Common coral reef fishes of Puerto Rico
Melichthys niger on Kona (Brocken Inaglory (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), from Wikimedia Commons)
Contents
- 1 Introduction Puerto Rico (Common coral reef fishes of Puerto Rico) is an island in the northern Caribbean Sea (Caribbean Sea large marine ecosystem) that is a territory of the United States of America. Over340 species of reef fishes have been identified during REEF Fish Surveys in Puerto Rico.
- 2 25 most common species in Puerto Rico
- 3 References and Further Reading
Introduction Puerto Rico (Common coral reef fishes of Puerto Rico) is an island in the northern Caribbean Sea (Caribbean Sea large marine ecosystem) that is a territory of the United States of America. Over340 species of reef fishes have been identified during REEF Fish Surveys in Puerto Rico.
25 most common species in Puerto Rico
Bluehead—the most frequently observed reef fish in Puerto Rico. Reef Fish Identification, New World Publications © 1994. The following ranking is based on the results of1120REEF Fish Surveyscovering a bottom time of1035 hours and54 minutes.(REEF Geographic Zone Report.June 3, 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.
Black durgon—the reef fish with the highest mean abundance in Puerto Rico. photo by Barbara Reavis, www.scubadiving.com. 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. Bluehead |
89.6 |
many |
|
2. Blue tang |
89.2 |
few-many |
|
3. Foureye butterflyfish |
87.7 |
few |
|
4. Stoplight parrotfish |
86.6 |
few-many |
|
5. Ocean surgeonfish |
84.9 |
few-many |
|
6. Bicolor damselfish |
84.8 |
many |
|
7. Redband parrotfish |
78.7 |
few-many |
|
8. Longspine squirrelfish |
76.3 |
few |
|
9. Yellowtail damselfish |
75.4 |
few |
|
10. Blue chromis |
72.8 |
many |
|
11. Yellowhead wrasse |
71.1 |
few-many |
|
12. French grunt |
70.1 |
few |
|
13. Bar jack |
70.5 |
few |
|
14. Fairy basslet |
67.1 |
few-many |
|
15. Yellowtail snapper |
66.8 |
few |
|
16. Sergeant major |
66.7 |
few-many |
|
17. Brown chromis |
66.0 |
many |
|
18. Princess parrotfish |
62.6 |
few |
|
19. Striped parrotfish |
62.1 |
few-many |
|
20.Spotted goatfish |
61.7 |
single-few |
|
21. Banded butterflyfish |
61.2 |
few |
|
22. Yellow goatfish |
60.4 |
few |
|
23. Blackbar soldierfish |
58.6 |
few |
|
24. Sharpnose puffer |
58.5 |
single-few |
|
25. Graysby |
57.3 |
single-few |
References and Further Reading
- Reef Environmental Education Foundation
- Geographic Zone Report- 06-03-2009
- REEF Fish Gallery
- Humann, P. and N. Deloach (Editor), 1994. Reef Fish Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas. New World Publications, Inc. Jacksonville, FL. ISBN: 1878348078
