| BACKGROUND: Several particular aspects of diversity patterns of Chilean littoral fishes are still poorly understood, and existing studies within this scope are fundamentally based on bibliographic compilations. In this study, we use empirical data to assess whether the diversity patterns of fish fauna along 4000 km of the Chilean coast (20° - 55° S)can be explained in relation to the environmental latitudinal gradient. Fish were collected from intertidal pools and subtidal habitats (<35 m). Analyses focused on the spatial scales of diversity patterns and latitudinal breaks in species diversity, comparing the observed patterns among intertidal and subtidal habitats. Correlations between variance in environmental factors and species richness were... |
