Distribution changes after settlement in six species of damselfish (Pomacentridae) in One Tree Island lagoon, Great Barrier Reef

Booth, DJ

Distribution changes after settlement in six species of damselfish (Pomacentridae) in One Tree Island lagoon, Great Barrier Reef

Booth, DJ

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2002, 226 pp. 157 - 164
Issue Date:: 2002-01-31

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Booth, DJ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8256-1412	en_US
dc.date.issued	2002-01-31	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2002, 226 pp. 157 - 164	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0171-8630	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/3721
dc.description.abstract	While larval supply patterns play a major role in determining the distribution and abundance of reef fishes at a range of spatial and temporal scales, events occurring in the weeks after settlement may also significantly alter the demography of a juvenile population. I monitored over 2 summers the arrival of new recruits of 6 species of benthic damselfish onto continuous and patch reef habitat in One Tree Island lagoon. Each species had specific habitat preferences, and most showed some form of patchiness in spatial and temporal distribution at settlement; however, this was most likely a result of group settlement rather than habitat patchiness. Tagged recruits of Pomacentrus amboinensis remained within 1 m of their settlement site for at least the first 36 d on continuous reef, while known individuals of other species also moved little during this period, suggesting that disappearances were likely to be due to mortality. Mortality of recruits varied among species, years and habitats (patch vs continuous reef), and consequently spatial distributions of fish changed after settlement at the scale of 10s of metres (within-site) and several kilometres (among 8 sites). The spatial patchiness in distributions was not consistent among species, sites or years, suggesting that spatial variation in substrate did not have a major effect on settlement variation at this scale. These results show that the settlement signal may be obscured in the first few weeks post-settlement, and that less-frequent censuses, commonly used as proxies for high-frequency monitoring of settlement, may not accurately hindcast spatial or temporal patterns of settlement.	en_US
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/A19920019
dc.relation.ispartof	Marine Ecology Progress Series	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.3354/meps226157	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Marine Biology & Hydrobiology	en_US
dc.title	Distribution changes after settlement in six species of damselfish (Pomacentridae) in One Tree Island lagoon, Great Barrier Reef	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	226	en_US
utslib.for	050205 Environmental Management	en_US
utslib.for	060207 Population Ecology	en_US
utslib.for	060205 Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology)	en_US
utslib.for	0405 Oceanography	en_US
utslib.for	0602 Ecology	en_US
utslib.for	0608 Zoology	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	226	en_US

Abstract:

While larval supply patterns play a major role in determining the distribution and abundance of reef fishes at a range of spatial and temporal scales, events occurring in the weeks after settlement may also significantly alter the demography of a juvenile population. I monitored over 2 summers the arrival of new recruits of 6 species of benthic damselfish onto continuous and patch reef habitat in One Tree Island lagoon. Each species had specific habitat preferences, and most showed some form of patchiness in spatial and temporal distribution at settlement; however, this was most likely a result of group settlement rather than habitat patchiness. Tagged recruits of Pomacentrus amboinensis remained within 1 m of their settlement site for at least the first 36 d on continuous reef, while known individuals of other species also moved little during this period, suggesting that disappearances were likely to be due to mortality. Mortality of recruits varied among species, years and habitats (patch vs continuous reef), and consequently spatial distributions of fish changed after settlement at the scale of 10s of metres (within-site) and several kilometres (among 8 sites). The spatial patchiness in distributions was not consistent among species, sites or years, suggesting that spatial variation in substrate did not have a major effect on settlement variation at this scale. These results show that the settlement signal may be obscured in the first few weeks post-settlement, and that less-frequent censuses, commonly used as proxies for high-frequency monitoring of settlement, may not accurately hindcast spatial or temporal patterns of settlement.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/3721