A submersible was used to make repetitive dives in Jamaica to depths of 2S m 50 m, and 100m. with increasing depth there was a decline in both withspecies and the numbe; of individuals. The territorial damselfish and mixed-species groups of herbivorous fishes were conspicuously absent at 100m. Few unique species appearedwith increasing depth and thus the deep community resembled depauperate versions of the shallower communities. Twelve species were shared between the 3 depths but there was no significant correlation in ranked relative abundance. Thus increasing depth also influenced community organization. [Keywords: Jamaica, Caribbean, submarine, submersible, social behavior, habitat]

Depth range
25- 100 m

Mesophotic “mentions”
0 x (total of 4715 words)

Classification
* Presents original data
* Focused on 'mesophotic' depth range
* Focused on 'mesophotic coral ecosystem'

Fields
Biodiversity
Community structure

Focusgroups
Fishes

Locations
Jamaica

Platforms
Manned Submersible