Relative abundance and diversity of sharks and predatory fishes across Marine Protected Areas of the Tropical Eastern Pacific.

ABSTRACT: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) support globally distinct reef fish populations, which exhibit differences between the remote oceanic islands and continental coast. While oceanic island MPAs typically support large abundances of sharks and large predatory teleost (bony) fishes, coastal MPAs show increasing signs of depletion. We deployed stereo-Baited Remote Underwater Video systems (stereo-BRUVs) to assess reef fish community structure across seven MPAs in the region. Oceanic island MPAs had considerably greater species richness and relative abundances than coastal MPAs across all trophic levels. Within the biogeographic subprovinces, fish assemblages were differentiated from each other corresponding to latitude, aligning with the established patterns a

SUBMITTER: McKinley SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12654931 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature