Abstract

CALLE-BONILLA, Isabel Cristina; LOPEZ, Alan Giraldo  and  CUELLAR-CHACON, Andrés. Spaciotemporal variation in the coral fish larvae assembly of Gorgona Island, Colombian Pacific. Bol. Invest. Mar. Cost. [online]. 2017, vol.46, n.2, pp.55-72. ISSN 0122-9761.  https://doi.org/10.25268/bimc.invemar.2017.46.2.728.

The spatial and temporal variation in the assemblages of the larval stages of fishes associated with coralline formations in the eastern sector of Gorgona Island was evaluated considering its relationship to local oceanographic conditions, particularly the instantaneous surface circulation field. Oceanographic and biological information was recorded in September 2014 and February 2015 from a grid of 16 stations, which were classified into three sectors based on their distance to the largest coral formation in the study area, La Azufrada coral reef. A total of 1185 larvae were collected from 29 species of fish associated with coralline formations, and the abundance, richness and diversity of the ensemble was significantly higher in February than in September, with Coryphopterus urospilus dominant in September and C. urospilus and Stegastes sp. dominant in February. In September, species richness and diversity were significantly lower in the area near La Azufrada coral reef, while richness and dominance were significantly lower in the outermost region of the study area in February. During September, the general trend of the instantaneous circulation field was towards the island, and a center of the larval concentration was identified in the sector containing La Azufrada coral reef. However, during February, it was away from the island, and a greater abundance of larvae was registered in the external sector of the study area. According to the evidence, the structure and composition of the fish larvae assembly in the study area varied temporally and spatially and was probably modulated by the local surface circulation pattern.

Keywords : Coral reefs; Circulation field; Fish larvae.

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