ABSTRACT
The coastal marine waters surrounding North and South America have long been recognised as biogeographically distinct. While most biogeographers have traditionally considered tropical and temperate marine waters separately (e.g., Ekman, 1953; Briggs, 1974), this analysis explores the diversity and distributions of both tropical and temperate blennioid fishes within this vast region. Blennioids are ideal subjects for studying the biogeography of coastal marine waters because they exhibit significant diversity, occur in most coastal habitats and, importantly, exhibit a range of dispersal potentials. Blennioids include species with long larval development, spending over 50 days in the plankton (Riginos and Victor, 2001; Robertson et al., 2004; Watson, Chapter 4.4), as well as those that give birth to well-developed juveniles that may lack a significant dispersal stage (Rosenblatt and Taylor, 1971; Moser, 2007). In addition,
variation in dispersal potential is predicted based on the behavior and location in which larval development occurs. In some species, larvae remain in inshore waters, often very close to reef substrates throughout their entire development, while in others, larval development occurs in the open ocean, far from reefs (Brogan, 1994). As a consequence, various blennies are predicted to react differently to potential barriers to dispersal, revealing a variety of patterns and associated factors that may have led to their isolation and diversification.
