Larval settlement patterns and preferences by domino damselfish Dascyllus albisella Gill

doi:10.1016/0022-0981(92)90029-A

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

Volume 155, Issue 1, 18 February 1992, Pages 85-104

https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0981(92)90029-A Get rights and content

Abstract

In open populations, larval settlement dynamics may be an important determinant of subsequent distribution and abundance of juveniles and adults. A correlative and experimental study of larval settlement in the domino damselfish Dascyllus albisella Gill onto coral reefs off Oahu, Hawaii, was conducted by considering settlement patterns and the extent of larval habitat choice. Conspecific groups live in transient groups on small, branching coral heads and do not interact with adults. By repeatedly censusing a natural patch reef over two summers, and employing a multifactorial experiment on a grid of isolated coral heads, I identified conspecific juvenile density as a major factor influencing settlement. A series of field and laboratory binary choice experiments confirmed that larvae preferred to settle with larger groups of conspecific juveniles than with single conspecifics, emty coral heads or confamilial groups. The laboratory experiment also indicated that preferences may have been established through visual cues, suggesting that vision may supplement chemical cues in facilitating larval settlement preferences. On a larger spatial scale, patterns of settlement at five sites coverig 25 km of Oahu's coastline suggested that two distinct peaks of larval settlement occurred in the summer of 1989 and that settlement was synchronous among these sites. It appears that settlement patterns of a small (within-reef) scale are influenced by larval habitat preferences, while settlement on a larger scale (several reefs) may be synchronized as a result of oceanographic factors or spawning patterns.

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Larval settlement patterns and preferences by domino damselfish Dascyllus albisella Gill

Abstract

J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol.

Anim. Behav.

J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol.

J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol.

J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol.

J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol.

Trends Ecol. Evol.

Space-limited recruitment in open system: the importance of time delays

Ecology

Larval settlement and juvenile group dynamics in the domino damselfish (Dascyllus albisella)

Demersal schooling prior to settlement by larvae of the naked goby

Environ. Biol. Fish.

Prey-size intake in humbug damselfish (Dascyllus aruanus) living within social groups

J. Anim. Ecol.

Factors influencing the settlement of marine invertebrate larvae

Overview of research on marine invertebrate larvae, 1940–1980

Coral reef fishes: recruitment-limited assemblages?

The replenishment of populations of coral reef fishes, recruitment surveys and the problems of variability manifest on multiple scales

Bull. Mar. Sci.

Large-scale variability in the recruitment of a coral reef fish

The replenishment of coral reef fish populations

Ocean. Mar. Biol. Annu. Rev.

Control of different mating systems in a coral reef fish by one environmental factor

Anim. Behav.

Recruitment and growth of juvenile Dascyllus albisella

Settlement and recruitment of marine invertebrates: a perspective and some proposals

Bull. Mar. Sci.

Population biology of plants

Predation as a process structuring coral-reef fish communities

Protandry and the evolution of environmentally-mediated sex change: a study of the Mollusca

Malacologia

Recruitment limitation, mortality and population regulation in open systems: a case study

Ecology

Reproductive strategies of coastal marine fishes in the tropics

Environ. Biol. Fish.

Some interactions between residents and recruits in two coral reef fishes

J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol.

Recruitment of marine invertebrates: the role of active larval choices and early mortality

Oecologia (Berlin)

The early life history of fishes in coastal waters of New Zealand: a review

N.Z. J. Mar. Freshwater Res.

Fine-scale distribution of larval fishes: patterns and processes adjacent to coral reefs in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii

Mar. Biol.

Vertical and horizontal distribution of fish larvae near coral reefs at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef

Mar. Biol.