Peces de la plataforma continental de Michoacán y sus relaciones regionales en el Pacífico mexicano

Abstract

The ichthyofauna from the continental shelf of Michoacan (Mexico) was surveyed from June 1987 through June 1992 to produce a checklist of 257 species. The sample size and collection representativeness were validated by fitting a logistic model for the accumulative number of species (St=298.86(1-e-0.122t)). In agreement with this model, 85% of the maximum forecast for cumulative species that can be caught under the same sampling conditions (298), have been identified. A probable scenario for the regional species interrelationships was obtained with a multivariate analysis that includes 1180 species (rows) belonging to 16 checklists (columns) of the northwestern Pacific Ocean ichthyofauna. From the analysis, the species composition on the Pacific shelf of Michoacan seems to be influenced by conditions similar to those of northern areas (lower Gulf of California) and not only by the physiography of the narrow coastal shelf of Michoacan.