. Atoll research bulletin. Coral reefs and islands; Marine biology; Marine sciences. 195. Figure 4. Size-frequency distribution of all humphead wrasse where size data were available (n=31). DISCUSSION Humphead wrasse preferentially occupied channel habitats in Laamu Atoll, Maldives. This species was also observed in three reef-slope sites inside the atoll rim and two reef-slope sites outside the atoll rim. However, two of three inside sites and both outside sites were adjacent to channel habitats. Only one humphead wrasse was observed at a site located a significant distance from a channel. It
. Atoll research bulletin. Coral reefs and islands; Marine biology; Marine sciences. 195. Figure 4. Size-frequency distribution of all humphead wrasse where size data were available (n=31). DISCUSSION Humphead wrasse preferentially occupied channel habitats in Laamu Atoll, Maldives. This species was also observed in three reef-slope sites inside the atoll rim and two reef-slope sites outside the atoll rim. However, two of three inside sites and both outside sites were adjacent to channel habitats. Only one humphead wrasse was observed at a site located a significant distance from a channel. It is unknown why this species prefers this type of habitat. Comparative data are only available from one other central Indian Ocean site (Sluka and Lazarus, in press). The relative abundance of this species at the study sites in Maldives ( fish/hr) was approximately three times higher than at sites on the west coast of India ( fish/hr). However, the Indian sites were mainly non- carbonate reefs with high structural complexity but low coral cover (Sluka, Mary, and Lazarus, unpublished data) and thus of a significantly different habitat type. Little is known about humphead wrasse biology which can be used to infer causative agents of distribution patterns. This species eats a wide range of prey including mollusks, fish, and sea urchins, and the crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci (Randall et al., 1978). The reef-slope habitats of Laamu Atoll have high coral cover and tend to have high spatial complexity, including vertical relief (R. Sluka and Miller, unpublished data), while the channels tend to have lower vertical relief and spatial complexity (Sluka, pers. obs.). It may be that food items are easier to find due to the relative lack of hiding places and more exposed nature of the channel coral reefs. However, the humphead wrasse observed in the channels tended to be found near the outer edge of the channel adjacent to the point at which the channel drops of
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