HR: 14:45h
AN: OS52J-04    [PDF]
TI: A description of the fish assemblages in the black coral beds off Lahaina, Maui.
AU: * Boland, R C
AF: Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 2570 Dole St. , Honolulu, HI 96822 United States
AU: Parrish, F
EM: Frank.Parrish@noaa.gov
AF: Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, 2570 Dole St. , Honolulu, HI 96822 United States
AB: A series of scuba dives were made to survey patches of black corals and their associated deep reef fish community in the channel waters \(50-73 m\) of Maui, Hawaii. Most of the colonies were identified as Antipathes dichotoma, and they averaged 76 cm \(0.37cm SD\) in height. Forty fish taxa were surveyed in and around the corals. Only Oxycirrhites typus was found exclusively with these coral trees. Sixty percent of the fish surveyed were observed to frequent and pass through the coral branches. However, only four fish species were documented to reliably take shelter in the coral branches when evading the approaching diver. An archival video was used to monitor movement patterns of fish around a cluster of black coral trees for a 60-hour period. During daylight hours {\it Dascyllus albisella}, {\it Centropyge potteri}, {\it Forcipiger flavissimus}, {\it Aulostomus chinensis}, and {\it Canthigaster jactator} were observed to be the routine users of the coral patch, but only {\it Dascyllus albisella} and {\it Centropyge potteri} appeared to be residents to specific trees. At night {\it Neoniphon} sp. were observed using the trees as a base from which to forage and Heniochus diphreutes dropped from their daytime position high in the water column to hide in the tree branches throughout the evening hours. These observations indicate that black corals trees are used by many fish as a general form of habitat and if the coral trees are the largest relief feature at a site, their removal will likely impact the fish assemblage.
DE: 4815 Ecosystems, structure and dynamics
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2004 Ocean Sciences Meeting