Environmental complexity of a coastal lagoon of a mangrove ecosystem

Abstract

Laguna Pampa El Cabildo is a coastal lagoon within a mangrove ecosystem and is part of the El Cabildo Amatal protected natural area, so its conservation should be a priority for the three levels of government and for society. The objective focused on the proposal to construct an index of environmental complexity of the study lagoon, using some environmental variables, based on inferential statistics (p<0.05), a simple construction index that is easy to understand. Every two months, during the daytime high tide (DHT) and night-time high tide (NHT), in quadruplicate measures of temperature (°C), salinity, dissolved oxygen (mg/L), pH and turbidity (UNT) in 11 sampling points (p) were carried out. A descriptive analysis of the studied variables (average, standard deviation, minimum value and maximum value) was carried out, similarities temporal-spaces were explored (analysis of conglomerates) and environmental complexity index was proposed (ECI), having as a basis the analysis of variance, with levels which go from a very heterogeneous/complex system to a homogeneous/non-complex system. A broad average variation of the analyzed factors among months and a less variation among sampling points were registered. The analysis of similarity highlighted, in four of the five analyzed variables, similarities in the S1 and S2, showing this area as an environmental unit different to the rest of the lagoon. The calculated ECI describe a temporarily complex lagoon (0.25 and 0.35) and spatially a little complex (0.69 and 0.79) as in DHT as in NHT respectively. It is suggested to consider the environmental units and the identified levels of complexity in this study, to make decisions for conservation of the lagoon.