First records of hydroid epibionts on the introduced macroalga Gracilaria parvispora in the Mexican Pacific

María A. Mendoza-Becerril

doi:10.3897/bdj.12.e130248

First records of hydroid epibionts on the introduced macroalga Gracilaria parvispora in the Mexican Pacific

Citation

Mendoza-Becerril M A (2024). First records of hydroid epibionts on the introduced macroalga Gracilaria parvispora in the Mexican Pacific. Biodiversity Data Journal. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.3897/bdj.12.e130248 accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-12-12.

Description

The red macroalga Gracilaria parvispora is an introduced species in the Mexican Pacific. To date, there are no published studies on its sessile epibionts, including the hydrozoans and bryozoans, which are the dominant epibionts on macrophytes and of significant biological and economic interest.This study provides insight into the faunal diversity of hydroids growing on G. parvispora. A total of 185 thalli from both herbarium specimens and field samples collected from five sites in La Paz Bay were revised. Each thallus size and the presence of hydroid epibionts in each thallus region were registered. Eight different hydrozoan taxa were growing on the red macroalgae, including the first recorded observation of Obelia oxydentata in the Gulf of California. The sizes of the collected thalli were mostly under 7.0 cm, the maximum number of taxa per thallus was three and the thallus region containing the highest number of epibionts was in the middle. Significant differences were observed amongst the lengths of thalli with and without epibionts. The thalli with epibionts were larger than the thalli without epibionts. Similarly, significant differences were observed amongst the months. The pair-wise test revealed that each month exhibited distinctive epibiont taxa when compared to the others. This study highlights the lack of information on these associations. Further research is needed to understand whether introduced macroalgae can bring non-native epibiont species to an area.

Taxonomic Coverages

Geographic Coverages

Bibliographic Citations

Contacts

María A. Mendoza-Becerril
originator
position: Dr
El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR)
Chetumal
MX
email: m_angelesmb@hotmail.com

María A. Mendoza-Becerril
metadata author
position: Dr
El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR)
Chetumal
MX
email: m_angelesmb@hotmail.com

María A. Mendoza-Becerril
administrative point of contact
position: Dr
El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR)
Chetumal
MX
email: m_angelesmb@hotmail.com