Common coral reef fishes of Panama
Striped parrotfish—the reef fish with the highest mean abundance in Panama. (photo by Florent Charpin, via http://reefguide.org/stripedparrotfish.html)
Contents
- 1 Introduction Panama is the most southerly Central American nation, located between Costa Rica (Common coral reef fishes of Panama) to the north and Columbia to the south. Over250 species of reef fishes have been identified during REEF Fish Surveys in Panama.
- 2 25 most common species in Panama
- 3 References and Further Reading
Introduction Panama is the most southerly Central American nation, located between Costa Rica (Common coral reef fishes of Panama) to the north and Columbia to the south. Over250 species of reef fishes have been identified during REEF Fish Surveys in Panama.
25 most common species in Panama
Stoplight parrotfish—the most frequently observed reef fish in Panama. Reef Fish Identification, New World Publications © 1994. The following ranking is based on the results of155REEF Fish Surveyscovering a bottom time of173 hours and20 minutes.(REEF Geographic Zone Report.June 1, 2009). The species are ranked by the percentage of surveys in which a species was observed. Abundance of fishes in REEF Fish Surveys are estimated using the following categories: 1- single =1 individual, 2-few = 2- 10 individuals, 3-many = 11-100 individuals, and 4-abundant > 100 individuals. The mean numeric abundance (ranging from 1 - 4) was calculated for each species.. The mean abundance category is determined as follows: mean abundance category 0 - 1.49 = single, 1.50 - 1.99 = single-few, 2.0 - 2.49 = few, 2.5 - 2.99 = few-many, 3.0 - 3.49 = many, 3.5 -3.99 = many-abundant, and 4.0 = abundant.
|
Species |
% of surveys observed |
Mean abundance category |
|
1. Stoplight parrotfish |
90.3 |
few-many |
|
2. Bicolor damselfish |
88.4 |
many |
|
3. Bluehead |
88.4 |
many |
|
4. French grunt |
85.5 |
few-many |
|
5. Blue tang |
83.2 |
few-many |
|
6. Striped parrotfish |
81.9 |
many |
|
7. Foureye butterflyfish |
81..9 |
few |
|
8. Sergeant major |
81.3 |
few-many |
|
9. Threespot dameslfish |
77.4 |
many |
|
10. Redband parrotfish |
76.8 |
few-many |
|
11. Yellowtail damselfish |
75.5 |
few-many |
|
12. Slippery dick |
75.5 |
many |
|
13. Yellowhead wrasse |
74.2 |
many |
|
14. Bar jack |
72.3 |
few-many |
|
15. Doctorfish |
69.7 |
few-many |
|
16. Schoolmaster |
69.0 |
few |
|
17. Sharpnose puffer |
69.0 |
single-few |
|
18. Yellowtail snapper |
68.4 |
few-many |
|
19. Spanish hogfish |
66.5 |
single-few |
|
20.Yellow goatfish |
65.8 |
few-many |
|
21. Spotfin butterflyfish |
65.2 |
single-few |
|
22. Graysby |
64.5 |
few |
|
23. Beaugregory |
63.2 |
few-many |
|
24. Mahogany snapper |
62.6 |
few |
|
25. Ocean surgeonfish |
60.6 |
few-many |
References and Further Reading
- Reef Environmental Education Foundation
- Geographic Zone Report- 06-01-2009
- REEF Fish Gallery
- Humann, P. and N. Deloach (Editor), 1994. Reef Fish Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas. New World Publications, Inc. Jacksonville, FL. ISBN: 1878348078
