Diversity and Distribution of Bryozoans in the Pelican Cays, Belize, Central America

Thirty-one species of bryozoans were found in mangrove communities in the Pelican Cays. Only in the large lagoon pond at Fisherman’s Cay was the dominant bryozoan a common Caribbean fouling species, Schizoporella pungens. At Northeast Cay, Ridge Cay, Manatee Cay, and Cat Cay, as well as the small lagoon ponds at Fisherman’s Cay, bryozoan species normally associated with shallow reef habitats formed extensive colonies on the submerged hanging roots of red mangroves along banks or undercuts bordering the lagoon ponds. Stylopoma sp., Steginoporella magnilabris, Trematooecia aviculifera, Hippopodina feegeensis, and Rhynchozoon verruculatum were the most abundant species overall. However, presence and relative abundance of these reef species varied from cay-to-cay. The overlapping thalli of Lobophora variegata covered much of the surface on vertical peat banks and on mangrove roots in well-shaded areas. The undersides of the thalli hosted a cryptic bryozoan fauna, consisting of delicate branching and encrusting colonies, which shared some species with both mangrove root and seagrass bryozoan assemblages. Eighteen species, including five undescribed species, were found in the Lobophora habitat.