Distribution, uses, and anthropic pressures on reef ecosystems of Mexico

Abstract Reef ecosystems are amply distributed and ecologically relevant in Mexico, however, there is not an integrated inventory of these ecosystems, and information about uses and pressures is disperse. With the aim of generating updated information that allows to know the presence and distribution of the different types of reefs (coral, rocky-coral, rocky, and rocky with Macrocystis pyrifera ), as well as to know the uses and pressures to which they are subjected. In this article we present an inventory of the 755 reef ecosystems known in Mexico based in a literature review of 194 documents and validated by informal interviews to key Mexican experts. Mexican reefs are distributed in seven regions identified for reef management purposes, according to the combination of eight maritime regionalization proposals of the Mexican seas. The main uses of reef ecosystems are fishing, tourism, nautical, and mining, which produce eight main pressures: pollution, habitat fragmentation, coral bleaching, overfishing, exotic species introduction, sedimentation, coral mortality, and coral diseases. These uses and pressures are distributed heterogeneously in the seven reef regions. The main conservation tool used by Mexican Federal Government to protect these reefs are the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Almost 45% of the listed reefs are within one of the 30 Mexican MPAs, being the coral reefs the ones that predominate in this protection scheme. In this research we present relevant information for the management of the reef ecosystems of Mexico, which support the debate on the analysis of public policies for their conservation.