Abstract

GAITAN-ESPITIA, Juan D.. SHALLOW WATER ECHINODERMATA PHYLUM COMMUNITY STRUCTURE OF TAGANGA BAY, COLOMBIAN CARIBBEAN. rev.udcaactual.divulg.cient. [online]. 2008, vol.11, n.1, pp.85-93. ISSN 0123-4226.

SUMMARY The Taganga bay supports a strong anthropogenic pressure that threatens the communities and marine ecosystems established in this sector, especially organisms sensible to environmental changes and contamination like the echinoderms. In this study, the structure of the Phylum Echinodermata community in shallows waters of Taganga bay was determined, with the purpose of establishing a base line for monitoring the human activities impact on the marine fauna of this tourist sector. For the survey of the main species of this phylum, field trips were organized from January to September of 2006, identifying the existing species of echinoderms in the area by visual census and manual collects. The samplings were taken in the intermareal zone up to a depths of <10m; the 283 specimens collected were identified in the laboratory of CIZEM at the Magdalena University following the corresponding keys for each class and genus. A systematic list is presented for this locality that includes 18 species of echinoderms distributed in five classes and twelve, being the Class Echinoidea and Ophiuroidea the best represented in terms of richness with seven and six species respectively, as well as of relative abundance.

Keywords : Echinoderms; Colombian Caribbean; diversity; intermareal zone; shallows waters; Taganga.

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