Distribution and habitat association of benthic fish on the Condor seamount (NE Atlantic, Azores) from in situ observations

Abstract Distribution of fish assemblages and habitat associations of demersal fishes on the Condor seamount were investigated by analyzing in situ video imagery acquired by the Remotely-Operated Vehicles ROV SP 300 and Luso 6000. A total of 51 fish taxa from 32 families were inventoried. Zooplanktivores (10 species) were the most abundant group followed by carnivores (23 species) and benthivores (18 species). Non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) analyses were performed on dive segments to visualize the spatial relationships between species and habitat type, substrate type or depth, with depth being the most significant parameter influencing fish distribution. Four major fish groups were identified from their vertical distribution alone: summit species (generally to

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