Community structure of fishes in Cabo Pulmo Reef, Gulf of California

Abstract

In order to analyse the structure of the fish community in Cabo Pulmo Reef., 36 cylindrical stationary censuses (5 m radius, 15 min of observation time) were conducted in October 2003 (warm season) and February 2004 (cold season). To explore the relationship with depth and associated variables, we considered a shallow stratum (<5 m) and a deep stratum (>5.5 m; depth range was between 2 and 15 m). Species richness, number of individuals, and the indices of diversity (Shannon), evenness (Pielou) and taxonomic distinctness were computed for each census. A total of 8725 fish were recorded (3829 in the warm season and 4896 in the cold season), belonging to 62 species, included in 23 families. Thalassoma lucasanum and Chromis atrilobata were the dominant species (62.5% of total abundance, and occurrence of 97% and 72%, respectively). Conversely, 50 species had low relative abundance, <1% of total abundance, and a frequency of occurrence <50% of the census. None of the ecological descriptors were significantly different between seasons (P > 0.5), but richness, abundance and taxonomic differentiation were higher in the deeper zone. The analysis of similarity and ordination analysis did not show consistent clusters by season or depth, but suggest similarity among census of deeper zones. Most species preference for physical factors associated with deeper zones maybe the reason for the pattern observed in this study.

A comparison of visual and collection-based methods for assessing community structure of coral reef fishes in the Tropical Eastern Pacific

“…in comparison with the Caribbean and the indo-Pacific regions, the number of studies describing reef fish communities in the Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) is relatively scarce (e.g., Pérez-España, Galván-Magaña & AbitiaCárdenas, 1996;Zapata & Morales, 1997;Aburto-Oropeza & Balart, 2001;Espinoza & Salas, 2005;Alvarez-Filip, Reyes-Bonilla & Calderon-Aguilera, 2006;Dominici-Arosemena & Wolff, 2006;Benfield, Baxter, Guzman & Mair, 2008; Galván-Villa, Arreola-Robles, Ríos-Jara & Rodriguez-Zaragoza, 2010). Moreover, all of these studies have been based on visual surveys, which are known to lead to an underestimation of community richness and population densities (Brock, 1982, Bellwood & Alcala, 1988.…”

Fish community structure on coral habitats with contrasting architecture in the Tropical Eastern Pacific

“…in accordance with the decrease in the number of planktivores recorded at the MCC, Alvarez-Filip et al (2011a) noted that at sites with a complex reefscape, the ratio of fish from high-trophic guilds (carnivores) to low trophic guilds (planktivores and herbivores) is reduced. The particularly high abundance of L. guttatus at the MCC (usually absent or at very low densities on TEP coral reefs; Zapata & Morales, 1997;Alvarez-Filip et al, 2006;Dominici-Arosemena & Wolff, 2006) along with the presence of large fishes usually associated with rocky habitats (e.g., Hoplopagrus guentherii, Mycteroperca spp., Lutjanus novemfasciatus; Robertson & Allen, 2006) may support the idea that structural reefscapes of massive corals and deep-rocky reefs can be analogous habitats with largely overlapping fish communities (Robertson, 1998;Bellwood, 1998;Dominici-Arosemena & Wolf, 2006).…”

“…Although reef fish communities from the Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) have received increasing attention in the last decade (e.g., Edgar, Barrett & Morton, 2004;Alvarez-Filip, Reyes-Bonilla & Calderon-Aguilera, 2006;Dominici-Arosemena & Wolff, 2006;Benfield et al, 2008), few studies have considered coral morphology (massive or branching) as an important factor influencing habitat structure and thus the composition and structure of fish assemblages in the region (Zapata & Morales, 1997;Dominici-Arosemena & Wolff, 2006;Benfield et al, 2008). For instance, Zapata & Morales (1997) noted that changes in fish richness and evenness among reef zones within a fringing coral reef responded to the relative distribution of massive and branching coral types.…”

La acuariofilia de especies ornamentales marinas: un mercado

“…Estos ecosistemas marinos representan una importante fuente de recursos naturales, incluyendo muchas de las especies de peces e invertebrados marinos más apreciados en el mundo y con potencial para el cultivo. Tan solo en el golfo de California se captura aproximadamente el 5% de las especies marinas que se extraen en todo el mundo (320 especies), de éstas, 150 corresponden a peces y 170 a invertebrados (Piña-Espallarga, 2000;Martínez-Pecero et al, 2009 (Arreola-Robles & Elorduy-Garay, 2002;Alvarez-Filip et al, 2006;Martínez-Pecero et al, 2009;Moreno et al, 2009;Anguas-Vélez & Contreras-Olguín, 2010). Dichas especies tienen una coloración muy atractiva y son relativamente fáciles de mantener como adultos en condiciones de cautiverio (Rajasekar et al, 2009).…”