Larval supply: a good predictor of recruitment of three species of reef fish (Pomacentridae)

Abstract

At Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, larval supply and recruitment of three speices of damselfish (Pomacentrus amboinensis, P. nagasakiensis, Dischistodus perspicillatus) were estimated. 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. Data also support 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 were also significantly correlated, with the exception of P. amboinensis during one season (1989/90). When the level of comparison was further narrowed to analyse correlations between pre- and post-settlement fish of individual species in each season, within each habitat, only seven significant relationships were detected out of a possible 18 habitat/species combinations. These relationships provided some evidence for habitat selection suggesting that P. amboinensis preferred the leeward habitat, D. perspicillatus the windward habitat. -from Authors