Common coral reef fishes of West Caicos
A Blue Chromis hangs out in the current above a school of Margates. Taken February, 2011 in Princess Alexandra Land and Sea National Park, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands (By Tim Sackton (Flickr: Blue Chromis) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0), via Wikimedia Commons)
Contents
- 1 Introduction West Caicos is one of the Turks and Caicos Islands (Common coral reef fishes of West Caicos) in the West Indies. Over285 species of reef fishes have been identified during REEF Fish Surveys in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
- 2 25 most common species in West Caicos
- 3 References and Further Reading
Introduction West Caicos is one of the Turks and Caicos Islands (Common coral reef fishes of West Caicos) in the West Indies. Over285 species of reef fishes have been identified during REEF Fish Surveys in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
25 most common species in West Caicos
Blue chromis—the most frequently observed reef fishand species with the highest mean abundance in West Caicos. Reef Fish Identification, New World Publications © 1994. The following ranking is based on the results of806REEF Fish Surveyscovering a bottom time of738 hours and12 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.
|
Species |
% of surveys observed |
Mean abundance category |
|
1. Blue chromis |
88.2 |
many-abundant |
|
2. Fairy basslet |
88.1 |
many |
|
3. Blue tang |
87.1 |
few-many |
|
4. Foureye butterflyfish |
85.7 |
few |
|
5. Bluehead |
84.0 |
few-many |
|
6. Yellowtail snapper |
82.1 |
many |
|
7. Bicolor damselfish |
82.1 |
few-many |
|
8. Black durgon |
80.4 |
few-many |
|
9. Stoplight parrotfish |
79.2 |
few |
|
10. Bar jack |
73.6 |
few-many |
|
11. Nassau grouper |
73.3 |
single-few |
|
12. Rock beauty |
73.2 |
single-few |
|
13. Yellow goatfish |
72.5 |
single-few |
|
14. French grunt |
68.7 |
few |
|
15. Coney |
67.6 |
few-many |
|
16. Bluestriped grunt |
67.4 |
few |
|
17. Banded butterflyfish |
67.0 |
few |
|
18. Longspine squirrelfish |
66.0 |
few |
|
19. Yellowhead wrasse |
66.0 |
few-many |
|
20.Princess parrotfish |
65.6 |
few |
|
21. Great barracuda |
64.8 |
single-few |
|
22. Horse-eye jack |
62.7 |
few-many |
|
23. Queen triggerfish |
62.0 |
single-few |
|
24. Schoolmaster |
60.3 |
few-many |
|
25. Squirrelfish |
60.0 |
few |
References and Further Reading
- Reef Environmental Education Foundation
- Geographic Zone Report- 06-03-2009
- REEF Fish Gallery
- Humann, P. and N. Deloach (Editor), 1994. Reef Fish Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas. New World Publications, Inc. Jacksonville, FL. ISBN: 1878348078
