Common coral reef fishes of the United States Virgin Islands
Contents
Introduction
The United States Virgin Islands are a group of three major islands (Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas) and several smaller islands located in the Caribbean Sea (Common coral reef fishes of the United States Virgin Islands) , 90 miles east of Puerto Rico. The islands are a territory of the United States.
25 most common species in theUnited States VirginIslands
The following ranking is based on the results of2626REEF Fish Surveyscovering a bottom time of2909 hours and06 minutes. (REEF Geographic Zone Report, May 28, 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. Blue tang |
93.1 |
few-many |
|
2. Foureye butterflyfish |
89.2 |
few |
|
3. Bluehead |
88.9 |
many |
|
4. Stoplight parrotfish |
86.9 |
few-many |
|
5. Sergeant major |
84.5 |
many |
|
6. Ocean surgeonfish |
83.0 |
few-many |
|
7. Bicolor damselfish |
81.1 |
many |
|
8. Yellowtail snapper |
77.6 |
few-many |
|
9. Bar jack |
77.2 |
few |
|
10. Redband parrotfish |
77.0 |
few-many |
|
11. Yellowtail damselfish |
76.8 |
few |
|
12. Yellowhead wrasse |
74.8 |
few-many |
|
13. Yellow goatfish |
73.5 |
few-many |
|
14. Fairy basslet |
71.8 |
few-many |
|
15. Blue chromis |
71.8 |
many |
|
16. Brown chromis |
71.5 |
many |
|
17. Graysby |
70.1 |
few |
|
18. Princess parrotfish |
70.0 |
few |
|
19. Spotted goatfish |
69.4 |
few |
|
20. Longspine squirrelfish |
67.2 |
few |
|
21. Trumpetfish |
66.3 |
single-few |
|
22. Bluestriped grunt |
63.6 |
few |
|
23. Spanish hogfish |
62.3 |
few |
|
24. Harlequin bass |
61.7 |
single-few |
|
25. Striped parrotfish |
61.2 |
few-many |
Islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands
- Common coral reef fishes of St. Croix
- Common coral reef fishes of St. John
- Common coral reef fishes of St. Thomas
References and Further Reading
- Reef Environmental Education Foundation
- Geographic Zone Report- 05-28,2009
- REEF Fish Gallery
- Humann, P. and N. Deloach (Editor), 1994. Reef Fish Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas. New World Publications, Inc. Jacksonville, FL. ISBN: 1878348078
