Common coral reef fishes of New Providence Island

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Introduction Masked goby—the reef fish with the highest mean adundance in New Providence Island. Photo by J. E, Randall, fishbase.com. New Providence Island isan island in theBahamas in the West Indies. Over310 species of reef fishes have been identified during REEF Fish Surveys inNew ProvidenceIsland. (Common coral reef fishes of New Providence Island)

25 most common species in New Providence Island

The following ranking is based on the results of1095REEF Fish Surveyscovering a bottom time of967 hours and44 minutes.(REEF Geographic Zone Report. June 3, 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.

300px-Blue tang.jpg Blue tang—the most frequently observed reef fish in New Providence Island. Reef Fish Identification, New World Publications © 1994.

Species

% of surveys observed

Mean abundance category

1. Blue tang

93.2

few-many

2. Bluehead

92.4

many

3. Yellowtail snapper

90.5

many

4. Stoplight parrotfish

90.1

few-many

5. Foureye butterflyfish

88.9

few

6. Bicolor damselfish

86.8

few-many

7. Blue chromis

84.5

many

8. Fairy basslet

81.5

few-many

9. Sharpnose puffer

79.3

few

10. Bar jack

78.9

few

11. French grunt

78.5

few-many

12. Yellowhead wrasse

77.8

few-many

13. Gray angelfish

77.2

single-few

14. Striped parrotfish

76.3

few-many

15. Redband parrotfish

75.8

few-many

16. Spanish hogfish

72.1

few

17. Queen angelfish

69.1

single-few

18. Ocean surgeonfish

68.9

few

19. Doctorfish

68.9

few

20.Longspine squirrelfish

67.3

few

21. Trumpetfish

66.5

single-few

22. Spotted goatfish

66.5

few

23. Harlequin bass

64.8

few

24. Yellow goatfish

64.8

few-many

25. Brown chromis

64.4

many


References and Further Reading

Citation

McGinley, M. (2014). Common coral reef fishes of New Providence Island. Retrieved from http://editors.eol.org/eoearth/wiki/Common_coral_reef_fishes_of_New_Providence_Island