TITLE:
Environmental Deterioration of the Tecomate Coastal Lagoon, in the Guerrero State, Mexico
AUTHORS:
Salvador Villerías-Salinas, Juan Violante-González, Neftalí García-Castro, Lorena Alonzo-Guzmán
KEYWORDS:
Tecomate Lagoon, Environmental Parameters, Habitat Deterioration, Aquatic Ecosystem
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Geosciences,
Vol.7 No.1,
January
13,
2016
ABSTRACT: An exhaustive field study
was undertaken between November 2011 and August 2012, with the aim to know the
causes of the environmental deterioration of the Tecomate Lagoon, in the
Guerrero state, Mexico. Data of temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity
parameters and depth of the lagoon were interpolated using the Kriging
geostatistical method to generate a prediction surface. The lagoon registered a
great variation in its saline concentration, which ranged from 8.0 to 65.0 ppt,
with the lowest values in November 2011 and the highest at May 2012. The great
variability in the salinity throughout the year contributed in significant form
to the lagoon’s instability. An average water temperature of 32?C and dissolved
oxygen levels of 4.49 to 7.44 mg/L were recorded. The low depth registered in
the lagoon (mean = 1 m), is related to fluvial and marine processes, both of
which modify depth through the transport of sediment to its interior.
Currently, fishing is scarce, with the mangrove forest in some areas in a
process of deterioration due to a lack of moisture. The lagoon system is
undergoing a process of environmental deterioration, with an advanced ecological
succession and non-aquatic vegetable species colonizing the area surrounding
the lagoon.