The Distribution of Enneanectes (Blennioidei: Tripterygiidae) on Multiple Spatial Scales

Lisa K. Haney
Grice Marine Laboratory, University of Charleston, 205 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412; (562) 423-8393; LisaHaney@hotmail.com

Patterns of community structure for coral reef fishes have provided insight into ecological relationships within and among taxa, but these patterns have not been widely tested on multiple spatial scales. To address this, I examined the tripterygiid genus Enneanectes at three distinct scales: 1) a regional scale incorporating 379 stations from Belize and Honduras, 2) Glover's Reef atoll serving as a local scale, and 3) a site-specific scale restricted to the patch reef habitat within the lagoon of Glover's Reef atoll. Patterns of species distribution were determined by examining taxon fidelity to habitats at each scale. Overall, species of Enneanectes exhibited a clumped distribution within discrete habitats at each spatial scale, suggesting that tripterygiid assemblage patterns are stable irrespective of scale. At the second spatial scale, shape differences among populations of taxa within and among defined habitats were quantified using a Truss analysis. The quantification of shape proved useful and provided new characters by which species could be discerned taxonomically. Lastly, substrate preference and nearest neighbor interactions were recorded and quantified in the third spatial scale analysis. It is recommended that analyses of multiple spatial scales be incorporated in future studies to obtain a more reliable estimate of community dynamics.