Abstract

Coral reef lagoons are one of the parts of the reef with the largest biotopes, making it an area with great inequalities. Under this perspective we try to compare the lagoons of the biggest ocean reefs in Mexico, which despite belonging to the Mexican Atlantic depend on two different systems: Alacranes Reef of the Gulf of Mexico and Banco Chinchorro of the Mexican Caribbean. From the results the proportion of living substrate is higher were obtained in Banco Chinchorro; however, the richness of species and diversity is greater in Alacranes (58 versus 39 species and 4.44 versus 4.38 bits/ind., respectively). Lobophora variegata (algae) is the only species whose dominance was proportionately consistent in both reefs; the similarity of sites identifies specific zones of the lagoons in both reefs, in the space the species are distributed close to the center of the axes, but many remain solitary or assembled in pairs. Despite the differences between the reefs according to the community descriptors, the location of the sites and their position in relation to the wind are relevant to the understanding of the dynamics of the lagoons.

Keywords: lagoon reefs, macroalgae, invertebrate coral reef, Atlantic reef, natural protected areas
