Influence of live coral cover on coral-reef fish communities

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Abstract
The effect of percentage live coral cover on the number of fish species and individuals was determined by censusing fish from a series of reefs of comparable structural complexity, but with different proportions of live coral, in the lagoon of Mataiva Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago. Regression analysis showed a highly significant (P < 0.001) positive relationship between live coral cover and total number of species, number of species 250 m-2, and number of individuals 250 m-2. A change of 0% to 2 to < 5% caused a significant increase in the number of species 250 m-2. Species richness of the Chaetodontidae, Pomacentridae, Labridae, Scaridae, Acanthuridae and Gobiidae rose with increasing live coral cover, while that of Apogonidae remained relatively constant. Many of the 115 fish species recorded discriminated between sites of differing live coral cover; 68% were found only at sites with some live coral, whereas 29% were common to sites with or without live coral, and 3% were only present at sites where all coral was dead. The species compositions of sites from the same zone of live coral cover were more similar to one another than to those at sites from different zones.