caa a22 4500 606227288 CHVBK 20210128101157.0 cr unu---uuuuu 210128e20150701xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10641-015-0397-1 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10641-015-0397-1 Rocky intertidal fish assemblage of the Watamu Marine National Park, Kenya (Western Indian Ocean) [Elektronische Daten] [Victoria Sindorf, Benjamin Cowburn, Robert Sluka] The tropical rocky intertidal is a poorly studied ecosystem of great ecological and commercial importance, warranting consideration when implementing coastal management strategies. Icthyofaunal diversity was studied at low tide in intertidal pools in the Watamu Marine National Park, Kenya (Western Indian Ocean). A total of 235 individuals in 15 families (34 species) were observed in 78 sampled quadrats. Gobiidae was the most prevalent family, comprising 25.5% of individuals (five species), followed by Blenniidae with 18.3% of individuals (five species), Pomacentridae with 15.7% of individuals (ten species), and Labridae with 14% of individuals (seven species). A Chao2 asymptotic richness estimate gave an expected asymptotic richness value of 96.36 (s.d. = 6.26), but is likely an underestimate of actual species richness due to limitations of visual census techniques. Half of species observed (52.7%) were only observed as juveniles, indicating that these habitats may function as nurseries for reef-associated and deeper water fish. Other species were resident in this zone, with ten species being found in no other habitat in the surrounding area. This study suggests that the rocky intertidal contributes greatly to adjacent subtidal reef fish populations, which may support continuing local fisheries commerce through spillover of valuable species into the fishable waters. Conservation of this habitat may be of more importance than was previously considered due to its recent discovery as a possible nursery ground for offshore coral reef fish and the presence of species not found in other habitats in the area. Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht, 2015 Species richness nationallicence Biodiversity nationallicence Tidepool nationallicence Kenya nationallicence Connectivity nationallicence Conservation nationallicence Sindorf Victoria A Rocha Kenya, Plot 28, 80202, Watamu, Kenya aut Cowburn Benjamin A Rocha Kenya, Plot 28, 80202, Watamu, Kenya aut Sluka Robert A Rocha Kenya, Plot 28, 80202, Watamu, Kenya aut Environmental Biology of Fishes Springer Netherlands 98/7(2015-07-01), 1777-1785 0378-1909 98:7<1777 2015 98 10641 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-015-0397-1 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-015-0397-1 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Sindorf Victoria A Rocha Kenya, Plot 28, 80202, Watamu, Kenya aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Cowburn Benjamin A Rocha Kenya, Plot 28, 80202, Watamu, Kenya aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Sluka Robert A Rocha Kenya, Plot 28, 80202, Watamu, Kenya aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Environmental Biology of Fishes Springer Netherlands 98/7(2015-07-01), 1777-1785 0378-1909 98:7<1777 2015 98 10641