Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T07:46:14.833Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Butterflyfish (Perciformes: Chaetodontidae) records in Cobourg Marine Park, Garig Gunak Barlu National Park, the Northern Territory, Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2011

Victor E. Gomelyuk
Victor E. Gomelyuk*
Affiliation:
Biodiversity Conservation, Collections, Biodiversity and Biological Parks Division, Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts and Sports, 564 Vanderlin Drive, Berrimah 0828, Northern Territory, Australia
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: V.E. Gomelyuk, Biodiversity Conservation, Collections, Biodiversity and Biological Parks Division, Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts and Sports, 564 Vanderlin Drive, Berrimah 0828, Northern Territory, Australia email: victor.gomelyuk@nt.gov.au
Get access

Abstract

The fauna and population densities of butterflyfish (Chaetodontidae: Perciformes) were studied at the Cobourg Marine Park (CMP), Cobourg Peninsula in the Arafura Sea, the Northern Territory, Australia. A total of five genera and 17 species of butterflyfish were recorded within the CMP, including nine new records for the Northern Territory. Goldstripe butterflyfish Chaetodon aureofasciatus Macleay, the most common and abundant species represented 64.3% of all 883 butterflyfish recorded followed by the Philippine butterflyfish Chaetodon adiergastos Seale (14.9%), margined butterflyfish Chelmon marginalis Richardson (10.8%), triangle butterflyfish Chaetodon baronessa Cuvier (5.1%) and chevroned butterflyfish C. trifascialis Quoy and Gaimard (1.2%). The CMP contains the richest chaetodontid fauna among all sites surveyed so far in the Northern Territory. Population density of the endemic Australian species Chelmon marginalis in the CMP is the highest across its range within studied locations. Abundances of Chaetodon adiergastos at Cobourg are similar to areas in the Philippines and Malaysia where population density of this species is the highest in the Indo-West Pacific region.

Keywords

Chaetodontidaefaunapopulation relative densitycoral coverArafura SeaIndo-Pacific
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 4 , December 2011 , e17
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Allen, G.R., Steene, R. and Allen, M. (1998) Angelfishes and butterfly fishes. Perth: Odyssey Publishing.Google Scholar
Anderson, G.R.V., Ehrlich, A.H., Ehrlich, P.R., Roughgarden, J.D., Russell, B.C. and Talbot, F.H. (1981) The community structure of coral reef fishes. American Naturalist 117, 476–495.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, J.D. and Galzin, R. (1984) Influence of live coral cover on coral-reef fish communities. Marine Ecology Progress Series 15, 265–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, J.D., Harmelin-Vivien, M.L. and Galzin, R. (1985) Large scale spatial variation in abundance of butterfly fishes Chaetodontidae on Polynesian reefs. In Gabrie, C. and Salvat, B. (eds) Proceedings of the Fifth International Coral Reef Congress, Tahiti, pp. 421–426.Google Scholar
Blaber, S.J.M., Brewer, D.T. and Harris, A.N. (1994) Distribution, biomass and community structure of demersal fishes of the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 45, 375–396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouchon-Navaro, Y. and Bouchon, C. (1989) Correlation between chaetdontid fishes and coral communities of the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea. Environmental Biology of Fishes 25, 47–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, K.R. and Warwick, R.M. (2001) Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretations. Plymouth: Plymouth Marine Laboratory and Natural Environment Research Council.Google Scholar
Crosby, M.P. and Reese, E.S. (1996) A manual for monitoring coral reefs with indicator species: butterflyfishes as indicators of changes on Indo-Pacific reefs. Silver Spring: NOAA, MD: Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management.Google Scholar
English, S., Wilkinson, C. and Baker, V. (1994) Survey manual for tropical marine resources. Townsville, QL: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 368 pp.Google Scholar
Ferns, L.W. (1999) Interim marine biophysical regionalisation for the Northern Territory. Version 1: a bioregional framework for the marine conservation in the Northern Territory. Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory, Darwin, Australia, 72 pp.Google Scholar
Findley, J.S. and Findley, M.T. (2001) Global, regional and local patterns in species richness and abundance of butterfly fishes. Ecological Monographs 71, 69–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fowler, A. (1990) Spatial and temporal patterns of distribution and abundance of chaetodontid fishes at One Tree Reef, southern GBR. Marine Ecology Progress Series 64, 39–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gomelyuk, V.E. (2003) First months of coral environment monitoring at Cobourg Peninsula. Parks and Wildlife Service of the Northern Territory, Darwin, ISSBN 1 90772251, 28 pp.Google Scholar
Gomelyuk, V.E. (2007) Severe coral bleaching in 2002–2003 at Cobourg Marine Park, Northern Territory, Australia. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 23, 11–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goreau, T.J. and Hayes, R.M. (1994) Coral bleaching and ocean ‘hot spots’. Ambio 23, 176–180.Google Scholar
Harmelin-Vivien, M.L. and Bouchon-Navaro, Y. (1983) Feeding diets and significance of coral feeding among Chaetodontid fishes in Moorea (French Polynesia). Coral Reefs 2, 119–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. and Allen, G.R. (2006) Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. and Wells, A. (eds) Zoological catalogue of Australia, Volume 35, parts 1–3. Australia: ABRS & CSIRO Publishing, pp. 1–2178.Google Scholar
Hutchins, J.B. (2003) Checklist of marine fishes of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. In Wells, F.E., Walker, D.I. and Jones, D.I. (eds) The marine flora and fauna of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. Perth: Western Australian Museum, pp. 453–478.Google Scholar
Hutchins, J.B. (2004) Fishes of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 66, 343–398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kempton, R.A. and Taylor, L.R. (1976) Models and statistics for species diversity. Nature 262, 818–820.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Larson, H.K. and Williams, R.S. (1997) Darwin harbour fishes: a survey and annotated checklist. In Hanley, J.R., Caswell, G., Iviegirian, D. and Larson, H.K. (eds) Proceedings of the Sixth International Marine Biological Workshop. The Marine flora and fauna of Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory, Australia. Darwin, 1997. Darwin: Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory and the Australian Marine Sciences Association, pp. 339–380.Google Scholar
Lewis, A.R. (1997) Effects of experimental coral disturbance on the structure of fish communities on large patch reefs. Marine Ecology Progress Series 161, 37–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masuda, H. and Allen, G.R. (1993) Meeresfische der Welt—Groß-Indopazifische Region. Herrenteich, Melle: Tetra Verlag.Google Scholar
Pratchett, M.S. (2005) Dietary overlap among coral-feeding butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae) at Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef. Marine Biology 148, 373–382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pratchett, M.S., Wilson, S.K and Baird, A.H. (2006) Declines in the abundance of Chaetodon butterflyfishes following extensive coral depletion. Journal of Fish Biology 69, 1269–1280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reese, E.S. (1981) Predation of corals by the fishes of the family Chaetodontidae. Bulletin of Marine Science 3, 594–604.Google Scholar
Russell, B.C. (1983) Annotated checklist of the coral reef fishes in the Capricorn-Bunker Group Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Townsville, QL: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.Google Scholar
Sano, M. (1989) Feeding habits of Japanese butterfly fishes Chaetodontidae. Environmental Biology of Fishes 25, 195–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sano, M., Shimizu, M. and Nose, Y. (1984) Changes in structure of coral reef fish communities by destruction of hermatypic corals: observational and experimental views. Pacific Science 38, 51–80.Google Scholar
Williams, D.McB. (1982) Patterns in the distribution of fish communities across the central Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs 1, 35–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar