Here we show the importance of these reefs and the main stressors to which they are exposed. We explain the criteria to account this ecological corridor under the figure of a network of marine protected areas. To arrive at this proposal, we conducted a qualitative approach at different spatial scales. First, we considered the large region which includes the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). The GoM was divided according to their geological characteristics and the presence of reef systems. With this, we identified the factors that group these reef systems into two sets, according to the type of continental shelf, either carbonated or sedimentary. At a smaller

spatial scale for sedimentary platform reefs, we integrate information about the presence of scleractinian coral species, the main environmental APO866 characteristics, the relationship with human uses and the pressures Small Molecule Compound Library to which they are subjected. This information was obtained from published data for different reef systems and expert knowledge in each of

the areas. Evidence of connectivity between different reef systems was collected from the scientific literature, considering existing data on benthic organisms. We must emphasize that the main purpose of this paper is to set the conceptual basis to coordinate research efforts and management of this Reef Corridor, and the establishment of the first Mexican Marine Protected Area Network in the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf

of Mexico is a Large Marine Ecosystem (Sherman, 1991) with a mixture of ecological characteristics of temperate and tropical environments. It is an inland sea whose basin of 1.5 × 106 km2 (Bryant et al., 1991) receives discharges from rivers that led to the formation of environmentally and biologically diverse coastal systems. Coral reefs require particular oceanographic and environmental conditions such as shallow, oligotrophic, and warm (>20° C) marine Pyruvate dehydrogenase waters, with an optimum between 26 and 28 °C, with salinities of 33–36 ups, minimal turbidity and sedimentation, well lit and with low wave energy (Hubbard, 1997; Carricart-Ganivet, 2004). However, in the Gulf of Mexico, some reefs developed despite the conditions of turbidity, sedimentation, temperature and organic inputs, produced by natural disturbances and human activities (Salas-Pérez and Granados-Barba, 2008, Salas-Pérez and Arenas, 2010, Pérez-España et al., 2012, Tunnell, 1992, Godínez-Ortega et al., 2009, Gutiérrez-Ruiz et al., 2011 and Ortiz-Lozano, 2012). In the Gulf of Mexico, reefs are distributed in two major groups linked to the environmental features of the continental shelf were they are located: the terrigenous platform present in West and North, and the Southeastern carbonate platform (Fig. 1).