Benthic ecology of tropical coastal lagoons: Environmental changes over the last decades in the Términos Lagoon, Mexico

Abstract : 21 Terminos Lagoon is a 2000 km 2 wide coastal lagoon linked to the largest river catchment in Mesoamerica. Economic 22 development, together with its ecological importance, led the Mexican government to pronounce Terminos Lagoon and 23 its surrounding wetlands as a Federal protected area for flora and fauna in 1994. It is characterized by small temperature 24 fluctuations but with two distinct seasons (wet and dry) that control the biological, geochemical and physical processes 25 and components. This paper presents a review of available information on Terminos Lagoon. The review shows that 26 diversity of benthic communities is structured by the balance between marine and riverine inputs and that this 27 structuration strongly influences the benthic metabolism and its coupling with the biogeochemistry of the water column. 28 The paper also presents a number of specific drivers and recommendations for a long term environmental survey strategy 29 in the context of expected Global Change in the Centro America region. 30 31