Abstract

Ecological information on the seascapes on the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula is scarce at best. Given the local focus on fisheries associated to bottom characteristics (i.e. groupers, octopus), this information is needed towards the future implementation of enhanced fisheries management policies. A relatively small area of 1,240 km2 in the north-western portion of Yucatan was selected because of its importance as local fishing grounds. Its seascapes were defined and characterized through three climatic seasons (dry, rainy, northerly-winds) from 2009 to 2010 using SCUBA and videotran-sect methodology. Significant differences in benthic covers were found between seasons using ANOSIM, and a classifica-tion scheme of six constant seascapes was obtained using hierarchical clustering. SIMPER analysis highlighted similitude and differences between seascapes on each season. The relationship between different benthic cover types and the substrates was explored using CCA and MDS analyses. The main driving factors to the benthic composition of the

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