Abstract
Keywords: visual census, reef fishes, natural reserve, Glorieuses Islands, western Indian Ocean This paper constitutes the first qualitative study of coral reef fish populations in the archipelago of the Glorieuses Islands (northern Mozambique Channel). Sampling by visual census techniques, at depths between 0 and 15 meters, was carried out at 30 stations spread over the whole reef. Three hundred and thirty-two (332) fish species belonging to 57 families were registered in this way. These relatively high numbers show that isolated coral reef formations, even of small size, can be endowed with a great specific richness of reef ichthyofauna. These results may be explained by an oceanic flow that favours recruitment, a diversified habitat, and low anthropogenic impact. Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Sciences Vol.2(2) 2003: 95-104
Highlights
Located in the western Indian Ocean, the Glorieuses Archipelago (11°29'S, 47°23'E) is part of the five islands ‘Iles Eparses’, including Juan de Nova, Bassas da India, Europa and Tromelin
Four of the islands were classified as natural reserves in 1975, the exception being Juan de Nova (Le Corre & Safford, 2001)
One of the main areas of research consists in the evaluation of the specific richness of the coral reef and the drawing up of an index as a means to conceive a management plan and preservation of the environment
Summary
Located in the western Indian Ocean, the Glorieuses Archipelago (11°29'S, 47°23'E) is part of the five islands ‘Iles Eparses’, including Juan de Nova, Bassas da India, Europa and Tromelin. These French overseas territories, dispersed around Madagascar, have an Exclusive Economic Zone and cover nearly 650,000 km (Gabrié, 1998). Four of the islands were classified as natural reserves in 1975, the exception being Juan de Nova (Le Corre & Safford, 2001) Oceanographical research in these environments was restarted a few years ago under the direction of the IFRECOR (Initiative Française pour les Récifs Coralliens) after periods of coral bleaching in the region in 1998.
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