Rockpool intertidal fishes of Los Cóbanos, El Salvador, Central America

Rockpools were classified by shore height as low (3-39cm), mid (40-75cm) and high(76-110cm) based on their elevation on the intertidal zone and no rockpool formations were present at levels higher than 1.10m. Six rockpools were randomly selected at each elevation and sampled on four occasions three months apart. The goals of this research were (1) to describe the assemblage structure of intertidal rockpool fish in Los Cóbanos, (2) to determine patterns of vertical distribution of intertidal rockpool fishes, (3) to determine physical and chemical variables associated with rockpool fish and (4) to describe the size structure of intertidal rockpool fish according to rockpool shore height.

We hypothesized that shore height influences patterns of distribution and abundance of the intertidal rockpool fish and predict that rockpool at mid intertidal shore heights would support greater diversity of fish, because it represents the area of overlap between low intertidal and high intertidal assemblages. We also predict that larger fish of resident species will occur in rockpools of the higher intertidal shore because they are welladapted to the intertidal environmental dynamics and that larger fish of opportunist species will be restricted to rockpools of the lower intertidal zone.<br></p>