Arrecife Punta Mocambo

Edit

Location on Continental Shelf
Inner-Shelf Bank
Width
0.60km
Length
2.50km

From: INE, 1992; Tunnell, 2007
Punta Mocambo is a fringing type reef. It forms part of the Systema Arrecifal Veracruzano, Veracruz Reef System (VRS) located off the city of Veracruz in the western Gulf of Mexico. Fringing reefs are found near the seashore, and Punta Mocambo is found just South of the Port of Veracruz. In 1992, the Mexican government declared the system a Natural Protected Area with a National Marine Park status.

Community Structure

Veracruz reefs especially around the port, have unique characteristics as compared to other reefs. These reefs are in an area with high concentrations of river sediment. The location, size, scleractinian diversity, coverage and topographic complexity of the reefs are probably controlled by a dynamic interaction between turbid fresh or brackish water from rivers and currents of clear marine water.

References

  • Instituto Nacional de Ecologia (INE). 1992. DECRETO por el que se declara área natural protegida con el carácter de Parque Marino Nacional, la zona conocida como Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano. Web accessed on Feb. 2, 2004.

  • Tunnell, J.W., Jr. 2007. Reef Distribution (chapter 2). In Tunnell, J.W. Jr., Chavez, E.O. and Withers, K. (eds) Coral Reefs of the Southern Gulf of Mexico. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX, 216 p.

Keywords