Publisher : Bulletin of Marine Science
Place of publication :
Publication year : 1999
Thematic : Coral Reef
Language : English
Note
Reef benthic attributes such as topography, substrate diversity, and live coral cover
have all been correlated with reef fish abundance, diversity, and distribution. In this study,
I examine the role of the branching coral Acropora palmata as habitat for reef fishes in
Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands. By contributing both significant coral cover and
topography to shallow reef environments, A. palmata can have a major influence on the
abundance and diversity of reef fish populations. Fish populations were surveyed in a
two-factorial design to determine the effects of coral cover and reef topography on fish
abundance and diversity. Within a single reef, four habitat types were sampled: (1) High
Topography/High Coral Cover, (2) High Topography/Low Coral Cover, (3) Low Topography/
High Coral Cover, and (4) Low Topography/Low Coral Cover. Areas dominated by
live A. palmata had significantly higher abundance of damselfishes, grunts, and snappers
compared to other reef areas without this coral species. Other groups, such as parrotfishes,
surgeonfishes, and wrasses, were abundant in areas with low topography and high cover
of macroalgae. Fish schools composed mainly of grunts and snappers were found almost
exclusively around live or dead A. palmata colonies. The high topography provided by A.
palmata was the main factor affecting fish distribution and abundance. However, coral
cover can be a significant factor for selected fish groups. The presence of significant
interactions between the factors tested, as well as conflicting results from previous studies,
suggest that it is unlikely that reef fishes respond directly to a single environmental
gradient in predictable fashion.
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Keywords : Indo-Pacific biogeography
Encoded by : Pauline Carmel Joy Eje