Volume 51
Monitoring Fish Recruitment on a Fringing Reed in Virgin lslands National Park
Authors
Miller, J.; Beets, J.; Rogers, C. Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 1998
Pages: 525-536
Event: Proceedings of the Fifty First Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: St. Croix
Country: US Virgin Islands
Abstract
Juvenile reef fish were surveyed monthly at Yawzi Point reef, St. John, US Virgin Islands, a fringing reef within Virgin Islands National Park, from July 1997 through October 199%. 58 species from 19 families were recorded.\Gobies (Gobiidae) were the most abundant of the 56,031 juveniles observed, paticularly the locally abundant masked goby, Coryphopterus personatus, which was the most abundant species. Damselfishes (Pomacentridae) were the second most abundant family with Chromis cyanea, Stegastes partitus, S. variabilis and S. planiforms included in the ten numerically dominant species. Wrasses (Labridae), which included the second most abundant fish species observed (the bluehead wrasse, Thalassoma bifasciatum were the third most abundant family followed by parrotfishes (Scaridae). Seven of the ten most abundant fish species demonstrated peaks in recruitment during summer months, the two exceptions being one parrotfish (Sparisoma viride, S. aurofrenatum) and one damselfish (S. planiforms). A significant difference in recruitment of three species was noted among subzones (edge vs. platform) on the fringing reef.