FACTORS INFLUENCING SPATIAL-DISTRIBUTION OF FISH COMMUNITIES ON A FRINGING-REEF AT MAURITIUS, SW INDIAN-OCEAN

This paper analyses the spatial patterns of fish communities on a narr ow fringing reef of Mauritius and identifies some controlling factors. Canonical Correspondence Analysis revealed that the location in the r eef ecosystem, the living coral coverage, and the proximity to a dredg ed area were the major factors controlling the distribution and abunda nce of fish species. Two distinct communities were observed across the fringing reef, representing a land-ocean gradient. The low diversity of fish species, and also of invertebrates such as corals, molluscs, a nd echinoderms is probably a consequence of the narrowness of the frin ging reef and of anthropogenic impacts, notably the high pollution by nutrients.