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Cenotes biotope, a freshwater habitat in the forests of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico
BIOTOPE AQUARIA
A biotope aquaria is an aquarium that is set-up to simulate a natural habitat. The fish, plants, water chemistry, and furnishings are similar to those that can be found in a specific natural setting.
The Yucatan peninsula has virtually no surface streams due ot its limestone foundation -- a relic of its past life as coral reef on the bottom of the ocean. Ground water sinks through the porous limestone and travels to the sea in underground rivers and caves (formed from millenia of acidified water dissolving conduits in the limestone). To date, almost sixty cave systems with more than 300 miles of passageways have been discovered.
These underwater streams can be accessed through cenotes, sinkholes in the surface limestone. Below you will find pictures from a surface cenote and a cave cenote. Because the water is mineral rich and remarkably clear, plant growth is especially vigorous. The plants you see in these pictures are a Chara, or freshwater macroalgae, species. Chara is also known as "stonewort."
Fish
In the photos below you will find tetras, mollies, and catfish. Cenotes are also home to some of the following species:
Characidae
Astyanax fasciatus
Cichlids
Archocentrus octofasciatus
'Cichlasoma' urophthalmus
'Cichlasoma' synspilum
Parachromis friedrischstahli
Thorichthys meeki
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Cupleidae
Dorosoma sp.
Pimelodidae
Rhamdia guatemalensis
Poecilidae
Gambusia yucatana
Poecilia mexicana
Rivulidae
Rivulus tenuis
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[Other pictures from the Mexican Yucatan: caribbean | reefs | cenotes caves | lagoon | tulum | cancun region]
Except where noted, all images are the property of Rhett A. Butler, copyright 1994-2004. Contact me with questions regarding use, reproduction, or purchase of any of the pictures.
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Other Biotope Resources
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Recent news
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(01/25/2012)
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(01/05/2012)
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(12/22/2011)
Many of 2011's most dramatic stories on environmental issues came from people taking to the streets. With governments and corporations slow to tackle massive environmental problems, people have begun to assert themselves. Victories were seen on four continents: in Bolivia a draconian response to protestors embarrassed the government, causing them to drop plans to build a road through Tipnis, an indigenous Amazonian reserve; in Myanmar, a nation not known for bowing to public demands, large protests pushed the government to cancel a massive Chinese hydroelectric project; in Borneo a three-year struggle to stop the construction of a coal plant on the coast of the Coral Triangle ended in victory for activists; in Britain plans to privatize forests created such a public outcry that the government not only pulled back but also apologized; and in the U.S. civil disobedience and massive marches pressured the Obama Administration to delay a decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which would bring tar sands from Canada to a global market.
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