and parks, including the Arrecifes de Cozumel National
Park, the National Park Arrecife de Puerto Morelos, the
Sian Ka’an biosphere reserve, and the Hol Chan Marine
Reserve in Belize. To the credit of the Mexican government, three of these reserves are located in Quintana Roo.
Quintana Roo—blessed and cuRsed
Quintana Roo has a significant stretch of coral reef,
home to a rich diversity of marine species. Among the
stony coral species are Elkhorn Coral (Acropora palmata),
brain corals (Diploria strigosa, D. labyrinthiformis), Golf
Ball Coral (Favia fra-gum), star corals (
Mon-tastraea spp.), starlet corals (Siderastrea siderea,
S. radians), hydrozoan
or fire corals (Millepora
spp.), and finger corals
(Madracis spp.). Octocorals are very common
and may dominate entire
reef sections. The most
common octocorals are
a solitary Blue tang
(Acanthurus coeruleus)
swimming through a typical
Caribbean reef landscape,
surrounded by various
gorgonian species.
