Piscina Garoupinha

It was in Piscina Garoupinha that, on 30 April 2023, a 23 cm lionfish was captured, the first record of this invasive species in Atol das Rocas. It is an enclosed pool, with no permanent connection to the ocean, in the western sector of the ring, and it is not affected by waves. The bottom is mostly sand, with a few patch reefs. In 2007 censuses, the pool had an average of 291.85 adult Thalassoma noronhanum per 100 m², far above the other four fish studied. The same censuses also found recruits, newly settled juveniles, of Abudefduf saxatilis, averaging 30.92 per 100 m², and of Thalassoma noronhanum, 74.15 per 100 m².