Abstract
—The fish diversity of intertidal rock pools in the Glorieuses Islands was investigated using clove-oil anaesthetic. That method, is easy to use and safety is well adapted for this type of census. A total of thirty two species belonging to 14 families were sampled. Of these, 19 were observed as adults in most stations and represented the typical population of these intertidal pools, in particular the Blenniidae that presented the highest species richness and the Gobiidae, which were the most abundant. The 13 remaining species were only observed during their juvenile state and appeared to be only temporary residents. More than half of the species collected (17/32 spp) were not recorded during the previous ichthyofauna study at the Glorieuses islands using UVC, results that show the importance of the anaesthetic method that allows the collection of smaller-sized species that live inside the reef framework and are consequently more difficult to record.Keywords: Intertidal rock pool, fishes, clove oil, natural reserve, Glorieuses Islands, Western Indian Ocean.
Highlights
The Glorieuses Islands, along with Tromelin, Juan de Nova, Bassas da India and Europa, make up the “Iles Eparses” of the Indian Ocean (Fig. 1)
The study recorded 32 species using clove oil, of which 17 coral reef species were not reported in the previous reef fish inventory conducted using underwater visual census methods (UVC) (Durville et al, 2004)
The limitations of UVC are revealed, since the UVC recorder does not record the absolute number of individuals present in the field but only those seen
Summary
The Glorieuses Islands, along with Tromelin, Juan de Nova, Bassas da India and Europa, make up the “Iles Eparses” of the Indian Ocean (Fig. 1). These are French territories spread out around Madagascar and represent an Exclusive Economic Zone of nearly 650,000 km (Gabrié, 1998). These islands are classified as natural reserves since 1975 (Le Corre & Safford, 2001). Very few studies have been done on marine invertebrates (Gravier-Bonnet & Bourmaud, 2004; Vergonzanne, 1977), on.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
