First records of hydroid epibionts on the introduced macroalga in the Mexican Pacific.

Background: The red macroalga is an introduced species in the Mexican Pacific. To date, there are no published studies on its sessile epibionts, including the hydrozoans and bryozoans, which are the dominant epibionts on macrophytes and of significant biological and economic interest.

New Information: This study provides insight into the faunal diversity of hydroids growing on .

Records of the non-native alga (Rhodophyta) and their colonial epibionts in La Paz Bay, Gulf of California.

, a red alga considered an alien species, was discovered for the first time on the Pacific coast of Mexico in 2006 from a locality inside La Paz Bay, Gulf of California. Since then, more records have shown its presence, 17 localities having been added up to 2015. A two-year field study (2020-2022) visiting 31 sites along the coast of La Paz Bay, complemented with data from literature and citizen science, resulted in a database of 709 entries that spans the data from 2004 to 2023.

A survey of epibiont hydrozoans on .

The brown alga provides a natural substrate occupied by hydrozoans in shallow marine waters. A global count in 2007 listed 39 epibiotic species of Hydrozoa growing on , but more studies have been published since, therefore, an update is timely, particularly due to the increased abundance of in the Caribbean. This review, based on a recent literature survey and new records from Mexico, includes 133 publications of epibiotic hydrozoans on spanning 220 years, from 1802 to 2022.

Taxonomy and diversity of Hydrozoa (Cnidaria, Medusozoa) of La Paz Bay, Gulf of California.

The Mexican Pacific has been the focus of several research expeditions, with 90 species of hydromedusae and more than 200 species of hydroids recorded for the region. However, only a few of these reports include taxonomic descriptions, hindering inferences of the phylogenetic relationships, species boundaries, and diversity of Hydrozoa in Mexican waters. In this study, we present detailed and illustrated descriptions of new records of hydromedusae and hydroids for La Paz Bay, Gulf of California.

Epibiont hydroids on beachcast in the Mexican Caribbean.

Massive accumulations of pelagic species of have generated recent social, economic and ecological problems along Caribbean shores. In the Mexican Caribbean, these events have prompted the study of diverse biological and ecological aspects of these macroalgae. However, studies on their associated biota, including Hydrozoa, remain scarce.

Exoskeletons of Bougainvilliidae and other Hydroidolina (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa): structure and composition.

The exoskeleton is an important source of characters for the taxonomy of Hydroidolina. It originates as epidermal secretions and, among other functions, protects the coenosarc of the polypoid stage. However, comparative studies on the exoskeletal tissue origin, development, chemical, and structural characteristics, as well as its evolution and homology, are few and fragmented.