Abstract

Ecological connectivity connects biological, physical, and chemical elements among sea and land ecosystems. One way to study is through structural and functional connectivity derived from land use and cover. The structural connectivity refers to metrics and landscape heterogeneity. Functional connectivity denotes how well the landscape allows the fauna movement. We utilized structural and functional connectivity to derive a landscape suitability map, which is an index for healthy vegetation and serves as a food indicator for fish. Landscape suitability was the weighted sum of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) biovolume, habitat types, and landscape components from the Integral Index of Connectivity. Ecological parameters and species of the SAV were calculated. Marine and terrestrial cover, landscape uses, and digital terrain models were obtained based on remote sensing. Unsuitable anthropogenic land uses and other terrestrial vegetation as a barrier for fish movements have been considered. This assessment was based on the connection between habitat types like mangroves, seagrass, and macroalgae (SAV) and fish with biological food indicators in the “Los Petenes” Biosphere Reserve (LPBR), Mexico. In the marine zone, grain type was derived by an echosounder, and biovolume was calculated from hydroacoustic variables. Fish tracks were identified in two categories “solitary” or “school fish” in the ecograms collected in field trip transects between 2013-2017. These two categories of behavior were evaluated with habitat types and landscape suitability. Hence this study aimed to evaluate the ecological connectivity between landscape suitability, habitat types, fish, and food indicators for detecting fish movement. We proposed four spatial models. Model 1 shows nodes overlapping interactions between solitary and school fish, based on predictor track density. Model 2 directs probability routes for fish movement between suitable landscapes based on data collection references to all fish tracks. In the third and fourth for ecological connectivity, both fish behaviors were evaluated with food meiofauna, and epiphytes present in the sediment and leaves of the SAV. Sound evidence for a high degree of connectivity in the LPBR indicates that the integral models will support spatial planning for promoting sustainable tourism development and ecosystem conservation.

Keywords:Seagrass; Mangroves; Fish tracks; Food indicators; Nodes and routes; Ecological connectivity; Remote sensing