The banded butterflyfish (Chaetodon striatus) is a non-coral generalist known for its adaptability to diverse environments. However, little is known about its home range, including spatial drivers, territoriality, and interactions with aggressive competitors like the damselfish Stegastes fuscus. This study examined factors influencing home range size in C. striatus and its spatial relationship with S. fuscus. At Praia do Forno (Arraial do Cabo, Brazil), 25 C. striatus individuals were tracked and video-recorded, while substrate composition and species abundance were quantified. Results confirmed agonistic interactions between S. fuscus and C. striatus, and identified S. fuscus abundance as the only variable significantly associated with C. striatus home range size. Neither substrate variation—including the presence of Palythoa caribaeorum—nor fish body size had a measurable effect. These findings suggest that interspecific aggression, rather than habitat structure or individual traits, plays a primary role in shaping space use in C. striatus. This research provides an initial step toward understanding the spatial ecology and behavioral interactions of this species. Further studies across different sites and conditions are needed to clarify how habitat and behavioral interactions jointly influence movement patterns in C. striatus.
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