| ABSTRACT Fishing pressure affects the behavior of reef fish, especially of fishery-targeted species. In this context, it is critical to understand if fish behavior is preserved in no-take areas (NTAs), which are considered the best instrument for the recovery of fish stocks. Comparing the flight initiation distances (FIDs) of fish inhabiting multiple-use areas (MUAs), where fishing is allowed (including spearfishing), and NTAs is a useful approach to test whether NTAs can be effective as fish refuges. Here, we compared whether the FIDs of two target (Sparisoma axillare and Scarus trispinosus ) and one non-target (Halichoeres poeyi ) labrids are greater in the MUAs than in the NTAs. We also investigated whether group size (GS) and body size (BS) exert any... |
