Molecular Identification of Ichthyoplankton in Cabo Pulmo National Park 1 Using molecular identification of ichthyoplankton to monitor 2 spawning activity in a subtropical no-take Marine Reserve 3 4 5 6 Ana Luisa M. Ahern1, *, Ronald S. Burton1, Ricardo J. Saldierna-Martínez2, Andrew F. Johnson1, 7 Alice E. Harada1, Brad Erisman1,4, Octavio Aburto-Oropeza1, David I. Castro Arvizú3, Arturo R. 8 Sánchez-Uvera2, Jaime Gómez-Gutiérrez2 9 10 11 12 1Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California 13 San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA 14 2Departamento de Plancton y Ecología Marina, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, 15 Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CP 23096, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico 16 3Cabo Pulmo National Park, Baja California Sur, Mexico 17 4The University of Texas at Austin, Marine Science Institute, College of Natural Sciences, 18 Port Aransas, Texas, USA 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 *Corresponding author:
[email protected] 1 Molecular Identification of Ichthyoplankton in Cabo Pulmo National Park 26 ABSTRACT: Ichthyoplankton studies can provide valuable information on the species richness 27 and spawning activity of fishes, complementing estimations done using trawls and diver surveys. 28 Zooplankton samples were collected weekly between January and December 2014 in Cabo 29 Pulmo National Park, Gulf of California, Mexico (n=48). Fish larvae and particularly eggs are 30 difficult to identify morphologically, therefore the DNA barcoding method was employed to 31 identify 4,388 specimens, resulting in 157 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) corresponding 32 to species. Scarus sp., Halichoeres dispilus, Xyrichtys mundiceps, Euthynnus lineatus, 33 Ammodytoides gilli, Synodus lacertinus, Etrumeus acuminatus, Chanos chanos, Haemulon 34 flaviguttatum, and Vinciguerria lucetia were the most abundant and frequent species recorded.