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KOPP, D.; BOUCHON-NAVARO, Y.; LOUIS, M.; LEGENDRE, P., and BOUCHON, C., 2012. Spatial and temporal variation in a Caribbean herbivorous fish assemblage. Journal of Coastal Research, 28(1A), 63-72. West Palm Beach (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.The present work analyses the spatial and temporal variations of the herbivorous fish assemblage on 10 coral reef sites in the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe (French West Indies). The herbivorous fish assemblage was assessed by visual census along band transects; environmental data were collected to determine the relationship between environmental conditions and temporal and spatial variations in herbivorous fish abundance and distribution. Spatial variation in species abundance was related to variation of the benthic cover (e.g., coral and algae), depth, and protection status among sites. Short-term fluctuations of herbivorous fishes on the reef flats were linked to tide, swell, and wind, whereas longterm variations were seasonal and highly correlated to annual water temperature oscillations. www.JCRonline.org ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: Canonical redundancy analysis (RDA), coral reefs, principal coordinates of neighbor matrices (PCNM), spatiotemporal variations.

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Fish communities were studied in 38 stations located in two mangrove lagoons of Guadeloupe (Caribbean): the bays of Petit Cul-de-Sac Marin (PCSM) and Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin (GCSM). Fishes were sampled with nets during the dry season, and 14 environmental descriptors were recorded in each site. A total of 105 fish species were observed in mangrove lagoons. Ordination analyses and classifications were performed on data sets related to fish presence-absence, abundance, and biomass. The PCSM stations and GCSM mangrove islets sites are characterised by an assemblage composed by fish species either found in coral reefs, seagrass beds, or mangroves. Distinct mangrove fish assemblages are found across environmental gradients linked to salinity, proximities of reefs and river mouths, and presence of seagrass beds. Considering trophic categories, planktivores are numerically dominant in most stations, whereas second-order carnivores and omnivores dominate in biomass in river mouths stations of the GCSM Bay. First-level carnivores are mainly observed in mangrove stations with neighbouring seagrass beds. These last results suggest that food availability plays an important role in the structure of mangrove fish communities in addition to abiotic factors.

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Hurricane Hugo swept the island of Guadeloupe (French est Ilmdies) on 16 and 17 September 1989. Sustained winds were of 140 knots and gusts exceeded 160 knots. This hurricane was one of the most devastating of the century for the Lesser Antilles.The mangroves were completely defoliated and anoxic conditions of the water induced considerable fish mortality. Consequently, the fish community was modified in terns of species composition, structure and biomass. Four months later, the fish assemblages of the mangroves returned to conditions previous to the humcane in species composition and community structure.The impact on the marine phanerogams was more destructive on the Syringodium Jiliforme seagrass beds than on those of ThaIassia testudinum. In this ecosystem, the effect of the humcane was minor on the fish community. Changes in the fish community occurred four months later in the seagrass beds and were apparently induced by a delayed mortality of the irhalassia testudinum.In the coral reef environment, the impact of the humcane surge on the coral community mainly affected the branched coral species located between the surfxe and 15 rn deep. The fish assemblages were not modified concerning their species composition.However, the proportion of juveniles in the community drastically dropped after the hurricane. Four months later, the proportion of juvenile fishes was still reduced.The overall effects of hurricane Hugo on the coastal fish communities of the island of Guadeloupe were minor considering the magnitude of the hurricane.

Weight-length relationships (WLR) are presented for 50 fish species from the seagrass beds of Guadeloupe and Martinique. Samples were taken in shallow waters (<2 m) with different types of fishing gear: seine net, hoop net and gill net. The b coefficient in the WLR varied between 2.63 and 3.61 and showed a mean value of 3.07 (SE ¼ ± 0.06).

SummaryWeight-length relationships (WLR) are reported for 20 fish species from the mangroves of Guadeloupe (Lesser Antilles). The fishes were collected using fishing hoop nets. In the present study, the regressions were calculated after separating juveniles and adults. The b coefficient in the WLR varied between 2.37 and 3.85, with a mean of 3.15 ± 0.15.