The Amphipod Fauna of Banco Chinchorro, Quintana Roo, Mexico with Ecological Notes

To determine the composition and distribution of crustacean amphipod fauna at Banco Chinchorro, samples were collected in 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998 at five sites during the cold, dry, and rainy seasons. SCUBA diving, cores, push-net, experimental colonizing boxes, submersible pump (plankton), and hand collection Methods were used 26 amphipod species, 24 genera, and 16 families were identified. Bemlos spinicarpus, Ampithoe sp. and Pariphinotus seclusus showed a wide distribution in the study area. Melitidae was represented by six species and it was the most diverse family. The cold season had the largest species richness (20), followed by the dry (17), and rainy seasons (11). In terms of space distribution of species richness, the highest number of species (22) was recorded in Cayo Centro. Amphipod abundance and diversity were related to substrate availability, mainly to seagrass and algal beds.