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Patterns of variation in behaviour within and among reef fish species on an isolated tropical island: influence of exposure and substratum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2010

João Paulo Krajewski ,
Sergio R. Floeter ,
Geoffrey P. Jones  and
Fosca P.P. Leite
João Paulo Krajewski*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, 13083-970, Brazil School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
Sergio R. Floeter
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, CCB, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, 88010-970, Brazil
Geoffrey P. Jones
Affiliation:
School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
Fosca P.P. Leite
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, 13083-970, Brazil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: J.P. Krajewski, Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, 13083-970, Brazil email: jpaulokra@yahoo.com.br
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Abstract

Here we studied the activity budgets of nine common reef fish in the oceanic archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, off north-east Brazil. Species were variable in their behaviour between different sites and similarities in their activity budgets were not necessarily associated with their trophic group. For four species we investigated the relationship of their activity budgets to wave exposure and substratum composition. Staying close to the substratum was positively correlated to wave exposure for most species and foraging was negatively correlated to exposure for two species. By behaving this way, these fish may save energy by avoiding swimming in higher water flux. In contrast to relationships with wave exposure, the responses to substratum composition were species specific. Our results highlight that the activity budgets of fish living in oceanic rocky reefs can be variable and influenced by the local and temporal variation in environmental variables.

Keywords

spatial variationactivity budgetwave exposuresubstratum compositionreef fishFernando de Noronha ArchipelagoBrazil
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 91 , Special Issue 6: Fish Ecology , September 2011 , pp. 1359 - 1368
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2010

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