La diversidad de copépodos marinos en México

Abstract

The species richness of marine copepods of Mexico is outlined based on published data and our own data from coastal and offshore areas along the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Three questions were posed: How many copepod species have been described so far in the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico and the Mexican Caribbean Sea? Are there more species in one place than in other? What proportion of worldwide copepod species are in Mexican waters? In the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, 193 species have been identified, and in the Pacific, 197. The number of species common to both areas is 128. The Pacific area is as diverse as the Atlantic ocean. The proportion of the species inhabiting Mexican waters is difficult to determine, but because Mexico is influenced by subarctic, subtropical, and tropical currents, as well as the increase of study areas, it is expected Mexico would be one of the countries with the greatest diversity of copepoda.