Atlantic reef fishes: distributions and life-history traits

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Atlantic reef fishes: distributions and life-history traits 

Upload date: September 3rd, 2024            DOI for all versions: 10.5281/zenodo.13655553

Isadora Cord*, Sergio R. Floeter*,**, Gabriel S. Araujo, Juan P. Quimbayo, D. Ross Robertson, Benjamin C. Victor, Peter Wirtz, Hudson T. Pinheiro, Rui Freitas, Luiz A. Rocha 

* joint first authors; ** corresponding author <sergiofloeter@gmail.com>

Introduction to the First Edition

This database includes information on the distribution and life-history traits for 1,628 reef fish species, distributed across 26 sub-provinces of the tropical, sub-tropical, and warm temperate Atlantic Ocean. We followed the definition provided by Floeter et al. (2008) for “reef fish,” including any shallow (<100 m) tropical/subtropical benthic or benthopelagic fishes that consistently associate with hard substrates of coral, algal, or rocky reefs, or occupy adjacent sand substrate. All distributions were verified by the authors, double-checked with online databases, and available literature (peer-reviewed regional checklists and scientific papers; see main refs). Life-history traits were compiled for most species by using a combination of personal data, online databases (e.g. Froese & Pauly, 2023; Robertson & Van Tassell, 2023), and published sources (e.g. Luiz et al. 2015; Pinheiro et al. 2018; Quimbayo et al. 2021).

This database is associated with the manuscript Cord et al. (2025) “Biogeography and evolution of reef fishes on tropical Mid-Atlantic Ridge islands,” and represents an update that has been in development for 16 years, based on Floeter et al. (2008) “Atlantic reef fish biogeography and evolution”.

Data Description:

The .xlsx database contains two pages, “traits&distributions” and “acronyms”. The “acronyms” page contains the same table that is available below, as well as a map illustrating the studied areas. The “traits&distributions” page is divided into the following columns:

   "A" through "D": Species’ identification

species = the complete species names, in the following pattern: “Genus_specific epithet”, e.g. “Acanthurus_bahianus”

family, genus = self explanatory

spp = specific epithet

   "E" through "AD": Distributions

   "AE" through "AK": Life-history traits

“depth_max” = Maximum recorded depth, in meters.

“bodysize_max” = Maximum recorded adult body size, in centimeters.

“rafter” = Presence (1) or absence (0) of rafting behavior (mostly for the entire genus).

“multihabitat” = Usage of other habitats in addition to structural reefs (soft bottoms, seagrass/macroalgae beds, mangroves, and estuaries).

“diet” = Diet habits (gc: generalised carnivores; hd: herbivores/detritivores; is: sessile invertivores; mi: mobile invertivores; om: omnivores; pk: planktivores).

“groupsize” = Sociability (sol: solitary; pair: pairs of two individuals; smallg: groups of 3 to 10 individuals; medg: groups of 10 to 20 individuals; largeg: groups of over 20 individuals).

“spawning” = Spawning modes (att: attached; dem: demersal; live: livebearers; oral: oral; pel: pelagic).

Data Sources and Verification:

We gathered presence or absence data for 73 families of reef-associated fishes, encompassing 1,637 species in 26 distinct biogeographical units within the Atlantic Basin (see table above). All distributions were strictly verified by the authors, double-checked with online databases and available literature (e.g. Brown et al. 2019; Freitas et al. 2019; Floeter et al. 2023; Pinheiro et al. 2020; Robertson & Van Tassell, 2023; Wirtz et al. 2017). Life-history traits were compiled using personal data, online databases (e.g. Froese & Pauly, 2023; Robertson & Van Tassell, 2023), and published sources (e.g. Luiz et al. 2015; Pinheiro et al. 2018; Quimbayo et al. 2021). All species’ nomenclature was based on Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (Fricke et al. 2024). 

Main References:

Brown, J., Beard, A., Clingham, E., Fricke, R., Henry, L., & Wirtz, P. (2019). The fishes of St Helena Island, central Atlantic Ocean—new records and an annotated checklist. Zootaxa, 4543(2), 151-194.

Freitas, R., Romeiras, M., Silva, L., Cordeiro, R., Madeira, P., González, J.A., Wirtz, P., Falcón, J.M., Brito, A., Floeter, S.R., Afonso, P., Porteiro, F., Viera-Rodríguez, M.A., Neto, A.I., Haroun, R., Farminhão, J.N.M., Rebelo, A.C., Baptista, L., Melo, C.S., Martínez, A., Núñez, J., Berning, B., Johnson, M.E. & Ávila, S.P. (2019). Restructuring of the 'Macaronesia' biogeographic unit: A marine multi-taxon biogeographical approach. Scientific Reports, 9: 15792.

Fricke, R., Eschmeyer, W. N. & Fong, J. D. (2024 ). ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: GENERA/SPECIES BY FAMILY/SUBFAMILY.(http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/ SpeciesByFamily.asp). Electronic version accessed 03 September 2024.

Floeter, S.R., Krajewski, J.P., Fiuza, T.M.J., Rocha, L.A. & Carvalho-Filho, A. (2023). Brazilian Reef Fishes. Editora CRV, Curitiba, pp. 320.ISBN 978-65-251-4245-6. DOI: 10.24824/978652514245.6

Floeter, S. R., Rocha, L. A., Robertson, D. R., Joyeux, J. C., Smith-Vaniz, W. F., Wirtz, P., Edwards, A. J., Barreiros, J. P., Ferreira, C. E. L., Gasparini, J. L., Brito, A., Falcón, J. M., Bowen, B. W. & Bernardi, G. (2008). Atlantic reef fish biogeography and evolution. Journal of Biogeography, 35: 22-47.

Froese R, Pauly D (Eds) (2023) FishBase. [Version 06/2023] http://www.fishbase.org 

Luiz, O. J., Madin, J. S., Robertson, D. R., Rocha, L. A., Wirtz, P., & Floeter, S. R. (2012). Ecological traits influencing range expansion across large oceanic dispersal barriers: insights from tropical Atlantic reef fishes. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 279(1730), 1033-1040.

Munroe, T. A. (1990). Eastern Atlantic tonguefishes (Symphurus: Cynoglossidae, Pleuronectiformes), with descriptions of two new species. Bulletin of Marine Science, 47(2), 464-515.

Munroe, T. A. (1991). Western Atlantic Tonguefishes of the Symphurus-Plagusia Complex (Cynoglossidae, Pleuronectiformes), with Descriptions of 2 New Species. Fishery Bulletin.

Pinheiro, H. T., Rocha, L. A., Macieira, R. M., Carvalho‐Filho, A., Anderson, A. B., Bender, M. G., ... & Floeter, S. R. (2018). South‐western Atlantic reef fishes: Zoogeographical patterns and ecological drivers reveal a secondary biodiversity centre in the Atlantic Ocean. Diversity and Distributions, 24(7), 951-965.

Pinheiro, H. T., Macena, B. C., Francini‐Filho, R. B., Ferreira, C. E., Albuquerque, F. V., Bezerra, N. P., ... & Rocha, L. A. (2020). Fish biodiversity of Saint Peter and Saint Paul's Archipelago, Mid‐Atlantic Ridge, Brazil: new records and a species database. Journal of Fish Biology, 97(4), 1143-1153.

Quimbayo, J.P., Silva, F.C., Mendes, T.C., Ferrari, D.S., Danielski, S.L., Bender, M.G., Parravicini, V., Kulbicki, M. & Floeter, S.R. (2021). Life-history traits, geographical range and conservation aspects of reef fishes from the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific. Ecology (Data Papers), https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3298.

Robertson, D. R., & Tornabene, L. (2023). Reef-associated Bony Fishes of the Greater Caribbean: A Checklist (VERSION 5). https://zenodo.org/records/10225031

Robertson, D. R., & Van Tassell, J. (2023). Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean: online information system. Version 3.0 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panamá.

Wirtz, P., Bingeman, J., Bingeman, J., Fricke, R., Hook, T. J., & Young, J. (2017). The fishes of Ascension Island, central Atlantic Ocean–new records and an annotated checklist. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 97(4), 783-798.

Additional details:

Related works: Cord et al. (2025) and Floeter et al. (2008).

 Cord, I., Araujo, G. S., Silva, F. C., Kurtz, Y. R., Rocha, C. R., Pinheiro, H. T., Rocha, L. A. & Floeter, S. R. (2025). Biogeography and evolution of reef fishes on tropical Mid-Atlantic Ridge islands. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 292(2051), 20250756.

Floeter, S. R., Rocha, L. A., Robertson, D. R., Joyeux, J. C., Smith-Vaniz, W. F., Wirtz, P., Edwards, A. J., Barreiros, J. P., Ferreira, C. E. L., Gasparini, J. L., Brito, A., Falcón, J. M., Bowen, B. W. & Bernardi, G. (2008). Atlantic reef fish biogeography and evolution. Journal of Biogeography, 35: 22–47.