Armenteros, M., B. Álamo-Díaz, D.M. Pérez-Zayas & A.S. Muñoz. (2020). Diversity and distribution of the large-size fraction of mesozooplankton across coastal habitats in three gulfs of Cuban archipelago (Caribbean Sea). Diversidad y distribución de la fracción de gran tamaño del mesozooplancton en hábitats costeros de tres golfos del Archipiélago cubano (Mar Caribe). Revista de Investigaciones Marinas. 39(2):37-61. [also cited as VOL. 39 • No. 2 • JULIO-DICIEMBRE • 2019 • pp. 65-89].

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Armenteros, M., B. Álamo-Díaz, D.M. Pérez-Zayas & A.S. Muñoz

2020

39(2):37-61. [also cited as VOL. 39 • No. 2 • JULIO-DICIEMBRE • 2019 • pp. 65-89]

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Cuban archipelago harbors a large fraction of regional diversity but lacks recent studies about diversity and distribution of mesozooplankton. We aimed to characterize the large-size fraction (> 500 µm) of the mesozooplankton across four coastal habitats (mangrove, seagrass bed, unvegetated bottom, and coral reef) in three basins (or gulfs: Ana María, Batabanó, and Guanahacabibes). Furthermore, we tested the hypothesis that gulf and habitat type have a significant effect on mesozooplankton structure in relation with dispersal and selection respectively. The sampling included 71 plankton tows in 28 sites with a conical net of 500 µm mesh size. In total, 41049 organisms of 30 major taxonomic groups were identified; while 3551 chaetognaths belonging to eight species were reported. The mesozooplankton community structure was typical of tropical regions with large diversity, low abundance and dominance of Copepoda and Chaetognatha. Larvae and eggs accounted for a large proportion of total abundance suggesting the importance of coastal mesozooplankton for life cycles of many species and supporting the role of coral reefs as spawning areas. Most of the mesozooplankton taxa had broad distribution across gulfs and habitats likely associated with a complex oceanographic regime. The factor gulf had significant effects on mesozooplankton structure compared to the habitat type, highlighting the influential role of barriers to dispersal among basins and a weak selection by the coastal habitat type. Eight chaetognatha species were recorded with Parasagitta megalophthalma and Sagitta helenae being new records for Cuban archipelago. The weak relationship between chaetognaths and habitat type likely reflected the broad ecological tolerance of coastal species. Key worDS: mesozooplankton, Chaetognatha, coastal habitat, diversity, distribution, tropical.

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