Littoral fish community of the Island Lampedusa (Italy): a visual census approach

Fish community structure of the Island Lampedusa, with a special focus on the fish assemblage inhabiting the infralittoral rocky substrate, was studied from July to October 1995. Visual census techniques (strip transects and random censuses) and the application of an anaesthetic (quinaldine), to sample cryptic and benthic species, were used. A total of 77 species and 29 fish families were censused. The most common families were Labridae and Sparidae. Factor analysis applied to the 84 visual assessments, using the 9 most common species, divided the samples according to their position along the coast, depth, substrate, algae cover and presence of the vascular plane, Posidonia oceanica. In addition, discriminant analyses indicated the ecological preferences of some species. Size frequency distributions indicated the distribution of different life stages. Despite the shallow depths sampled, the present study shows how the fish community of this island has high species richness.