Common coral reef fishes of Jamaica

Biodiversity (main)

Published: June 14, 2014, 7:10 pm

Topics:

Biodiversity (main) Fisheries (main) Marine Ecology (main) Coral Reefs (main) Geography (main) Species (main)

Blue Chromis (http://oceana.org/en/explore/marine-wildlife/blue-chromis)

Introduction Jamaica (Common coral reef fishes of Jamaica) , anisland nation,located in Caribbean Sea (Caribbean Sea large marine ecosystem), south of Cuba and west of Hispaniola.Over260 species of reef fishes have been identified during REEF Fish Surveys in Jamaica.

25 most common species in Jamaica

Blue Chromis—the most frequently observed and reef fish with the greatests mean abundance in Jamaica. Reef Fish Identification, New World Publications © 1994. The following ranking is based on the results of134REEF Fish Surveyscovering a bottom time of157 hours and29 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 chromis	89.2	many-abundant
2. Bluehead	88.0	many
3. Bicolor damselfish	82.6	many
4. Yellowhead wrasse	80.9	few-many
5. Stoplight parrotfish	79.2	few-many
6. Spotted goatfish	77.0	few
7. Blue tang	73.8	few-many
8. Blackbar soldierfish	73.5	few-many
9. Fairy basslet	70.8	few-many
10. French grunt	69.9	few-many
11. Redband parrotfish	69.6	few-many
12. Harlequin bass	69.1	few
13. Striped parrotfish	67.6	many
14. Barred hamlet	66.9	few
15. Brown chromis	66.9	few-many
16. Sharpnose puffer	66.9	many
17. Yellow goatfish	66.7	few-many
18. Creole wrasse	65.4	many
19. Sharopnose puffer	64.5	few
20. Ocean surgeonfish	63.7	few
21. Rock beauty	61.5	single-few
22. Threespot damselfish	60.3	few-many
23. Trumpetfish	60.0	single-few
24. Princess parrotfish	60.0	few-many
25. Foureye butterflyfish	56.9	few

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

Citation

McGinley, M. (2014). Common coral reef fishes of Jamaica. Retrieved from http://editors.eol.org/eoearth/wiki/Common_coral_reef_fishes_of_Jamaica