Influence of latitude, water depth, dayv.night and wetv.dry periods on the species composition of reef fish communities in tropical Western Australia

Abstract

Trap sampling over reefs in deep (mean ¼ 20 m) and shallow (mean ¼ 10 m) waters along c. 1500 km of coastline in tropical north-western Australia during both day and night and in wet and dry periods yielded 23 377 fishes, representing 32 families, 58 genera and 119 species. Individuals of the Serranidae, Lutjanidae, Lethrinidae and Carangidae contributed 88Á9% to the total catch. The ichthyofaunal compositions of the Kimberley, Canning and Pilbara bioregions were relatively discrete. Species composition was influenced far more by location (latitude) than by water depth, period and time of day, and underwent a gradational change southwards. The latter change reflected differences in the trends exhibited by the relative abundances of certain species with increasing latitude and the confinement of other species largely to particular regions. The three most abundant species, i.e. Lethrinus sp. 3, Lutjanus carponotatus and Lethrinus laticaudis contributed 34Á8, 20Á8 and 11Á6% to the total catch, respectively. The first species was rarely recorded in the two most northern locations and was abundant in the four most southern locations, whereas the last two species were relatively more abundant in northern than in southern locations. Lutjanus bitaeniatus and Lutjanus johnii were found exclusively at the two locations in the Kimberley region, whereas Abalistes stellatus, Pentapodus emeryii and Lethrinus nebulosus were not caught in this region but were found in both locations of the Canning and Pilbara regions. The species composition in deep and shallow waters at each location almost invariably differed significantly between day and night and between dry and wet periods, with species such as L. bitaeniatus, L. johnii, Lutjanus sebae and A. stellatus being more abundant over deep reefs, whereas L. carponotatus, L. laticaudis, Siganus fuscescens and Lethrinus lentjan were more numerous over shallow reefs. Species such as L. johnii and Lethrinus atkinsoni were relatively more important in night-time than daytime catches, whereas the reverse applied to Lethrinus lentjan, L. laticaudis and Choerodon cyanodus. Lethrinus sp. 3 and L. laticaudis were relatively more important in catches during the dry than wet period.

Comparison of the relative efficiencies of stereo-BRUVs and traps for sampling tropical continental shelf demersal fishes

“…This is consistent with the results of previous trapping studies Williams, 1995, 2001;Travers et al, 2006). Carpenter and Allen (1989) reported that most species of lethrinids feed at night, but recognize that many species 'forage coincidentally or purposefully during the day'.…”

Distribution and factors influencing on structure of reef fish communities in Nha Trang Bay Marine Protected Area, South-Central Vietnam

“…Some authors found that amount of living hard coral cover was positively related with fish species richness (Carpenter et al 1981;Bell and Galzin 1984;Cadoret et al 1999) whereas others recorded no such relationship (Luckhurst and Luckhurst 1978;Roberts and Ormond 1987;Lecchini et al 2003). Most recently, the spatial structure and distribution of fish assemblages have been related to water depth (Russ 1984a;Fowler 1990;Friedlander and Parrish 1998;Cadoret et al 1999;Lecchini et al 2003), exposure (Williams 1982;Victor 1986;Depczynski and Bellwood 2005), reef zone (Lecchini et al 2003;Depczynski and Bellwood 2005), distance from the shoreline to offshore waters (Williams 1982;Green et al 1987;Adjeroud et al 1998;Lecchini et al 2003) and geographical location (Travers et al 2006). In general, findings from previous studies on relationships between the spatial distribution and structure of reef fish communities and environmental factors have provided conflicting conclusions.…”

Distribution, abundance, diversity and habitat associations of fishes across a bioregion experiencing rapid coastal development

“…Habitat type and complexity are important determinants of the structure of fish assemblages (Friedlander and Parish, 1998;Almany, 2004;Travers et al, 2006Travers et al, , 2010Giakoumi and Kokkoris, 2013;Wakefield et al, 2013). Fish abundance, diversity and distribution has been shown to be positively correlated with the structural complexity of habitats, likely due to the additional refuge from predators and availability of resources (e.g.…”