Is this rock pool suitable habitat? Fish diversity in intertidal rock pools of El Zonte, El Salvador

Occurrence, abundance, and distribution of fishes in intertidal rock pools are influenced by environmental and biological traits that determine habitat quality. Fishes actively inhabit areas that represent the most suitable habitat for their development. For the intertidal fish community of El Zont...

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Main Authors: Saúl González-Murcia, Sandra Erdmann, Raquel Alvarado-Larios
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 2020-08-01
Series:Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad
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Online Access:https://revista.ib.unam.mx/index.php/bio/article/view/3099
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author Saúl González-Murcia
Sandra Erdmann
Raquel Alvarado-Larios
author_facet Saúl González-Murcia
Sandra Erdmann
Raquel Alvarado-Larios
author_sort Saúl González-Murcia
collection DOAJ
description Occurrence, abundance, and distribution of fishes in intertidal rock pools are influenced by environmental and biological traits that determine habitat quality. Fishes actively inhabit areas that represent the most suitable habitat for their development. For the intertidal fish community of El Zonte, physical and structural traits of rock pool habitat, as well as habitat complexity, were examined in relation to fish occurrence, abundance, species richness, and body length. Fish occurred in only 18 (40%) of 45 rock pools. A total 309 fish representing 9 species were recorded. The most abundant species were Bathygobius ramosus (160 individuals, 52%) and Abudefduf concolor (88 individuals, 28%). Fishes were absent in rock pools of volumes less than 0.29 m3 and with surface roughness lower than 4.7%. Rock pool volume and surface roughness were related to fish abundance and species richness. Surface roughness was more important to fish abundance and species richness in rock pools of small volumes, but its contribution was limited in larger rock pools. Fish length and rock pool volume were also related, with larger fish generally occurring in larger rock pools. This study presents insights into the factors influencing fish occurrence in tropical intertidal rock pool systems of the Tropical Eastern Pacific.
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publishDate 2020-08-01
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series Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad
spelling doaj-art-a6cd5b3a8d034e36859cd50ec98d3eee2025-08-20T03:49:36ZengUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoRevista Mexicana de Biodiversidad1870-34532007-87062020-08-019110.22201/ib.20078706e.2020.91.3099Is this rock pool suitable habitat? Fish diversity in intertidal rock pools of El Zonte, El SalvadorSaúl González-Murcia0Sandra Erdmann1Raquel Alvarado-Larios2James Cook University TownsvilleUnion de Personas, Ciencias Neotropicales Fundación Naturaleza El SalvadorMuseo de Historia Natural de El Salvador Occurrence, abundance, and distribution of fishes in intertidal rock pools are influenced by environmental and biological traits that determine habitat quality. Fishes actively inhabit areas that represent the most suitable habitat for their development. For the intertidal fish community of El Zonte, physical and structural traits of rock pool habitat, as well as habitat complexity, were examined in relation to fish occurrence, abundance, species richness, and body length. Fish occurred in only 18 (40%) of 45 rock pools. A total 309 fish representing 9 species were recorded. The most abundant species were Bathygobius ramosus (160 individuals, 52%) and Abudefduf concolor (88 individuals, 28%). Fishes were absent in rock pools of volumes less than 0.29 m3 and with surface roughness lower than 4.7%. Rock pool volume and surface roughness were related to fish abundance and species richness. Surface roughness was more important to fish abundance and species richness in rock pools of small volumes, but its contribution was limited in larger rock pools. Fish length and rock pool volume were also related, with larger fish generally occurring in larger rock pools. This study presents insights into the factors influencing fish occurrence in tropical intertidal rock pool systems of the Tropical Eastern Pacific. https://revista.ib.unam.mx/index.php/bio/article/view/3099Tropical Eastern PacificHabitat structureHabitat preferencesLength distributionIchthyofauna
spellingShingle Saúl González-Murcia
Sandra Erdmann
Raquel Alvarado-Larios
Is this rock pool suitable habitat? Fish diversity in intertidal rock pools of El Zonte, El Salvador
Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad
Tropical Eastern Pacific
Habitat structure
Habitat preferences
Length distribution
Ichthyofauna
title Is this rock pool suitable habitat? Fish diversity in intertidal rock pools of El Zonte, El Salvador
title_full Is this rock pool suitable habitat? Fish diversity in intertidal rock pools of El Zonte, El Salvador
title_fullStr Is this rock pool suitable habitat? Fish diversity in intertidal rock pools of El Zonte, El Salvador
title_full_unstemmed Is this rock pool suitable habitat? Fish diversity in intertidal rock pools of El Zonte, El Salvador
title_short Is this rock pool suitable habitat? Fish diversity in intertidal rock pools of El Zonte, El Salvador
title_sort is this rock pool suitable habitat fish diversity in intertidal rock pools of el zonte el salvador
topic Tropical Eastern Pacific
Habitat structure
Habitat preferences
Length distribution
Ichthyofauna
url https://revista.ib.unam.mx/index.php/bio/article/view/3099
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AT raquelalvaradolarios isthisrockpoolsuitablehabitatfishdiversityinintertidalrockpoolsofelzonteelsalvador