In addition, FAO recognizes that some countries have established measures to
reduce bycatch in certain fisheries, through which the ships find it much easier to
avoid capture of unwanted species (Sommer 2005). The pervasive trend of
overfishing, and increasing examples of local extinctions requires immediate
action for conserving stocks, biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and resilience
from other stressors than overfishing (e.g. global warming and ocean acidification)
to ensure the ecological, social and economic benefits of these natural resources
(Toral-Granda et al. 2008).
2.6 Concluding Remarks and Recommendations
The geographic position of Mexico surrounded by two oceans, two gulfs and its
tropical location, explains its extraordinary biodiversity in terms of coastal and
marine resources and ecosystems, making this country one of the most biodiverse
on the planet.
The earliest published article that included work on echinoderms from Mexico
dates back to Louis Agassiz in 1841, who reported the existence of the sand dollar
Mellita hexapora (as M. quinquiesperforata) for the Gulf of Mexico (Veracruz).
Thus began a period of exploration in which most of the species from Mexican
waters were described (Verrill 1870, 1871; Perrier 1881; Lyman 1883; Théel 1886;
Agassiz 1878–1879, 1888). During the twentieth century, few expeditions took
place but several non-Mexican authors wrote reports that included echinoderms
from Mexican marine waters (Ludwig 1905; Clark 1913, 1917, 1920a, b, 1923a, b,
1933, 1948, 1916, 1918, 1954; Boone 1926; Ziesenhenne 1937, 1940, 1942;
Deichmann 1930, 1937, 1951, 1958; Steinbeck and Ricketts 1941; Domantay
1953, 1961). It was not until 1939 when Mexican expeditions began and more
species were added to the developing list of species (Caso 1941, 1943, 1944, 1945,
1946, 1947, 1948a, b, 1949, 1951a, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1961a, b, 1962a, b,
1963, 1964, 1965, 1967a, b, 1968a, b, c, 1970, 1971a, b, c, 1972a, b, c, 1974a, b, c,
1975, 1976, 1977, 1978a, b, 1979a, b, c). The UNAM began the first attempt to
organize and classify Mexican echinoderm fauna into a comprehensive scientific
collection. The knowledge of the Mexican echinoderms continued to increase in
the Mexican Echinoderm National Collection at the end of the twentieth century
and the beginning of the twenty-first century, with new curators and the incorporation of several students. The papers published include description of new
species, checklists, taxonomic and biogeographic studies as well as morphological
and molecular phylogenies (Caso 1979a, b, c, 1980a, b, 1983a, b, 1984, 1986a, b,
1990, 1992; Buitron and Solis-Marin 1993; Caso et al. 1994a, b, 1996; Caso
1996a, b, c, d; Solis-Marin et al. 1997a, b, 2003, 2005, 2007a, 2007, 2009; CintraBuenrostro et al. 1998; Bravo-Tzompantzi et al. 1999, Solis-Marin and LaguardaFigueras 1999, 2010a, b; Godinez-Dominguez and Gonzalez-Sanson 1999;
Barbosa-Ledesma et al. 2000; Laguarda-Figueras et al. 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005a,
b, 2009; Duran-Gonzalez et al. 2005; Trujillo-Luna and Gonzalez-Vallejo 2006;
2 The Echinoderms of Mexico
47
reduce bycatch in certain fisheries, through which the ships find it much easier to
avoid capture of unwanted species (Sommer 2005). The pervasive trend of
overfishing, and increasing examples of local extinctions requires immediate
action for conserving stocks, biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and resilience
from other stressors than overfishing (e.g. global warming and ocean acidification)
to ensure the ecological, social and economic benefits of these natural resources
(Toral-Granda et al. 2008).
2.6 Concluding Remarks and Recommendations
The geographic position of Mexico surrounded by two oceans, two gulfs and its
tropical location, explains its extraordinary biodiversity in terms of coastal and
marine resources and ecosystems, making this country one of the most biodiverse
on the planet.
The earliest published article that included work on echinoderms from Mexico
dates back to Louis Agassiz in 1841, who reported the existence of the sand dollar
Mellita hexapora (as M. quinquiesperforata) for the Gulf of Mexico (Veracruz).
Thus began a period of exploration in which most of the species from Mexican
waters were described (Verrill 1870, 1871; Perrier 1881; Lyman 1883; Théel 1886;
Agassiz 1878–1879, 1888). During the twentieth century, few expeditions took
place but several non-Mexican authors wrote reports that included echinoderms
from Mexican marine waters (Ludwig 1905; Clark 1913, 1917, 1920a, b, 1923a, b,
1933, 1948, 1916, 1918, 1954; Boone 1926; Ziesenhenne 1937, 1940, 1942;
Deichmann 1930, 1937, 1951, 1958; Steinbeck and Ricketts 1941; Domantay
1953, 1961). It was not until 1939 when Mexican expeditions began and more
species were added to the developing list of species (Caso 1941, 1943, 1944, 1945,
1946, 1947, 1948a, b, 1949, 1951a, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1961a, b, 1962a, b,
1963, 1964, 1965, 1967a, b, 1968a, b, c, 1970, 1971a, b, c, 1972a, b, c, 1974a, b, c,
1975, 1976, 1977, 1978a, b, 1979a, b, c). The UNAM began the first attempt to
organize and classify Mexican echinoderm fauna into a comprehensive scientific
collection. The knowledge of the Mexican echinoderms continued to increase in
the Mexican Echinoderm National Collection at the end of the twentieth century
and the beginning of the twenty-first century, with new curators and the incorporation of several students. The papers published include description of new
species, checklists, taxonomic and biogeographic studies as well as morphological
and molecular phylogenies (Caso 1979a, b, c, 1980a, b, 1983a, b, 1984, 1986a, b,
1990, 1992; Buitron and Solis-Marin 1993; Caso et al. 1994a, b, 1996; Caso
1996a, b, c, d; Solis-Marin et al. 1997a, b, 2003, 2005, 2007a, 2007, 2009; CintraBuenrostro et al. 1998; Bravo-Tzompantzi et al. 1999, Solis-Marin and LaguardaFigueras 1999, 2010a, b; Godinez-Dominguez and Gonzalez-Sanson 1999;
Barbosa-Ledesma et al. 2000; Laguarda-Figueras et al. 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005a,
b, 2009; Duran-Gonzalez et al. 2005; Trujillo-Luna and Gonzalez-Vallejo 2006;
2 The Echinoderms of Mexico
47