Communities Structure, Abundance, Distribution
Table 6.5. Continued
Bottom
piscivorous
ambushers
Family
Ogcocephalidae
(batfish)
Priacanthidae
(bullseyes)
Belonidae
(needlefish)
Serranidae
(groupers)
Scorpaenidae
(scorpion fish)
Synodantidae (lizard
fish)
Bothidae, Soleidae
(flounders)
Muraenidae (moray
eels)
Ophichthydae
(snake eels)
Common genera
Ogcocephalus, Platax
Priacanthus
Tilosurus, Strongylura
Promicrops, Cephalopholis,
Plectropomus ,
Epinephelus ,
Mycteroperca, Anthias,
Rainfordia
Pterois, Alabys, Cottopistes,
Erosa, Scorpaena,
Scorpaenopsis, Synahceia,
Scarpaenoides
Synodus, Saurida
Bothus, Aserreggodes,
Pardachirus, A rnoglossus ,
Pseudorhombus
Muraena, Echidna,
Lucodontis ,
Gumnothorax, Rabula,
Uropterygius
Myrichthus, Leucoranus,
Ophichthys
Food spectrum
Fish, zoobenthos
Fish, zoobeuthos
Fish
Fish, zoobenthos,
zooplankton
Fish, zooplankton
Fish, crustaceans
Fish
221
Fish, zoobenthos (Echidna)
Fish, zoobenthos
6.2 Communities Structure, Abundance, Distribution
Among the main features of community structure of reef fish there should
be mentioned their exclusively high taxonomic diversity and density (Ogden
and Ebersole 1981). An increase in species number in a highly productive
ecosystem leads to an increase in the ways of using primary production in
the food web, increasing thereby the ecological efficiency of utilizing food
sources. In an ecosystem with higher species diversity secondary production
will be higher by same level of primary production (Margalef 1968;
Goldman and Talbot 1976). Just this is the situation we find in coral
reef ecosystems, where the biomass of fish alone attains 100-200gm- 2
(cf. Table 6.7).
The degree of species diversity in a fish community is usually expressed
by means of the Shannon-Winer index N' (C.L. Smith 1978; Gladfelter
1980). In fish communities of most known types of reef biotopes it is
extremely high. Moreover, its values seem to be similar in similar types of
biotopes of geographically quite different reefs, even when the density of
fish communities differs in them several times. For example, this index was
equally high in fish communities of patch-reef biotopes at the Bahamas (H'
= 3.4-5.2) and of some of the Society Islands in the Pacific, while the total
Table 6.5. Continued
Bottom
piscivorous
ambushers
Family
Ogcocephalidae
(batfish)
Priacanthidae
(bullseyes)
Belonidae
(needlefish)
Serranidae
(groupers)
Scorpaenidae
(scorpion fish)
Synodantidae (lizard
fish)
Bothidae, Soleidae
(flounders)
Muraenidae (moray
eels)
Ophichthydae
(snake eels)
Common genera
Ogcocephalus, Platax
Priacanthus
Tilosurus, Strongylura
Promicrops, Cephalopholis,
Plectropomus ,
Epinephelus ,
Mycteroperca, Anthias,
Rainfordia
Pterois, Alabys, Cottopistes,
Erosa, Scorpaena,
Scorpaenopsis, Synahceia,
Scarpaenoides
Synodus, Saurida
Bothus, Aserreggodes,
Pardachirus, A rnoglossus ,
Pseudorhombus
Muraena, Echidna,
Lucodontis ,
Gumnothorax, Rabula,
Uropterygius
Myrichthus, Leucoranus,
Ophichthys
Food spectrum
Fish, zoobenthos
Fish, zoobeuthos
Fish
Fish, zoobenthos,
zooplankton
Fish, zooplankton
Fish, crustaceans
Fish
221
Fish, zoobenthos (Echidna)
Fish, zoobenthos
6.2 Communities Structure, Abundance, Distribution
Among the main features of community structure of reef fish there should
be mentioned their exclusively high taxonomic diversity and density (Ogden
and Ebersole 1981). An increase in species number in a highly productive
ecosystem leads to an increase in the ways of using primary production in
the food web, increasing thereby the ecological efficiency of utilizing food
sources. In an ecosystem with higher species diversity secondary production
will be higher by same level of primary production (Margalef 1968;
Goldman and Talbot 1976). Just this is the situation we find in coral
reef ecosystems, where the biomass of fish alone attains 100-200gm- 2
(cf. Table 6.7).
The degree of species diversity in a fish community is usually expressed
by means of the Shannon-Winer index N' (C.L. Smith 1978; Gladfelter
1980). In fish communities of most known types of reef biotopes it is
extremely high. Moreover, its values seem to be similar in similar types of
biotopes of geographically quite different reefs, even when the density of
fish communities differs in them several times. For example, this index was
equally high in fish communities of patch-reef biotopes at the Bahamas (H'
= 3.4-5.2) and of some of the Society Islands in the Pacific, while the total