New Distributional Records of 31 Marine Fish Species from Rocky Reefs of Kerala: Insights from Underwater Visual Census on the Southwest Coast of India

This dataset contains the digitized treatments in Plazi based on the original journal article PT, Baiju, Pereira FG, Benno, MR, Sethu, Mol VP, Limna, MP, Prabhakaran, V, Jayaprakas (2025): New Distributional Records of 31 Marine Fish Species from Rocky Reefs of Kerala: Insights from Underwater Visual Census on the Southwest Coast of India. Species (e 24 s 3127) 26 (77): 1-26, DOI: 10.54905/disssi.v26i77.e24s3127, URL: doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v26i77.e24s3127 ABSTRACT Ichthyofaunal diversity monitoring through in-situ approaches is crucial in critical habitats like rocky reefs, which serves critical ecological role including feeding, breeding, and nursery grounds for various marine organisms.

However, these ecosystems face significant threats like habitat loss, pollution, climate change, and overfishing. This study evaluates the efficacy of underwater visual census (UVS) in documenting rocky reef associated fish diversity along the Kerala coast, southwest coast of India. Underwater surveys were conducted between December 2013 and February 2018 across varying reef habitats, including shallow waters of reefs (1m), intertidal reef (1-5 m), and adjacent sandy bottom of reefs (06 - 12 m).