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Updated: Jul 28, 2025

Measuring the Structure, Composition, and Change of Underwater Environments with Large-area Imaging
Published on: April 18, 2025
Taxonomical and functional diversity dynamics of conspicuous echinoderms in the northeastern tropical Pacific over a
Cassandra de Alba-Guzmán1, Alma Paola Rodríguez-Troncoso1, Rafael Andrés Cabral-Tena2
1Laboratorio de Ecología Marina, Centro de Investigaciones Costeras, Centro Universitario de la Costa, Universidad de Guadalajara, Avenida Universidad de Guadalajara No. 203, Puerto Vallarta, CP 48280, Jalisco, Mexico.
Abstract:
Understanding what determines spatio-temporal changes in echinoderm assemblages from an integrative perspective that considers biodiversity, species evenness, and species' niches could permit superior community-scale characterizations of habitat resilience to disturbance. Such an approach was taken herein by tracking a Central Mexican Pacific echinoderm assemblage between 2012 and 2021, and higher richness, diversity, evenness, and functional entity counts were associated with more heterogeneous benthic assemblages. Echinoderm taxonomic composition was influenced by ENSO events, with higher functional diversity found during La Niña events. Conservation strategies should focus on species with unique functional traits to maintain the balance of coral community functionality.
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