Coral Reef Fishes Research Papers (original) (raw)

2025, Fisheries Management and Conservation

From a conservationist perspective, seahorses are threatened fishes. Concomitantly, from a socioeconomic perspective, they represent a source of income to many fishing communities in developing countries. An integration between these two views requires, among other things, the recognition that seahorse fishers have knowledge and abilities that can assist the implementation of conservation strategies and of management plans for seahorses and their habitats. This paper documents the knowledge held by Brazilian fishers on the biology and ecology of the longsnout seahorse Hippocampus reidi. Its aims were to explore collaborative approaches to seahorse conservation and management in Brazil; to assess fishers' perception of seahorse biology and ecology, in the context evaluating potential management options; to increase fishers' involvement with seahorse conservation in Brazil. Data were obtained through questionnaires and interviews made during field surveys conducted in fishing villages located in the States of Piauí, Ceará, Paraíba, Maranhão, Pernambuco and Pará. We consider the following aspects as positive for the conservation of seahorses and their habitats in Brazil: fishers were willing to dialogue with researchers; although captures and/or trade of brooding seahorses occurred, most interviewees recognized the importance of reproduction to the maintenance of seahorses in the wild (and therefore of their source of income), and expressed concern over population declines; fishers associated the presence of a ventral pouch with reproduction in seahorses (regardless of them knowing which sex bears the pouch), and this may facilitate the construction of collaborative management options designed to eliminate captures of brooding specimens; fishers recognized microhabitats of importance to the maintenance of seahorse wild populations; fishers who kept seahorses in captivity tended to recognize the condtions as poor, and as being a cause of seahorse mortality.

2025, Arabian Journal of Geosciences

In recent years the Government of Egypt initiated the efforts towards developing a navigation system in River Nile in Egypt. These efforts will increase the revenue from tourism; reduce the cost of shipping and the load on transportation network and overcome tourism ships which stuck near Luxor and Aswan city that happed every year during the peak of the tourism season between November-February due to decrease in water level that can affect 300 tourism boats with a capacity for accommodating over 60,000 tourists per week. Developing River Nile navigation system depends on the availability of updated data and information for River Nile depths all over the year in order to identify the best route that can be used for ships. River Nile water level always changes that effect changing of River Nile depths. This point is critical and has entertained thinking about using remote sensing technology that can derive bathymetric data from high-resolution multispectral satellite imagery. In this paper, Stumpf algorithm for estimating shallow water depth from multispectral data is applied in our study area near Esna district. This methodology is based on linear logarithm ratio model between image bands; the retrieved bathymetry is compared with echo sounder data. The validation results show that the applied method has acceptable performance, and the Root Mean Square Error (RMSEr) is 0.79 m. Then the second part in this paper building an automated navigation system for River Nile fleet in Egypt using Linear Reference and Dynamic Segmentation techniques based on the above retrieved bathymetry data and the other available collected data from different resources. The developed application is integration between Geomatics Engineering and Software Engineering on how maps, data, functions and information were used in a useful way using programming language to allow operation of all inertial navigation.

2025, Nature Communications

Larval metamorphosis and recruitment represent critical life-history transitions for most teleost fishes. While the detrimental effects of anthropogenic stressors on the behavior and survival of recruiting fishes are well-documented, the physiological mechanisms that underpin these patterns remain unclear. Here, we use pharmacological treatments to highlight the role that thyroid hormones (TH) play in sensory development and determining antipredator responses in metamorphosing convict surgeonfish, Acanthurus triostegus. We then show that high doses of a physical stressor (increased temperature of +3 °C) and a chemical stressor (the pesticide chlorpyrifos at 30 µg L -1 ) induced similar defects by decreasing fish TH levels and affecting their sensory development. Stressor-exposed fish experienced higher predation; however, their ability to avoid predation improved when they received supplemental TH. Our results highlight that two different anthropogenic stressors can affect critical developmental and ecological transitions via the same physiological pathway. This finding provides a unifying mechanism to explain past results and underlines the profound threat anthropogenic stressors pose to fish communities.

2025, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries

The issue on the overfishing of parrotfishes, locally known as “molmol” (subfamily Scarinae under family Labridae), in the coastal waters of Bohol province in Central Visayas has been raised by the Provincial Agricultural and Fishery Council (PAFC) of Bohol through Resolution No. 1 series of 2018 that pushes for the implementation of “open and closed fishing season” of all parrotfishes in the entire province. In any management intervention, baseline assessment of the stocks in question should be done as a significant basis for appropriate measures to be taken, thus this study. In Bohol, apart from the economic value, they carry essential functions in maintaining the ecological balance in the reef ecosystem. Parrotfishes are considered economically important as preferred fish among locals and tourists. The stock assessment of parrotfishes in Danajon Bank in the Bohol Sea and Cebu Strait was conducted by the National Stock Assessment Program (NSAP) Region 7 from 2015 to 2018 in 16 coa...

2025, Jurnal Ilmu dan Teknologi Kelautan Tropis

There are some marine sanctuaries (DPL) which are managed together by its societies in North Minahasa regency. From 19 villages with DPL, we conducted surveys using point intercept transect in 14 villages both inside and outside DPL in the subdistrict West Likupang and East Likupang, North Minahasa. Result showed that live coral cover was in general in moderate to excellent conditions both inside and outside DPL. Reef fish recorded in the study areas consisted of 267 reef fish species which categorized into 40 families. Bahoi village had the highest abundance and biomass within the DPL due to a very good condition of coral reef ecosystemn (>75% coral cover) both inside and outside DPL. Biomass of reef fish outside DPL of Bahoi was small but its abundance was the highest. This conditions indicated that the size of reef fish outside of Bahoi DPL was small and this gave a positive perspective to supply fishes into the outside region of Bahoi DPL. Overall, marine sanctuary in North Minahasa contained reef fish community structure in good condition, moderate diversity, relatively labile of evenness index, and low dominance. Grouping by similarity, reef fish species were generally similar in all locations. The separation of DPL locations produced some different fishes group due to its different location, oceanographic conditions, and characters.

2025, PLoS ONE

Lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) have invaded the majority of the Caribbean region within five years. As voracious predators of native fishes with a broad habitat distribution, lionfish are poised to cause an unprecedented disruption to coral reef diversity and function. Controls of lionfish densities within its native range are poorly understood, but they have been recorded in the stomachs of large-bodied Caribbean groupers. Whether grouper predation of lionfish is sufficient to act as a biocontrol of the invasive species is unknown, but pest biocontrol by predatory fishes has been reported in other ecosystems. Groupers were surveyed along a chain of Bahamian reefs, including one of the region's most successful marine reserves which supports the top one percentile of Caribbean grouper biomass. Lionfish biomass exhibited a 7-fold and nonlinear reduction in relation to the biomass of grouper. While Caribbean grouper appear to be a biocontrol of invasive lionfish, the overexploitation of their populations by fishers, means that their median biomass on Caribbean reefs is an order of magnitude less than in our study. Thus, chronic overfishing will probably prevent natural biocontrol of lionfishes in the Caribbean.

2025

The workshop was developed primarily to assist countries in identifying possible national management and monitoring strategies that could be implemented in their countries to promote sustainable harvest of seahorses and properly implement the CITES Appendix-II listing for these species. The workshop would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of the steering committee, John

2025, Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute Meeting

Baraderes-Cayemite marine protected area (MPA) *Established by Presidential Decree on April 7, 2017. *Extends over 157 km of the coastal zone and encompasses 87,303.5 hectares of marine and coastal ecosystems, 51% marine, and 49% terrestrial. *Includes habitats like coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass beds that support diverse marine life, including a deep-water nursery for critically endangered oceanic whitetip sharks, nesting sites for critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle and habitat for the vulnerable sperm whale, endangered manatee, and near threatened spotted eagle rays. *Managed by Haiti's National Agency for Protected Areas (ANAP). Haiti Ocean Project is the co-manager of the Baraderes-Cayemite MPA with ANAP.

2025

A partir de 2005 se viene realizando el estudio de la riqueza, composicion y condicion en que se encuentra la comunidad coralina de 5 arrecifes representativos del PNALR. Como metodologia de estudio se han utilizado en cada arrecife bandas transeptos de 10m2, colocandose tres en la zona somera y tres en una zona mas profunda, areas dentro de las cuales se registran todas las especies de corales y se evalua su condicion de salud. Se han visitado ademas otras 23 zonas coralinas del parque y registrado mediante buceos aleatorios, las especies coralinas presentes. Hasta la fecha se han identificado un total de 55 especies de corales petreos y 4 de hidrozoos. Es necesario realizar un mayor numero de censos visuales mediante buceos aleatorios, ya que el numero aqui reportado subestima aun la riqueza previamente reportada en la decada de los 80 (69 sp y 8 ecomorfos), aunque no podemos descartar la posible desaparicion de especies poco abundantes en el archipielago y/o la disminucion de est...

2025, Gunawan Diki Putra Genuni, S.Pi

2025, Marine Biology

Planktonic larvae of six genera of labrid and pomacentrid reef fishes were captured in March 1985 in the eastern Pacific Ocean several hundred kilometers from the nearest reefs. The larvae were identified to genus by fin-ray counts as well as by comparison of their larval otolith morphology with that of known species. The larval otolith morphologies of known species were derived from measurements of the larval otolith embedded within the otoliths of settled juveniles (as delineated by the daily otolith-increment marks corresponding to the late larval period). The body morphology and melanophore patterns of the eastern Pacific labrid and pomacentrid larvae closely matched those of congeneric larvae described from other oceans. Growth rates of larvae less than about 70 d old were similar between taxa (from 0.1 3 to 0. ). After about 70 d in the plankton, labrid larvae grew much more slowly (0.06 mm d-' in Xyrichtys sp.). Labrid larvae had long larval durations (up to 13 1 d in Xyrichtys sp.), while the larval lives of the pomacentrids appeared to be shorter and much less variable. Larvae of many different ages occurred within the same water mass, and young cohorts of larvae appeared continuously over the sampling period. Some larvae were as young as 21 d, indicating that reef-fish larvae are capable of rapid long-distance dispersal (at least 18 km d-').

2025, Marine Pollution Bulletin

The New Caledonian archipelago is an important hotspot of marine biodiversity. Due to mining activities, urbanization, and industrialization, significant amounts of contaminants are discharged into the lagoon. This study analysed the concentrations, spatial distribution, and potential drivers of 14 metallic compounds and trace elements (MTEs) and 22 persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in ~400 coral reef fish sampled from various sites around New Caledonia, across a gradient from mining centers to remote, uninhabited locations. Boosted regression trees modelling explained between 61 and 86 % of the global variation in MTEs and POPs concentration. Fish body size emerged as the most important correlate of MTEs and POPs concentrations in coral reef fish. Monthly rainfalls were the second most important variable for POPs, whereas the reef area was the second variable explaining MTE concentrations. Our modelling approach allowed us to predict and map the distribution of concentrations at the fish community level for 17 contaminants (9 MTEs and 8 POPs). Predicted concentrations ranged from ~1.5 ng.g-1 (β-endosulfan) to ~11.5 μg.g-1 (Ni), and revealed a widespread contamination throughout the lagoon, from the coast to the barrier reef. Contamination by mining-related elements (Ni, Cr…) were clearly influenced by the surface area of mining registry and to lithology to a lesser extent, whereas Hg contamination strongly depended on biological variables. Our study is the largest of its kind at the archipelago scale, combining data on 36 contaminants in ~400 fish samples with a modelling framework offering insights into underlying processes and spatial data for policy use.

2025

Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Administrative Reports are issued to promptly disseminate scientific and technical information to marine resource managers, scientists, and general public. Their contents cover a range of topics, including biological and economic research, stock assessment, trends in fisheries, and other subjects. Administrative Reports typically have not been reviewed outside the Center. As such, they are considered informal publications. The material presented in Administrative Reports may later be published in the formal scientific literature after more rigorous verification, editing, and peer review. Other publications are free to cite Administrative Reports as they wish provided the informal nature of the contents is clearly indicated and proper credit is given to the author(s).

2025, IJSER

Coral reefs are made of calcium carbonate, which corals secrete. Construction of a Habitat for millions of animals that live under water takes several years, and it's a beautiful work of nature. This may sound interesting, but it has recently become a nightmare after scientists revealed that coral reefs are on the brink of extinction. Many ecosystems, water sources, underwater water banks, and now even coral reefs have been threatened by environmental hazards. The Great Barrier Reef is a big one, and Qatar has a huge one as well.

2025, NUEVO CONOCIMIENTO SOBRE EL CORREDOR ARRECIFAL DEL SUROESTE DEL GOLFO DE MÉXICO: integrando los ambientes costeros

Dentro del Corredor Arrecifal del Suroeste del Golfo de México (casgm) se han realizado diversos estudios que abordan a uno de sus componentes biológicos más importantes: los peces; sin embargo, aún existen vacíos de información sobre el grupo en este corredor. Aunque existen listados de las especies de peces, éstos no han sido reunidos para los arrecifes del casgm. Asimismo, se desconoce el grado de conectividad y similitud de los ensambles ictiofaunísticos presentes en dicho corredor. El presente estudio aborda estas temáticas compilando y analizando la literatura publicada, para conocer el grado de conectividad y dinámica de los ensambles comunitarios a lo largo de las regiones norte, centro y sur del casgm. La actualización taxonómica de las especies reportadas se realizó con el criterio de Fricke, la conectividad se abordó usando el índice de diversidad beta de Whittaker modificado (β) y los ensambles comunitarios se abordaron a través de un análisis canónico parcial (cca). Con base en la información recopilada, la diversidad íctica del casgm asciende a 525 especies agrupadas en 34 órdenes, 102 familias y 270 géneros. Las familias más importantes, que en conjunto representan el 50 % de la riqueza íctica, fueron Serranidae (51 spp, 9.7 %), Labridae (30 spp, 5.7 %; Labrinae:16 spp. y Scarinae: 14 spp), Gobiidae (30 spp, 5.7 %), Carangidae (23 spp, 4.4 %), Scianidae (19 spp, 3.6 %), Haemulidae (18 spp, 3.4 %), Pomacentridae (15 spp, 2.9 %), Labrisomidae (12 spp, 2.3 %), Lutjanidae (12 spp, 2.3 %), Ophichthidae (11 spp, 2.1 %), Paralichthyidae (11 spp, 2.1 %), así como Muraenidae, Clupeidae y Sparidae con 10 especies (1.9 %). A nivel de regiones, destaca la región centro que incluye el Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano (sav) con 494 especies, seguida por la región norte que incluye el Sistema Arrecifal Lobos-Tuxpan (salt) con 326 especies y, finalmente, la región sur que alberga a los arrecifes los Tuxtlas (at) con 128 especies. En el ámbito de arrecifes, destacan Lobos en la región norte con 259 spp, Verde en la región centro con 144 spp y Palo Seco en la región sur con 106 spp. A través de la diversidad β, considerada como indicador de conectividad, se estimó que las regiones que pudieran mantener mayor conectividad son la región norte con la región centro (β: 0.28), y en menor importancia la región centro con la región sur (β: 0.59). El análisis cca detectó que los ensambles comunitarios ícticos son particulares de cada región, es decir, se diferencian entre ellos; sin embargo, se presentan arrecifes sumergidos que muestran cambios en su estructura comunitaria tanto en la región norte como central, lo cual podría ser atribuido a sus orígenes (coralinos, no coralinos). En la región centro, los arrecifes Negrillo y Resuella (arrecifes rocosos sedimentarios) tienden a separarse de los arrecifes coralinos emergentes; mientras que los arrecifes coralinos sumergidos Piedras Altas, Cabo Nuevo y Corazones se separan de los coralinos emergentes de la región norte. En el presente estudio se actualiza la información de los peces en el casgm y brinda las pautas para entender la conectividad, así como los cambios en los ensambles comunitarios dentro y entre las regiones y sistemas arrecifales que integran este corredor.

2025, HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe)

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

2025

An annotated checklist of the fish species of the Madagascar EEZ (southwestern Indian Ocean) comprises a total of 1,798 species in 247 families. 158 species are recorded from Madagascar for the first time. The majority of the species is autochthonous; 28 species have been introduced, mainly in freshwater habitats. The fish fauna is mostly marine (95.4% of the total number of native fish species), with the Gobiidae, Labridae, Serranidae, Pomacentridae and Apogonidae being the families with most representatives; among the 90 native freshwater fish species (adults mainly occurring in freshwater), the Cichlidae are the dominating family, but there are also two endemic families, the Bedotiidae (16 species) and Anchariidae (6 species). The fish fauna at Madagascar is typical for offshore, high islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean. Zoogeographically, the main element of the marine fish fauna of Madagascar consists of widespread tropical Indo-Pacific species (978 species, 58.3% of the t...

2025, Revista Latinoamericana de …

2003 Germán Gutiérrez / Juan Carlos Riveros ASPECTOS CONDUCTUALES DE LA COMPETENCIA DE ESPERMA EN AVES Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología, , año/vol. 35, número 001 Fundación Universitaria Konrad Lorenz Bogotá, Colombia pp. 67-76 ...... more

2025

Redescription in travel to UW tour around Celuisky, Uespen Key of Los Roques Atoll. Venezuelan Sea.

2025

Excursión Submarina en Playa Paraíso, situada al Este de Los Caracas en la Costa Continental Central de Venezuela, famosa por sus numerosos escollos rocosos y cuevas submarinas.

2025

Description of Saltky Coral Cliffs & Boulders in the southern edge of Los Roques Atoll.

2025, Boletín de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras

El género Pavona comprende 18 especies de las cuales Pavona chiriquiensis ha sido recientemente descrita y registrada en varias localidades del Pacífico oriental tropical. A partir de observaciones y colecciones realizadas en arrecifes de las islas Gorgona y Malpelo entre 1999 y 2005 se confirma su presencia en Colombia. El tardío registro de P. chiriquiensis en estas islas pudo ser debido a su similitud y confusión con P. varians, o a su reciente colonización del Pacífico colombiano.

2025, Boletín de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras

El conocimiento de los equinodermos de la región de Zihuatanejo y Acapulco, Guerrero, es escaso, y el existente reere principalmente a listados taxonómicos. Con esos antecedentes, en este trabajo, se describió y caracterizó la comunidad de equinodermos asociada a arrecifes coralinos a partir de transectos de banda de 50 m de largo por 1 m de ancho. Durante 2004 se realizaron dos muestreos prospectivos (uno en época de lluvias y otro en época de secas). En total se registraron diez especies, tres asteroideos, seis echinoideos y un holoturoideo. La diversidad promedio obtenida en los 13 sitios estudiados (1.036 bits ind-1) se considera baja al compararla con la diversidad máxima posible (3.322 bits ind-1) debido a la dominancia del erizo negro Diadema mexicanum y la estrella de mar Phataria unifascialis, con densidades promedio de 1.45±0.60 ind m-2 y 0.12±0.02 ind m-2, respectivamente. Durante la época de estiaje se presentó la mayor diversidad, misma que se mantiene sin diferencias entre localidades. El arreglo espacial de la composición de especies de equinodermos obtenido por el análisis de escalamiento multidimensional denota la formación de cinco conglomerados de localidades, donde posiblemente el tipo de fondo y la cobertura arrecifal son las variables determinantes. Cuatro son las especies predominantes y frecuentes (D. mexicanum, P. unifascialis, Toxopneustes roseus y Hesperocidaris asteriscus) cuyas densidades se compararon con las obtenidas en otros sitios del Pacíco Tropical Oriental, presentaron en general valores inferiores para echinoideos y valores intermedios para el asteroideo analizado. Para el caso especíco de D. mexicanum, se observaron diferencias en su densidad entre localidades, profundidades y épocas del año y aunque su densidad promedio (1.45±0.60 ind m-2) resultó inferior a lo registrado en otras zonas, se observó que en algunas localidades tales como Playa Coral, Caleta de Chon, Punta del Cerro Colorado y Zacatoso, la densidad del erizo se incrementa considerablemente durante la época de lluvias, debido a los cambios signicativos que suceden en las variables ambientales consideradas, pero estas altas densidades sostienen una correlación positiva con la cobertura coralina, lo que habla de un ecosistema en equilibrio. También se detectó que en las localidades donde la actividad turística es mayor, como lo son Isla Roqueta, Ensenada de Llantos y Pichilingue, todas en Acapulco, la diversidad de equinodermos es baja, con valores inferiores a 0.6 bits ind-2 y altas abundancias de D. mexicanum. Estos resultados y la experiencia que se tiene del caso de la bahía de Acapulco, sugieren que es momento de tomar medidas de política ambiental pertinentes para evitar que suceda lo mismo con los arrecifes de Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, considerados a la fecha como los de mejor desarrollo en el Pacíco tropical mexicano.

2025, Boletín de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras

El género Stegastes (familia Pomacentridae) tiene una distribución particular en el Pacífio Oriental Tropical, con dos especies ampliamente distribuidas en toda la región, y cinco especies restringidas a las islas oceánicas o al extremo boreal del trópico. Durante un estudio de las especies de este género presentes en ambientes arrecifales de la isla Malpelo, registramos, por primera vez para la isla, a Stegastes flvilatus. Esta es una especie rara en Malpelo, en donde S. arcifrons y S. beebei son dominantes. La cuarta especie presente en Malpelo, S. acapulcoensis, puede también considerarse como rara, aunque ligeramente más abundante que S. flvilatus.

2025, Boletín de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras

Veintiuna especies de peces arrecifales frecuentes y abundantes en el área de Santa Marta y Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona (Caribe colombiano) ser identificaron como promisorias para el mercado de peces marinos ornamentales. La selección se basó en información secundaria y observaciones en campo y laboratorio, dando prioridad a especies o familias que han sido reproducidas existosamente en confinamiento y que según las observaciones se adaptan satisfactoriamente al cautiverio, con proyección a su futura reproducción, levantamiento y manutención en confinamiento. Así mismo, para algunas de ellas se obtuvieron datos importantes para su acoplamiento y manutención en acuario. Se proponen a Microspathodn crysurus, Coryphopterus personatus, Elacatinus illecebrosus, Stegastes paritus y Serranus tigrinus como las especies que cumplen ampliamente con los criterios evaludos en este estudio.

2025, Boletín de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras

Se hacen cuatro nuevos registros de especies en isla Gorgona, Pacífio colombiano: dos gobios (Gobulus crescentalis y Chriolepis cuneata) y un pez pipa (Cosmocampus arctus), colectados con anestésico en pequeñas colonias de coral aisladas; y un pez globo (Canthigaster janthinoptera) observado y fotografido. Este estudio extiende el ámbito de distribución de tres de estas especies en el Pacífio Oriental Tropical.

2025, Jurnal Ilmiah Perikanan dan Kelautan

Highlight ResearchThe leopard coral grouper Plectropomus leopardus was identified and analysed based on molecular approach.Genetic diversity within two regions in Gorontalo, Sulawesi successfully performed using connectivity analysis.Three haplotypes of Plectropomus leopardus from two region in Gorontalo as one of economical important marine fish species. Bar-cheek coral trout (P. leopardus) is the flagship of the grouper in the live fish market in Asia. Unfortunately, the potential of the grouper is still partly produced from natural catches. Even though hybridisation activities have also started to be carried out, there still have not been many studies on the genetic diversity of these fish. The application of molecular identification has been widely applied in marine aquatic animal species, which are very likely to occur due to errors in terms of shape and colour in the morphological character. DNA information has been beneficial in efforts to the breeding program and develop gro...

2025, PloS one

Consequences of reef phase shifts on fish communities remain poorly understood. Studies on the causes, effects and consequences of phase shifts on reef fish communities have only been considered for coral-to-macroalgae shifts. Therefore, there is a large information gap regarding the consequences of novel phase shifts and how these kinds of phase shifts impact on fish assemblages. This study aimed to compare the fish assemblages on reefs under normal conditions (relatively high cover of corals) to those which have shifted to a dominance of the zoantharian Palythoa cf. variabilis on coral reefs in Todos os Santos Bay (TSB), Brazilian eastern coast. We examined eight reefs, where we estimated cover of corals and P. cf. variabilis and coral reef fish richness, abundance and body size. Fish richness differed significantly between normal reefs (48 species) and phase-shift reefs (38 species), a 20% reduction in species. However there was no difference in fish abundance between normal and ...

2025

The anthiinid fish Pseudanthias fasciatus is reported from Indian waters for the first time. These fishes were found in trawler bycatch landed at the Neendakara fisheries harbour (09 0 41' 18.28" N lat. 76 0 33' 05.89" E long.) near Kollam, Kerala, India. The morphometric and meristic characters of the two specimens obtained correspond with those of P. fasciatus published previously.

2025, Global Change Biology

Climate change is driving rising average sea temperatures and the intensification of thermal variability. Tropical coral reef fishes have evolved under thermally stable conditions to function optimally within a narrow temperature range, with many currently living close to their upper thermal limits. However, recent work has demonstrated that some species possess additional capacity, such as reductions in basal metabolic rates (i.e., ‘plastic floors’), to compensate for the acute effects of thermal challenges when assessed over multigenerational timeframes. In this study, we use the ‘plastic floors and concrete ceilings’ hypothesis to generate and then test predictions regarding the thermal physiology of reef fishes in the world's hottest and most thermally variable coral reef ecosystem (southern Arabian/Persian Gulf). By comparing three species of reef fishes (Scolopsis ghanam, Ecsenius pulcher and Cheilodipterus novemstriatus) from the southern Arabian/Persian Gulf, with an annual temperature range of 18.0°C–36.5°C, to conspecifics from nearby but more thermally benign (~21.0°C–32.0°C) reefs in the Gulf of Oman, we find enhanced upper thermal limits and a broadening of the temperature performance curves for aerobic scope in the Arabian/Persian Gulf, but no evidence for changes in basal metabolic rates (‘plastic floors’). Despite these conserved increases in temperature tolerance, the summer thermal safety margins of Arabian/Persian Gulf fishes were 1.47°C lower than those of conspecifics from the Gulf of Oman, demonstrating that while the temperature tolerance of tropical coral reef fishes is somewhat plastic over multigenerational timeframes, its rate of change is likely insufficient to keep pace with the rising average temperatures and growing thermal variability expected under climate change.

2025, Boletín de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras

“Blue Wall” en la isla de San Andrés, Colombia, es una pendiente arrecifal externa con una inclinación que aumenta con la profundidad hasta casi 90°. Un gradiente tan pronunciado facilita la identificación de patrones de variación en la abundancia y diversidad de especies con la profundidad. Para documentar tales patrones en los peces asociados a este hábitat, se realizaron 30 censos visuales en transectos de 30 x 2 m, dispuestos a intervalos de 5 m entre 5 y 30 m de profundidad, en los cuales se estimó la abundancia y diversidad de especies. Un total de 2916 individuos pertenecientes a 46 especies de 21 familias fue observado dentro de los transectos. Diez especies adicionales fueron observadas fuera de los transectos para una riqueza total de 56 especies. Las especies dominantes fueron Canthigaster rostrata, Chromis cyanea, Stegastes partitus, Thalassoma bifasciatum y Clepticus parrae, las cuales, junto con otras cuatro especies, representaron 92% de la abundancia total. Varias de esas especies son planctívoras y abundantes en todo el Caribe. Estas especies presentaron amplios ámbitos de distribución vertical con picos de abundancia en distintas partes del gradiente de profundidad. En general, hubo una correlación positiva entre la abundancia promedio y la amplitud de la distribución batimétrica. Un Análisis de Escalamiento Multi Dimensional no métrico reveló que existen ensamblajes distintivos en cada profundidad, que además difirieron significativa, pero débilmente, en su diversidad y dominancia, pero no en su riqueza de especies y equitabilidad. Los ensamblajes más someros se distinguieron claramente de los más profundos, con una mayor diferenciación entre los más someros que entre los más profundos. Se concluye que los ensamblajes de peces de “Blue Wall” presentan un orden estructural que puede ser explicado, en parte, por la profundidad y que las paredes arrecifales ofrecen una excelente oportunidad para examinar los procesos responsables de los patrones de estructura de la comunidad de peces de arrecifes coralinos.

2025, Boletín de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras

De las ocho especies del género Sphoeroides (familia Tetraodontidae) que habitan el Pacífico Oriental Tropical únicamente Sphoeroides lobatus se encuentra distribuida en más de un grupo de islas oceánicas: Galápagos, Revillagigedo e Isla del Coco. El presente trabajo documenta el primer registro del Tamboril Narigón (S. lobatus) en isla Malpelo, Pacífico colombiano

2025, Boletín de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras

Los estudios ecológicos sobre la comunidad de peces en la Bahía de La Entrega respecto a la composición, diversidad, distribución y abundancia son escasos a pesar de poseer una de las placas de arrecifes de coral más grandes de la región, con una gran variedad de ambientes y hábitats, y por lo tanto de organismos acuáticos que han sido poco estudiados. Se realizaron cinco salidas al área de estudio entre noviembre de 2002 y agosto de 2003, el trabajo se llevó a cabo mediante censos visuales en transectos de banda paralelos a la línea de costa de 10 m de largo. Cada censo se realizó mediante dos buzos y considerando un campo de visión de 5 m. Se ubicaron 10 transectos distribuidos de la siguiente forma: cinco en la placa coralina, tres en el ambiente de fondo rocoso y dos en el ambiente de fondo arenoso frente a la zona comercial de la bahía. Se identificaron un total de 65 especies, 49 géneros y 28 familias. Las familias más representadas fueron: Labridae con nueve especies y cinco géneros, Pomacentridae con ocho especies y cuatro géneros y Tetraodontidae con cinco especies y tres géneros. La mayor abundancia de peces fue característica del arrecife coralino, principalmente durante la época de lluvias. La mayor diversidad y riqueza de especies se presentó en el ambiente rocoso durante la época de lluvias. El análisis de clasificación indicó una estructura comunitaria diferente para los ambientes de arrecife coralino, rocoso y arenoso. Thalassoma lucasanum, Stegastes acapulcoensis, Prionurus punctatus, Chromis atrilobata, Haemulon maculicauda y Chaetodon humeralis fueron las especies dominantes en el ambiente arrecifal. Stegastes acapulcoensis, Microspathodon dorsalis, C. atrilobata, Apogon pacificus y Halichoeres notospilus fueron dominantes en el ambiente rocoso. Haemulon maculicauda, Haemulon steindachneri, Mugil curema y Mulloidichthys dentatus fueron dominantes en el ambiente arenoso. La riqueza de especies muestra una relación directa con la temperatura del agua, siendo mayor a temperaturas más altas. Las variaciones de abundancia en los

2025, Marine Pollution Bulletin

The Abrolhos Bank is an area of high ecological, socio-economic importance and harbour the richest and mostextensive coral reefs in the South Atlantic. Here we report the discovery of shallow (12-25 m depth) reef complex with ten large biogenic structures, intermediate between the typical mushroom-shaped pinnacles of the northern Abrolhos Bank (17°-18°S) and the small patch reefs found on the central/southern coast of the Espírito Santo State (19°-20°S). The newly discovered reefs harbour a relatively rich and abundant reef community, with 73 fish and 14 benthic cnidarian species, including endangered and commercially important ones. We discuss on urgent needs of properly mapping and understanding the ecological functioning of this reef system. Information provided here is a baseline for future impact evaluations, particularly considering the recent worst environmental disaster of Brazil from a dam collapse in Doce river that affected the region.

2025, Data in brief

This article comprise the data related to the research article (Møller et al., 2016) [1], and makes it possible to explore and reproduce the topologies that allowed [1] to infer the relationship between the families Bythitidae and Dinematichthyidae. The supplementary data holds nexus-input files for the Bayesian analysis and the '.xml'-input files - with and without nucleotide data - that are used in the fossil-calibrated phylogenetic analysis with a relaxed clock model. The resulting topologies are provided as '.new'-files together with a characters matrix file for traits to trace across the inferred phylogenies.

2025

This study aims to describe: a) Community-based tourism development, b) Community participation in tourism development to improve welfare, c) Supporting factors and inhibitors of the community to participate in the development of family welfare-based tourism. This study uses descriptive qualitative methods and data collection techniques using observation, interview, and documentation techniques. The subject of this research is the tourism manager who is suspected to understand the development and the community of Bangsring Village who lives around the Underwater Bangsring Tourism with purposive selection. The techniques used in data analysis are data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. The data validity technique used is to extend observation time, increase persistence, triangulation, and also use reference material. The results of the study include: a) Community-based tourism development shows that the community is involved in tourism development which aims to str...

2025, Muhammad Lutfi Maradhy

Coral reef degradation has prompted various parties to take rehabilitation measures, including coral transplantation activity. However, these efforts have mostly focused on coral growth and survival rates in the transplantation areas. This research aims to evaluate the environmental conditions and coral recruitment status (number of genera and density) in both natural coral reef (NCR) and transplantation coral reef (TCR) areas. The research was conducted from November 2023 to February 2024. Benthic cover calculations were performed using a modified UPT method. Coral recruitment data in NCR areas were collected using UPT plots, while TCR areas were assessed at each transplantation media. Environmental condition data were collected over four months, in-situ (temperature, salinity, current velocity, and light intensity) and ex-situ (turbidity, analyzed in the laboratory). Data analysis included One-Way ANOVA, non-parametric tests Kruskal-Wallis, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The environmental conditions in the study area were conducive to coral recruitment. Based on live coral cover, coral reefs are in poor to very good condition. NCR areas recruited 10 coral genera, whereas TCR areas recruited 4 genera. Coral recruitment density in NCR areas ranged from 1.61-4.27 individuals/m², while in TCR areas, it ranged from 2.28-6.99 individuals/m². The environmental conditions at the study site were conducive to coral recruitment. Coral reef conditions ranged from poor to very good, with NCR areas recruiting a greater diversity of coral genera than TCR areas. However, TCR exhibits higher coral recruitment density than NCR.

2025, Boletín de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras

Los huracanes son importantes fuerzas destructivas en arrecifes coralinos que pueden cambiar el componente estructural del hábitat. El 16 de noviembre de 2020 el huracán Iota pasó ~10 km al norte de las islas de Providencia y Santa Catalina como huracán categoría 5. Este estudio documentó la magnitud del impacto en arrecifes coralinos alrededor de las islas dos semanas después del impacto, como parte de la “Operación Cangrejo Negro”. Se realizaron evaluaciones visuales rápidas en 11 formaciones coralinas entre 2 y 17 m de profundidad. Se estimó la proporción del impacto en un área de ~200 m2, la cual fue categorizada con valores de 0-5 según el nivel de daño. Estimaciones preliminares indicaron impacto en 72 % de las estaciones evaluadas, concentrado principalmente en áreas someras (5-7 m). Aproximadamente el 45 % de los sitios presentaron daños de bajo a medio y 27 % presentaron daños de medio a moderado con una alta variabilidad entre y dentro de las estaciones. De esta evaluación se concluye que el impacto se extendió a lo largo de la isla en áreas someras estructuradas por grandes colonias de Orbicella spp., principalmente relacionados con daños a nivel de colonia y daños menores a nivel de estructura del arrecife.

2025, Frontiers in Marine Science

Research on sociality in marine fishes is a vibrant field that is providing new insights into social evolution more generally. Here, we review the past two decades of research, identifying knowledge gaps and new directions. Two coral reef fishes, with social systems similar to other cooperative breeders, have emerged as models: the clown anemonefish Amphiprion percula and the emerald goby Paragobiodon xanthosoma. In these systems, non-breeders do not forgo their own reproduction to gain indirect genetic benefits. Rather, they do so because they stand to inherit the territory in the future and there are strong ecological and social constraints. The reasons why breeders tolerate non-breeders remain obscure, though it is plausibly a combination of weak kin selection, bet-hedging, and benefits mediated via mutualistic interactions with cnidarian hosts. The latter is particularly interesting, given the parallels with other social animals with mutualistic partners, such as acacia ants. Looking beyond the two model species, our attention is turning to species with more complex social organization, such as the damselfish Dascyllus aruanus. Here, variable group stability, conflict intensity, and reproductive skew provide opportunities to test theories of social evolution that have only been tested in a few taxa. New methods like social network analysis are enabling us to uncover more subtle effects of ecology on social interactions. More recently, comparative methods have yielded insights into the correlates of interspecific variation in sociality in the genera to which our model species belong. Phylogenetically controlled contrasts within the genus Gobiodon, have revealed the role of ecology, life history traits, and their interaction in sociality: smaller bodied species are more social than larger bodied species, which are only social on large corals. As climate change affects coral reefs, there is a pressing need to understand the many ways in which environmental disturbance influences these unique social systems. In sum, coral reef fishes have enabled us to test the robustness of current theories of social evolution in new taxa and environments, and they have generated new insights into social evolution that are applicable to a wider variety of taxa.

2025, Boletín de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras

Los peces criptobentónicos contribuyen de manera significativa a la dinámica trófica de los ecosistemas costeros. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo determinar la composición de esta comunidad y comprobar si su estructura difiere temporal y espacialmente en el Parque Nacional Natural Uramba Bahía Málaga (Pacífico Oriental Tropical). Los peces se recolectaron utilizando sustratos artificiales en tres zonas, entre junio de 2008 y agosto de 2009. Se registraron 26 especies, pertenecientes a 11 familias. Gobiidae y Labrisomidae fueron las familias más representativas (especies: 34,6 % e individuos: 66 %). La riqueza y abundancia aumentó en un gradiente del interior hacia el exterior del parque. Utilizando estadística multivariada, se identificó un patrón espacial en la estructura de la comunidad, con localidades internas significativamente diferentes de las medias y externas. Cerdale ionthas, Gobiosoma seminudum, Starksia fulva y Gobulus hancocki fueron responsables de esta diferenciación (contribución > 59 %). El uso de sustratos artificiales para tomar muestras de peces criptobentónicos demostró ser una forma eficiente de identificar una parte de la ictiofauna que no había sido identificada mediante técnicas de muestreo tradicionales y también fue útil para comparar la variabilidad espacial de esta comunidad. La comparación con comunidades de peces criptobentónicos en otras regiones biogeográficas indica que, debido a la baja riqueza de especies en el Pacífico Oriental Tropical, estas comunidades tanto en Colombia como en México muestran baja redundancia funcional y considerables diferencias en sus preferencias tróficas.

2025, Coral Reefs

The basslet Gramma dejongi, a recently discovered sibling species to the fairy basslet (G. loreto), was regarded as endemic to Cuba (Victor and Randall 2010). Here we report the first documented sightings of G. dejongi at Little Cayman Island. The Cayman Islands are located on an oceanic ridge that extends southwest from the Sierra Maestra Mountains in southeastern Cuba. Situated approximately 220 km due south of Cuba, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac are the closest islands to the town of Trinidad, where G. dejongi was first reported (Victor and Randall 2010). A single G. dejongi individual (Fig. ) was first sighted in July 2013 among a group of G. loreto (Fig. ) and was visually identified by comparing its morphology and coloration to those described by . The Little Cayman specimen was 60 mm in total length, exceeding the maximum size reported for the species (i.e., 45 mm, Victor and Randall 2010). The individual was found at 18 m on a spur-and-groove formation 1.5 km east of the Bloody Bay Marine Park. We located the same G. dejongi individual in August 2013 at the exact site where it was first observed, suggesting the species is highly site-attached. Like G. loreto, the Little Cayman G. dejongi specimen was repeatedly observed upside down. Our observations indicate that second-hand reports of smaller size and vertical-swimming behavior in the original description of G. dejongi may not be diagnostic . The discovery of a single G. dejongi individual in the Cayman Islands does not imply that large-scale recruitment of the species has occurred in the area. However, sighting G. dejongi outside of Cuba does suggest that the species is capable of dispersing pelagically to nearby islands.

2025, Boletín de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras

Se realizó el estudio de la asociación de 11 especies de peces con cinco especies de equinoideos en Roatán, Honduras, del 27 de agosto al 1 de septiembre de 2017. Los peces se asociaron con mayor frecuencia con el equinoideo Diadema antillarum (34,3% de los equinoideos, seis especies de peces, n = 146 equinoideos), seguido por Echinometra viridis (25,0%, tres especies de peces, n = 12), Echinometra lucunter (7,5%, diez especies de peces, n = 1.834), Eucidaris tribuloides (3,4%, cuatro especies de peces, n = 116), y Tripneustes ventricosus (7,1%, una especie de pez, n = 28). De los 196 peces que buscaban refugio al lado de los equinoideos, Malacoctenus aurolineatus fue el más común (41,8% de los peces, tres especies de equinoideos), seguido de Stegastes adustus (38,8%, tres especies de equinoideos), Stegastes diencaeus (6,6%, tres erizos equinoideos), Sargocentron coruscum (6,1%, cinco especies de equinoideos), Chaetodon capistratus (1,5%, una especie de equinoideo), Gobioclinus filamentosus (1,5%, una especie de equinoideo),
Pomacanthus paru (1,0%, dos especies de equinoideos), Labrisomus nuchipinnis (1,0%, dos especies de equinoideos), Equetus punctatus (0,5%, una especie de equinoideo), Microspathodon chryurus (0,5%, una especie de equinoideo), y Thalassoma bifasciatum (0,5%, una
especie de equinoideo). Ninguno de los peces estaba asociado exclusivamente con equinoideos o estaba especializado para asociarse con equinoideos, lo que indica que la asociación era facultativa. Todos los peces eran pequeños (< 12 cm). Los peces se asociaron con mayor
frecuencia con el equinoideo de espinas más largas, D. antillarum, apoyando la hipótesis de que los peces buscan refugio entre las espinas de los equinoideos para beneficiarse de una mayor protección contra la depredación.

2025, Conservation Genetics Resources

Parentage analysis is an important tool for identifying connectivity patterns in coral reef fishes, but often requires numerous highly polymorphic markers. We isolated 21 polymorphic microsatellite markers from the stripey snapper, Lutjanus carponotatus and describe their integration into three multiplex PCRs. All markers were highly polymorphic with a mean of 24.9 ± 1.8 SE alleles per locus and an average observed heterozygosity of 0.797 ± 0.038 SE across 285 genotyped individuals. Using a simulated dataset, we conclude that the complete marker set provides sufficient resolution to resolve parent-offspring relationships in natural populations with 99.6 ± 0.1 % accuracy in parentage assignments. This multiplex assay provides an effective means of investigating larval dispersal and population connectivity in this fishery-targeted coral reef fish species and informing the design of marine protected area networks for biodiversity conservation and fisheries management.

2025, Marine Biodiversity

Anemonefish are iconic symbols of coral reefs and have become model systems for research on larval dispersal and population connectivity in coral reef fishes. Here we present 24 novel microsatellite markers across four species of anemonefish and also test 35 previously published markers for cross-amplification on two anemonefish species in order to facilitate further research on their population genetics and phylogenetics. Novel loci were isolated from sequences derived from microsatellite-enriched or 454 GS-FLX shotgun sequence libraries developed using congeneric DNA. Primer testing successfully identified 15 new microsatellite loci for A. percula, 4 for A. melanopus, 3 for A. akindynos, and 2 for A. omanensis. These novel microsatellite loci were polymorphic with a mean of 10±1.6 SE (standard error) alleles per locus and an average observed heterozygosity of 0.647±0.032 SE. Reliable cross-amplification of 12 and 26 of the 35 previously published Amphiprion markers was achieved for A. melanopus and A. akindynos, respectively, suggesting that the use of markers developed from the DNA of congeners can provide a quick and cost-effective alternative to the isolation of new loci. Together, the markers presented here provide an important resource for ecological, evolutionary, and conservation genetic research on anemonefishes that will inform broader conservation and management actions for coral reef fishes.