Distribution and status of living colonies of spp. in the reef crests of a protected marine area of the Caribbean (Jardines de la Reina National Park, Cuba).

The reef crests of the Jardines de la Reina National Park (JRNP) are largely formed by , but colonies of and the hybrid are also present. This study shows spatial distribution of colonies, thickets and live fragments of these species in the fore reefs. Snorkeling was used to perform the direct observations. The maximum diameter of 4,399 colonies of was measured and the health of 3,546 colonies was evaluated. The same was done to 168 colonies of and 104 colonies of . The influence of the location and marine currents on a number of living colonies of was analyzed. For such purpose, reef crests were divided into segments of 500 m. The marine park was divided into two sectors: East and West. The Caballones Channel was used as the reference dividing line. The park was also divided into five reserve zones. We counted 7,276 live colonies of spp. 1.4% was , 3.5% and 95.1% . There were 104 thickets of , ranging from eight to 12 colonies, and 3,495 fragments; 0.6% was and the rest (99.4%). In the East sector, 263 colonies (3.8% of the total), six thickets (5.8%) and 32 fragments (1%) of were recorded. In the same sector, there were 11 fragments (50%) of and two (2%) colonies of . Health of was evaluated as good and not so good in the study area. Health of was critical and health of was good in all five reserve zones. There was a significant increase in the number of colonies from east to west (Χ2 = 11.5, gl = 3.0, = 0.009). This corroborates the existence of an important abundance differences between the eastern and the western region of the JRNP. A negative relationship was observed between the number of colonies and the distance from the channel (Χ2 = 65.0, df = 3.0, < 0.001). The influence of the channel, for the live colonies of is greater within the first 2,000 m. It then decreases until approximately 6,000 m, and no significant increase beyond. The orientation of the reef crests significantly influenced the abundance of the colonies (Χ2 = 15.5, df = 2.9, = 0.001). The results presented here provide a baseline for future research on the status of the populations of spp., considering that there has been a certain recovery of the species during the last 10-16 years. Given the current status of the populations of spp., conservation actions focusing should be prioritized.