Hermatypic Corals Associated with Rhodolith Beds in the Gulf of California, Mexico

Abstract

Subtidal surveys along the western Gulf of California coast revealed the presence of free-living hermatypic corals associated with rhodolith beds, the first record of this association in the gulf. Five coral species were found, as follows: Psammocora stellata Verrill, Porites panamensis Verrill, P. sverdrupi Durham, Fungia curvata Hoeksema, and F. distorta Michelin, with several new distributional records, Differences in relative abundance of species in our collections from those in other regions of the Pacific suggest that transport, light, and temperature play important roles in distribution and development of coral-rhodolith associations in the gulf.