MCE occur at depths where downwelling irradiance reaches the 10 and 1% of subsurface irradiance ( Jerlov, 1968). Mesophotic reef depth limits vary within and between regions ( Kahng et al., 2010) depending on water optical properties ( Kirk, 2011). MCE are defined as light-dependent communities distributed between the middle and lower depths of the euphotic zone in tropical and subtropical regions ( Hinderstein et al., 2010). Current global-scale degradation of shallow coral reefs has encouraged the scientific community to study mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCE) ( Menza et al., 2008) that typically occur between 30 and 150 m ( Hinderstein et al., 2010) to determine if MCE are facing similar threats to those faced by shallow coral reefs ( Bak et al., 2005 Reed et al., 2007 Lesser and Slattery, 2011 Bongaerts et al., 2013 Appeldoorn et al., 2015). Such degradation trends generate uncertainty about the possible recovery of shallow coral reefs ( Gardner et al., 2003) in which biodiversity, productivity and ecosystem services have been compromised ( Moberg and Folke, 1999 Prachett et al., 2014). Evidence that the loss of live coral led to a drastic decline in the reef structural complexity has been shown for a region-wide scale in the Caribbean ( Alvarez-Filip et al., 2009 Prachett et al., 2014 Bozec et al., 2015 Medina-Valmaseda et al., 2020). Many studies have shown the global loss in live coral cover and critical degradation of coral reef ecosystems due to natural and anthropogenic disturbances ( Gardner et al., 2003 Bellwood et al., 2004 Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007 Sweatman et al., 2011 De’ath et al., 2012 Gilmour et al., 2019). Our study illustrates the value of semi-portable MBES for marine planning in developing countries and remote poorly studied areas.

Considering the newly recognized importance of MCE, we propose expanding and reshaping the core zone to include the entire reef complex which mostly encompasses MCE with high structural complexity.

This has important management implications since presently, only 28.7% of this reef complex (mostly shallow areas) are within the existing limits of the marine park’s core zone. Shallow coral reef ecosystems (30 m), southern reefs basements from two distinct reefs merge to form a continuous complex.

2LGL Ecological Research Associates Inc., Bryan, TX, United StatesĬoral reefs are the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth and are presently experiencing severe declines globally.

1Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Pesquerías, Universidad Veracruzana, Boca del Río, Mexico.

Melissa Mayorga-Martínez 1, Javier Bello-Pineda 1*, Héctor Perales-Valdivia 1, Horacio Pérez-España 1 and William D.

Hypack 2015 user manual