The relationship between fish and reefscapes in the Alacranes Reef, Yucatan, Mexico: A preliminary trophic functioning analysis

Landscape scale is used to analyze the distribution of trophic fish groups in Alacranes Reef, Yucatan, Mexico. In order to relate reef landscapes, or reefscapes, and the trophic groups of fishes, 47 sample transects were done to characterize the reefscapes and to obtain abundance fish data. Canonica l Correspondence Analysis was used to detect the relationship between the m ean biomass of trophic fish groups and 20 reefscape characteristics. The an alysis showed three main groups : 1)fish and zooplankton feeders associated with the reefscapes Spurs and grooves (I), Calcareous bottom with algal ma rs (K), and Sandy bottom with algal mats (G); 2) "shelled" invertebrate fee ders and generalized carnivores related to Rubble (A), Seagrass flats (B), Meadow (C), Sand with branching coral patches if), and Algae assemblages (L ) reefscapes; and 3) plant and detritus feeders and sessile invertebrate fe eders associated with Dead structures and soft coral (D), Dead structures a nd massive coral (E), Algal mats on dead structures (H), and Calcareous bot tom with Palithoa (J). Environmental characteristics that were a determiner of distribution and abundance of trophic fish groups including : bottom co mplexity; depth; encrusting biota; algal coverage; and massive, soft and en crusting coral coverage for fish and zooplankton feeders. For generalized c arnivores and "shelled" invertebrate feeders, they included dead structure, rubble, sand, branching coral and sea grass coverage; for plant and detrit us feeders and sessile invertebrate feeders they included soft coral covera ge and calcareous substrata. Estimates of mean biomass, production and cons umption were maximum in the Meadow reefscape (C) and minimal in the Algal m ats on dead structures reef scape (H). The reefscape scale offers a differe nt point of view for the analysis and interpretation of coral reef fish com munity structure and function.