Motile cryptofauna inhabiting coral reefs are complex assemblages that utilize the space available among dead coral stands and the surrounding coral rubble substrate. They comprise a group of organisms largely overlooked in biodiversity estimates because they are hard to collect and identify, and their collection causes disturbance that is unsustainable in light of widespread reef degradation. Artificial substrate units (ASUs) provide a better sampling alternative and have the potential to enhance biodiversity estimates. The present study examines the effectiveness of ASUs made with defaunated coral rubble to estimate the diversity of motile cryptic crustaceans in the back-reef zone of the Puerto Morelos Reef National Park, Mexico. Species richness, Simpson’s diversity index, Shannon–Wiener index and the composition of assemblages were compared between ASUs and samples from the surrounding coral rubble substrate. A combined total of 2,740 specimens of 178 different species, belonging to five orders of Crustacea (Amphipoda, Cumacea, Isopoda, Tanaidacea and Decapoda) were collected. Species richness was higher in the surrounding coral rubble and Shannon–Wiener and Simpson indexes were higher in ASUs. Species composition differed between methods, with only 71 species being shared among sampling methods. Decapoda was more speciose in ASUs and Peracarids in the surrounding coral rubble. Combining the use of ASUs with surrounding rubble provided a better inventory of motile cryptic crustacean biodiversity, as 65% of the species were represented by one or two specimens.

中文翻译：

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使用人工基质单元来改善加勒比珊瑚礁上隐匿甲壳类物种的库存

栖息在珊瑚礁中的活动隐匿动物群是复杂的组合，它们利用死珊瑚群和周围珊瑚碎石基质之间的可用空间。它们包括一组生物，在生物多样性估计中基本上被忽视，因为它们很难收集和识别，而且它们的收集会造成干扰，鉴于珊瑚礁普遍退化，这种干扰是不可持续的。人工基质单元 (ASU) 提供了更好的抽样替代方案，并有可能提高生物多样性估计。本研究检查了用去动物区系的珊瑚碎石制成的 ASU 的有效性，以估计墨西哥莫雷洛斯港礁国家公园后礁区活动性隐蔽甲壳类动物的多样性。物种丰富度，辛普森多样性指数，香农-维纳指数和组合的组成在 ASU 和来自周围珊瑚碎石基质的样品之间进行了比较。总共收集了 178 个不同物种的 2,740 个标本，属于甲壳纲 5 个目（片足纲、库马科、等足纲、塔奈达科和十足目）。周围珊瑚碎石中的物种丰富度更高，ASU 中的香农-维纳和辛普森指数更高。不同方法之间的物种组成不同，采样方法之间只有 71 个物种是相同的。十足目动物在周围珊瑚瓦砾中的 ASU 和 Peracarids 中更为特殊。将 ASU 的使用与周围的碎石相结合，可以更好地了解能动的隐蔽甲壳类动物的生物多样性，因为 65% 的物种由一两个标本代表。