare species of sea slugs, as well as to standardize their quantification and record their diversity.

Taxonomic Coverages

Geographic Coverages

Bibliographic Citations

Contacts

Xochitl G. Vital
originator
position: Researcher
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Lilian A. Palomino-Alvarez
originator
position: Researcher
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Facultad de Ciencias, Unidad Multidisciplinaria de Docencia e Investigación Sisal

Deneb Ortigosa
originator
position: Researcher
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Biología, Colección Nacional de Moluscos

Edlin J. Guerra-Castro
originator
position: Researcher
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Mérida, Departamento de Sistemas y Procesos Naturales | Laboratorio Nacional de Resiliencia Costera, CONACYT

Nuno Simões
originator
position: Researcher
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Facultad de Ciencias, Unidad Multidisciplinaria de Docencia e Investigación Sisal | Laboratorio Nacional de Resiliencia Costera, CONACYT

Liliana Palomino-Alvarez
metadata author
position: Researcher
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Facultad de Ciencias, Unidad Multidisciplinaria de Docencia e Investigación Sisal
MX
email: lily.drgalvar91@gmail.com

Carolina Peralta
user
email: anaperalta@usb.ve

Liliana Palomino-Alvarez
administrative point of contact
position: Researcher
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Facultad de Ciencias, Unidad Multidisciplinaria de Docencia e Investigación Sisal
MX
email: lily.drgalvar91@gmail.com