Length-weight relationships of cryptic reef fishes from the southwestern Gulf of California, Mexico
Eduardo F. BalartAlonso González‐CabelloR. C. Romero-PonceA. Zayas-AlvarezM. Calderon-ParraLucía Campos-DávilaLloyd T. Findley
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Abstract:
Length–weight relationships of 33 cryptic reef fishes from the southwestern Gulf of California were estimated. The most common families were Gobiidae (seven species), Labrisomidae (four), Pomacentridae (three), and Tripterygiidae (three). These are the first length–weight parameters reported for 32 of these species. Specimens were sampled during a comparative ecological study of community structure of fish assemblages associated with coral heads, rocky walls, and artificial reefs in Bahía de La Paz, Baja California Sur. The b values varied between 2.63 and 3.61. New maximum length records for five of the species were established in the study.Keywords:
Pomacentridae
Fringing reef
Pomacentridae
Damselfish
Animal ecology
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Pomacentridae
Ichthyoplankton
Coastal fish
Fish larvae
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This study investigated the hypothesis that recruitment variations of coral reef fish directly reflect vanations in larval supply.At Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef, larval supply and recruitment of 3 species of damselflsh (Pomacentrus amboinensis, P. nagasakiensis and Dischistodus perspicillatus) were estimated from light trap and patch reef collections respectively, over 2 con- secutive recruitment seasons, in each of 3 habitats.Comparison of these patterns pooled over species and seasons revealed a good overall correlation between larval supply and early recruitment levels, suggesting that pre-settlement distributions may be the major determinant of early recruitment patterns despite mediating influences from factors such as habitat selection and post-settlement mortality.This result also supports the use of broad recruitment surveys to estimate year-class strength and to hindcast patterns in larval supply.When analysed at the individual species/season level, the abundance of recruits on patch reefs and the abundance of larvae in light trap collections were also significantly correlated, with the exception of one species (l? amboinensis) during one season (1989/90).When the level of comparison was further narrowed to analyse correlations between preand post-settlement fish of individual species in each season, wlthin each habitat, only 7 significant relationships were detected out of a possible 18 habitathpecies combinations.The power of these tests was relatively high (mean = 0.846; SE = 0.03).These relationships provide some evidence for habitat selection suggesting that P. amboinensis preferred the leeward habitat, while D. perspicillatus preferred the windward habitat.
Pomacentridae
Ichthyoplankton
Fish larvae
Coastal fish
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Demographically open communities are often viewed as stochastically structured assemblages because most colonizing juveniles arrive via unpredictable dispersal mechanisms. However, interactions between established residents and incoming juveniles may affect juvenile persistence in species-specific ways and could therefore impose a degree of determinism on future community structure. Using 16 spatially isolated communities of coral reef fishes, I conducted two experiments to determine how prior residency by two guilds of fishes affected juvenile recruitment. Each experiment factorially manipulated the presence and absence of two guilds: resident piscivores (groupers and moray eels) and interference competitors (territorial damselfishes). In the first experiment, guilds were manipulated via selective removals, and subsequent recruitment (larval settlement minus mortality) was monitored for 44 days. In the second experiment, guilds were placed within large cages to prevent direct resident–juvenile interactions, while allowing for any cues produced by enclosed fishes, thereby testing whether incoming larvae used resident-derived cues to select or reject settlement sites. Colonizing juveniles were collected from each reef over 42 days to prevent confounding resident- and recruit-derived cues. In the first experiment, piscivores inhibited recruitment of a damselfish (Pomacentridae) and a surgeonfish (Acanthuridae), and enhanced recruitment of a wrasse (Labridae). In contrast, territorial damselfishes inhibited recruitment of the damselfish and the wrasse, and enhanced recruitment of the surgeonfish. Observations of early recruitment patterns suggested that recruitment differences were established rapidly during the night or dawn periods shortly after settlement and before each daily census. In the second experiment, there was no evidence that larvae used resident-derived cues to select settlement sites, suggesting that recruitment differences in the first experiment resulted from differential mortality caused by direct resident–recruit interactions rather than differential larval settlement. These results demonstrate that interactions between established residents and newly arrived juveniles can have a strong influence on juvenile persistence, and that such interactions appear to be strongest within hours of larval settlement. Furthermore, because resident effects were species specific, the present composition of these communities may impose a previously undocumented degree of determinism on their future structure.
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Wrasse
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The Coral Coast region, in south-western Viti Levu, Fiji, is the ‘hub’ of tourism development in Fiji, and is one of the fastest developing areas in Fiji. Since the 1980s, development along the Coral Coast has occurred at a rate never previously seen in this area. Large resorts and smaller backpacker facilities emerged from the once coconut-tree lined coastal stretch, from Serua, to Natadola. Village populations have also increased. Anecdotal information and the few, sporadic studies conducted in this area have indicated that the water quality and the biological communities on the fringing reefs have deteriorated dramatically since the 1980s. Live corals which used to feature prominently on the fringing reefs (hence the name ‘Coral Coast), have been replaced by weedy macroalgae, the most common of which is the brown algae Sargassum. The Coral Coast fringing reefs were apparently undergoing phase shifts (like other reefs around the world), and anthropogenic factors have been blamed. The need for scientific information on the effects of anthropogenic activities on the Coral Coast water quality and fringing reef communities prompted this study. The study had several objectives. Two major components addressed the need to establish baseline scientific information on the variability of dissolved nutrients in the water column, and the status of biological communities on the reef flats of the fringing reefs, for control sites (away from human impacts), and impacted sites (close to villages and resorts). Nutrients from anthropogenic sources on land have been identified as one the major bottom-up controlling factors for phase shifts on coral reefs. Control, village and resort sites were monitored for nutrient concentrations from 2003 – 2006, and sampling times covered seasonal as well as weather effects, particularly the effects of storm- associated rainfall. Benthic surveys were also carried out in control and impacted sites several times over the period 2004 – 2006. To complement the results from the longer term monitoring of water quality and reef benthic communities, a number of short-term, targeted experiments were conducted in the laboratory and in the field, to examine nutrient uptake by algae, herbivory impacts and nutrient sources.
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Aquaculture of coral
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MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 285:223-232 (2005) - doi:10.3354/meps285223 Swimming speeds of larval coral reef fishes: impacts on self-recruitment and dispersal Rebecca Fisher* Department of Marine Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia Present address: National Marine Fisheries Service, Santa Cruz Laboratory, 110 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, California 95060, USA *Email: rebecca.fisher@noaa.gov, rebecca_fisher76@yahoo.com.au ABSTRACT: The dispersal of larvae during their time in the pelagic environment is critically important to our understanding of marine populations. Recent publications have highlighted the potential importance of larval behaviour in influencing dispersal patterns of larval reef fishes. However, it has not been clearly established if their abilities are of a magnitude comparable to the potential effects of oceanic processes and whether larval behaviour is sufficient to facilitate self-recruitment. This study presents new data on the swimming speed of late-stage larvae to determine how they can swim relative to oceanic currents. The families examined comprised the Acanthuridae, Siganidae, Lutjanidae, Lethrinidae, Pomacentridae, Chaetodontidae, Nemipteridae, Monacanthidae, Psuedochromidae, Pomacanthidae and Apogonidae. The late-stage larvae of all reef fish families examined were able to swim at speeds greater than the mean transport speeds reported around reefs in most locations. However, even the best-swimming reef fish families could not swim faster than the maximum current speeds reported. Based on new and previously published data it appears that the development of swimming ability can be described adequately (80% of variation explained) as a linear increase from zero at hatching to a species-specific maximum at settlement. Calculations based on this developmental pattern suggest that most reef fish families could substantially influence their dispersal patterns relative to ocean currents for over 50% of their larval phase. For all families examined, swimming behaviour could potentially affect dispersal patterns on a magnitude similar to the dispersing effect of oceanic currents. In addition, the swimming capabilities of several reef fish families have the potential to facilitate active self-recruitment in a range of reef systems. KEY WORDS: Swimming speed · Reef fish · Larvae · Dispersal · Settlement · Recruitment Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 285. Online publication date: January 19, 2005 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2005 Inter-Research.
Pomacentridae
Lutjanidae
Marine larval ecology
Marine reserve
Ichthyoplankton
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Settlement (finance)
Fish larvae
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Mortality rates are often confounded by unaccounted migration, and where tagging is used, tags themselves may bias demographic rates. We examined the retention rate of subcutaneous fluorescent elastomer tags on newly settled POl7lacentrus amboinel1sis (Pomacentridae), and their influence on fish growth and survival. Fish were collected from light traps and marked with either a single tag, double tag or an uncured elastomer tag. There was 100% retention of all tags over the 14-day laboratory experiment. Survival was high for all treatments, ranging from 80% for double-tagged fish, 96% for the unmarked and
single-tagged fish, to 100% for those with a single uncured tag. Fish marked with single tags, both cured and uncured. grew as fast as unmarked fish. In contrast, fish with double tags grew slower than the unmarked fish. These results indicate that marking newly settled coral reef fish with a single fluorescent elastomer is a useful means of short-term cohort, or balch, recognition. The high retention rate of the uncured elastomer tags increases the applicability of this technique for marking individuals underwater by alleviating the need to store it below O degree C to extend its shelf life.
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Abstract The extent of dispersal between populations of Caribbean reef fish remains largely unknown. Resolution of this issue is critical for managing populations and designing marine reserves. As part of a larger study of reef fish dispersal, we developed and characterized 11 polymorphic microsatellite loci for the bicolor damselfish ( Stegastes partitus ), an abundant reef fish found throughout the Caribbean. These loci will be useful for population genetic and relatedness studies of this species and also appear to be useful in other Caribbean members of the Pomacentridae.
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Pomacentridae
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