Abstract
Clipperton Atoll, one of the most isolated coral reefs worldwide, is of great scientific interest due to its geomorphology and high levels of endemism. This study explored the reef fish assemblage structure of Clipperton Atoll and its relationship with live coral cover. Nine stations were sampled at three sites and three depths (6, 12 and 20 m) around the reef, measuring fish species richness and biomass and hermatypic coral cover (at genus level). We evaluated variation in species richness, biomass and diversity of fish assemblages among sites and depths, as well as the relationship between the entire fish assemblage composition and live coral cover. The results showed that species richness and biomass were similar among sites, but differed across depths, increasing with depth. In contrast, diversity differed among sites but not among depths. Multivariate analyses indicated that fish assemblage composition differed among sites and depths in relation to changes in cover of coral of the genera Pocillopora, Porites, Pavona and Leptoseris, which dominate at different depths. The results showed that fish species richness and diversity were low at Clipperton Atoll and that, in isolated coral reefs with a low habitat heterogeneity and low human disturbance, live coral cover has a significant influence on the spatial variation of the reef fish assemblages. This study highlights the importance of coral habitat structure in shaping coral reef fish assemblages.
Highlights
Coral reefs are extremely complex systems, with high intra and inter-habitat heterogeneity generating multiple ecological niches for a great number of species (Jackson et al 2001)
This study explored the reef fish assemblage structure of Clipperton Atoll and its relationship with live coral cover
Nine stations were sampled at three sites and three depths (6, 12 and 20 m) around the reef, measuring fish species richness and biomass and hermatypic coral cover
Summary
Coral reefs are extremely complex systems, with high intra and inter-habitat heterogeneity generating multiple ecological niches for a great number of species (Jackson et al 2001). Depth is an important factor determining coral species distribution This zonation has been attributed to a combination of physical and biological factors affecting coral, including predation by fish, wave exposure and differential use of light by specific symbiotic dinoflagellates of coral species that control the abundance and distribution of hermatypic corals (Iglesias-Prieto et al 2004). These two variables, LCC and depth, are not independent of each other, but the extent to which they can predict general patterns of reef fish assemblage structure remains unclear and has been poorly studied in isolated coral reefs systems with low human impact, such as Clipperton Atoll
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