Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Biogeographic patterns of reef fish community structure in the northeastern Arabian Peninsula

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-2011

Publication Title

ICES Journal of Marine Science

Keywords

Arabian Gulf, biogeography, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, reef fish, zoogeography

ISSN

1054-3139

Volume

68

Issue/No.

9

First Page

1875

Last Page

1883

Abstract

This study provides the first large-scale comparison of reef-associated fish communities in the northeastern Arabian Peninsula, with 24 sites spanning >3000 km of coastline in the southern Persian Gulf, the western Gulf of Oman, and the northwestern Arabian Sea, each with its own unique environmental conditions. Multivariate analyses revealed three distinct community types that were represented mainly by sites within each major water body, with >70% dissimilarity in community structure between each. Persian Gulf communities had low species richness, abundance, and biomass of reef fish compared with the other subregions, with communities dominated by herbivores and generalist predators that had little association with live coral. Reef fish biomass in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea was comparable, and communities were dominated by fish with moderate coral association. However, there were relatively more herbivores and larger fish in the Arabian Sea than in the Gulf of Oman, where communities were dominated by planktivores. Species richness was highest in the Arabian Sea when differences in abundance among regions were accounted for. The influence of distinct environmental and oceanographic conditions on reef fish community structure in each of these areas is discussed.

Comments

Supplementary Data (docx file)

ORCID ID

0000-0001-9260-2153

DOI

10.1093/icesjms/fsr129

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