ABSTRACT
Cryptobenthic coral reef fishes in Los Roques National Park, Caribbean of Venezuela. A significant portion of coral reef fish assemblages are composed of small cryptobenthic fishes, but these are poorly represented in regional fish characterization works. We characterized the cryptobenthic reef fish community associated with coral reef in Los Roques National Park during six week surveys. The study included 11 locations in which these fish were registered in transects of 10x2m. Specimens were collected using the suction method and a fine-mesh net. A total of 31 species of six families were collected (four Blenniidae, six Chaenopsidae, one Gobiesocidae, 12 Gobiidae, seven Labrisomidae and one Tripterygiidae). Six represented new records to the park, and Coralliozetus cardonae (Chaenopsidae) was a new record for Venezuela. The most important families were Gobiidae, Chaenopsidae and Labrisomidae. Cryptic fish assemblages changed with the reef environments, with a clear distribution pattern: some species were only observed in shallow areas of less than 5m depth, while in fringing and barrier reef areas, other species were present and differentially distributed between the reef crest and the seaward slope. These patterns probably are related to the close association that these small fish maintain with the benthos. Rev. Biol. Trop. 58 (1): 311-324. Epub 2010 March 01.
En los ambientes arrecifales, a pesar de que una proporción significativa de la ictiofauna está compuesta de pequeños peces criptobentónicos, estos están pobremente representados en los trabajos de caracterización regional. El objetivo de este estudio fue caracterizar la comunidad de estos peces asociados a diversos arrecifes coralinos en el Parque Nacional Archipiélago de Los Roques. El muestreo de seis semanas abarcó 11 localidades donde se censaron estos peces en franjas de 10x2m. Para la colecta de ejemplares se utilizó el método de succión y redes de mano. Se registraron 31 especies de seis familias (cuatro Blenniidae, seis Chaenopsidae, una Gobiesocidae, 12 Gobiidae, siete Labrisomidae y una Tripterygiidae), donde seis representaron nuevos registros para el parque, y Coralliozetus cardonae (Chaenopsidae) un nuevo registro para Venezuela. Las familias más importantes fueron Gobiidae y Chaenopsidae y Labrisomidae. Se observó un patrón de distribución de estos peces según los ambientes arrecifales: las especies de los bajos ambientes coralinos de profundidad menor a 5m, y las especies de los arrecifes franjeantes, que a su vez se distribuyeron diferencialmente entre la cresta arrecifal y el talud. Estos patrones probablemente se deben a la estrecha relación que estos peces mantienen con la comunidad arrecifal.
Subject(s)
Animals , Anthozoa , Ecosystem , Fishes/classification , Population Density , Population Dynamics , Seawater , VenezuelaABSTRACT
Protemblemaria perla, from Isla del Rey, Islas Perlas, Panama, is distinctive in having a long unbranched cirrus on the posterior nostril, a U-shaped fleshy ridge bearing fleshy flaps and a pair of papillae on the nape, a relatively high number (18) of segmented dorsal-fin rays, and small rust-colored spots on the dorsal fin. Protemblemaria perla and P. punctata, from the southern Caribbean, share several morphological features and form a transisthmian species pair. Although the degree of color variation is unknown in P. perla, color varies greatly in P. bicirris and P. punctata, both of which have an orange morph.