Abstract
The plankton larval duration for 100 species of Pacific and Atlantic damselfishes was estimated from daily growth increments on the otolith of juvenile fish collected at various localities between July 1987 and September 1988. For newly-settled fishes, larval duration was determined by counting the entire number of increments present on the otolith, while for older juveniles estimates were made by counting the number of increments between the center of the otolith and a mark corresponding to settlement. We document the development of otolith formation during the period when eggs are incubated on the reef and show that daily increments are only accreted after larvae hatch and enter the planktonic phase. The planktonic larval duration for damselfish is shorter and less variable, both between and within species, compared to other groups of reef fishes such as wrasses and surgeonfishes. Larval duration ranged from 12 to 39 d. Average duration between species ranged from 13.1 to 35.2 d. The time spent in the plankton was not significantly correlated with geographic distribution when evaluated among species, however, genera with confined regional distribution have a shorter mean larval life than do widely distributed genera. Size at settlement was positively correlated with time spent in the plankton among species, but a significant correlation between these variables was only evident within one of ten species. The low variance in planktonic larval duration within species indicates that most damselfish are unable to delay metamorphosis following competency. This inability to postpone settlement limits the potential for dispersal, especially when dispersal time between suitable habitats is greater than about 30 d.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Allen, G. R. (1975). Damselfishes of the south seas. Tropical Fish Hobbyist. Publications Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey
Allen, G. R. (in press). Damselfishes of the world. Mergus Press, FRG
Allen, G. R., Woods, L. P. (1980). A review of the damselfish genus Stegastes from the eastern Pacific with a description of a new species. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 8: 171–198
Bakun, A. (1986). Local retention of pelagic larvae in tropical demersal reef/bank systems: the role of vertically structured hydrodynamic processes. In: Pauly, D., Yañez, A. (eds.) Proceedings of the IREP/OSLR workshop on the recruitment of tropical coastal demersal communities, Campeche, Mexico. UNESCO, Paris, p. 15–32. (IOC/UNESCO Rep. Ser. No. 44)
Barlow, G. W. (1981). Patterns of parental investment, dispersal and size among coral-reef fishes. Envir. Biol. Fish. 6: 65–85
Bell, L. J., Moyer, J. T., Numachi, K. (1982). Morphological and genetic variation in Japanese populations of the anemonefish Amphiprion clarkii. Mar. Biol. 72: 99–108
Brothers, E. B., Mathews, C. P., Lasker, R. (1976). Daily growth increments in otoliths from larval and adult fishes. Fish. Bull. U.S. 74: 1–8
Brothers, E. B., McFarland, W. N. (1981). Correlations between otolith microstructure, growth, and life history transitions in newly recruited French grunts [Haemulon flavolineatum (Desmarest), Haemulidae]. Rapp. P.-v. Réun. Cons. perm. int. Explor. Mer 178: 369–372
Brothers, E. B., Thresher, R. E. (1985). Pelagic duration, dispersal, and the distribution of Indo-Pacific coral reef fishes. In: Reaka, M. (ed.) The ecology of coral reefs. U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., p. 53–69. (NOAA Symp. Ser. Undersea Res. Vol. 2.)
Brothers, E.B., Williams, D. McB., Sale, P. F. (1983). Length of larval life in twelve families of fishes at “One Tree Lagoon”, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Mar. Biol. 76: 319–324
Burton, R. S. (1983). Protein polymorphisms and genetic differentiation of marine invertebrate populations. Mar. Biol. Lett. 4: 193–206
Burton, R. S., Feldman, M. W. (1981). Population genetics of Tigriopus californicus: II. Differentiation among neighboring populations. Evolution, Lawrence, Kansas 35: 1192–1205
Bussing, W. A. (1983). A new tropical eastern Pacific labrid fish, Halichoeres discolor endemic to Isla del Coco, Costa Rica. Revta Biol. trop. 31: 19–23
Chambers, R. C., Leggett, W. C. (1987). Size and age at metamorphosis in marine fishes: an analysis of laboratory-reared winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) with a review of variation in other species. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sciences 44: 1936–1947
Doherty, P. J. (1983). Tropical territorial damselfish: is density limited by aggression or recruitment? Ecology 64: 176–190
Doherty, P. J., Williams, D. McB. (1988). The replenishment of coral reef fish populations. Oceanogr. mar. Biol. Rev. 26: 447–551
Gooding, R., Magnuson, J. (1967). Ecological significance of a drifting object to pelagic fishes. Pacif. Sci. 21: 486–497
Johannes, R. E. (1978). Reproductive strategies of coastal marine fishes in the tropics. Envir. Biol. Fish. 3: 65–84
Leis, J. M. (1982). Nearshore distributional gradients of larval fish (15 taxa) and planktonic crustaceans (6 taxa) in Hawaii. Mar. Biol. 72: 89–97
Leis, J. M., Goldman, B. (1984). A preliminary distributional study of fish larvae near a ribbon coral reef in the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs 2: 197–203
Leis, J. M., Miller, J. M. (1976). Offshore distributional patterns of Hawaiian fish larvae. Mar. Biol. 36: 359–367
Lobel, P., Robinson, A. R. (1986). Transport and entrapment of fish larvae by ocean mesoscale eddies and currents in Hawaiian waters. Deep-Sea Res. 33: 483–500
Pannella, G. (1971). Fish otoliths: daily growth layers and periodical patterns. Science, N.Y. 173: 24–27
Pannella, G. (1980). Growth patterns in fish sagitta. In: Rhoads, D. C., Lutz, R. A. (eds.) Skeletal growth of aquatic organisms. Plenum Press, New York, p. 519–590
Richards, W. J. (1984). Kinds and abundances of fish larvae in the Caribbean Sea and adjacent areas. NOAA natn. mar. Fish. Serv. tech. Rep. U.S. Dep. Commerce 776: 1–54
Robertson, D.R., Green, D. G., Victor, B.C. (1988). Temporal coupling of reproduction and recruitment of larvae of a Caribbean reef fish. Ecology 69: 370–381
Rosenblatt, R. H., Waples, R. S. (1986). A genetic comparison of allopatric populations of shore fish species from the eastern and central Pacific Ocean: dispersal or vicariance. Copeia 1986: 275–284
Sale, P. F. (1980). The ecology of fishes on coral reefs. Oceanogr. mar. Biol. A. Rev. 18: 367–421
Sale, P. F., Doherty, P. J., Eckert, G. J., Douglas, W. A., Ferrel, D. J. (1984). Large scale spatial and temporal variation in recruitment to fish populations on coral reefs. Oecologia (Berlin) 64: 191–198
Sammarco, P. W., Andrews, J. C. (1988). Localized dispersal and recruitment in Great Barrier Reef corals: the helix experiment. Science, N.Y. 239: 1422–1424
Schmitt, P. (1984). Marking growth increments in otoliths of larval and juvenile fish by immersion in tetracycline to examine the rate of increment formation. Fish. Bull. U.S. 82: 237–242
Shaklee, J. B. (1984). Genetic variation and population structure in the damselfish, Stegastes fasciolatus, throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago. Copeia 1984: 629–640
Shaklee, J. B., Tamaru, C.S., Waples, R. S. (1982). Speciation and evolution of marine fishes studied by the electrophoretic analysis of proteins. Pacif. Sci. 36: 141–155
Shulman, M. J., Ogden, J. G., Ebersole, J. P., McFarland, W. N., Miller, S. L., Wolf, N. G. (1983). Priority effects in recruitment of juvenile coral reef fishes. Ecology 64: 1508–1513
Sokal, R. R., Braumann, C. A. (1980). Significance tests for coefficients of variation and variability profiles. Syst. Zool. 29: 50–66
Sweatman, H. P. A. (1985). The influence of adults of some coral reef fish species on larval recruitment. Ecol. Monogr. 55: 469–485
Thomson, D. A., Findley, L. T., Kerstitch, A. N. (1979). Reef fishes of the Sea of Cortez. J. Wiley & Sons, New York
Thresher, R.E. (1984). Reproduction in reef fishes. Tropical Fish Hobbyist Publications Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey
Thresher, R.E., Brothers, E. B. (1985). Reproductive ecology and biogeography of Indo-West Pacific angelfish (Pisces: Pomacanthidae). Evolution, Lawrence, Kansas 39: 878–887
Victor, B. C. (1982). Daily otolith increments and recruitment in two coral-reef wrasses, Thalassoma bifasciatum and Halichoeres bivittatus. Mar. Biol. 71: 203–208
Victor, B. C. (1983). Recruitment and population dynamics of a coral reef fish population. Science, N.Y. 219: 419–420
Victor, B. C. (1986a). Larval settlement and juvenile mortality in a recruitment-limited coral reef fish population. Ecol. Monogr. 56: 145–160
Victor, B. C. (1986b). Delayed metamorphosis with reduced larval growth in a coral reef fish (Thalassoma bifasciatum). Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sciences 43: 1208–1213
Victor, B. C. (1986c). Duration of the planktonic larval stage of one hundred species of Pacific and Atlantic wrasses (family Labridae). Mar. Biol. 90: 317–326
Victor, B. C. (1987). Growth, dispersal, and identification of planktonic labrid and pomacentrid reef-fish larvae in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Mar. Biol. 95: 45–152
Waples, R. S. (1987). A multispecies approach to the analysis of gene flow in marine shore fishes. Evolution, Lawrence, Kanasas 41: 385–400
Williams, D. McB. (1980). Dynamics of the pomacentrid community on small patch reefs in One Tree Lagoon (Great Barrier Reef). Bull. mar. Sci. 30: 159–170
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by J. M. Lawrence, Tampa
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wellington, G.M., Victor, B.C. Planktonic larval duration of one hundred species of Pacific and Atlantic damselfishes (Pomacentridae). Mar. Biol. 101, 557–567 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00541659
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00541659