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Seasonal Occurrence Of Reef-Related Medusae (Cnidaria) In The Western Caribbean Sea, Gloria Ramos, Lourdes Segura-Puertas

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Seasonal fluctuations in composition and abundance of medusae collected in a reef lagoon of the Mexican Caribbean were analyzed. Plankton samples and hydrological data were taken monthly from January to September 1994 at 2 stations: coastal and near-reef. The highest densities of medusae were recorded in March (17,687 ind/100 m³) and August (2,433 ind/100 m³) at the coastal station. Medusae were less abundant at the nearreef station, but diversity indices were higher in comparison to the coastal station. Twenty-five species (24 hydroidomedusae and 1 scyphomedusa) were identified, with Linuche unguiculata (Swartz, 1788) and Eirene lactea (Mayer, …