How is the anchialine fauna distributed within a cave? A study of the Ox Bel Ha System, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Abstract

A study describing the diversity and distribution pattern of the stygobitic fauna in the Ox Bel Ha anchialine cave system adjacent to the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico is presented. A total of 15 species of crustaceans were collected in three surveys at four points situated along a 10.2 km transect perpendicular to the coast line. A freshwater mass dominated throughout the transect with a halocline that appeared progressively deeper, from 10 to 18 m, with increasing distance from the coast. All the recorded species, except for one, occurred throughout the transect with no defined pattern. Abundance and species richness did not vary significantly with distance from the coast, whereas diversity (H’) peaked in the second sampling site at 3.17 km from the coast. As expected, most of the organisms occurred only in the freshwater layer, except for the remipede Xibalbanustulumensis (Yager, 1987) that was found always at or below the halocline, and five other species that were found above and below the halocline. In the horizontal scale, species composition and occurrence mixed without a defined pattern, both, for sampling dates and sites. The results show that the analyzed fauna is distributed throughout the 10.2 km transect without showing any defined horizontal zonation pointing to a high connectivity among all sections. Due to the high connectivity within the caves in the area, it is expected that significant variation in species composition and distribution will be found at a larger regional scale.