Larval growth, size, stage duration and recruitment success of a temperate reef fish

Understanding the causes of variation in recruitment of marine fishes has been a central goal for marine ecologists, fishery scientists and resource managers over the last century. Although the idea that recruitment variability is linked to the pelagic environmental conditions that enhance larval gr...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of sea research 2011, Vol.65 (1), p.1-7
Main Authors:	Fontes, Jorge, Santos, Ricardo S., Afonso, Pedro, Caselle, Jennifer E.
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Age Agnatha. Pisces Animal and plant ecology Animal, plant and microbial ecology Biological and medical sciences Coris julis environmental factors Fish fisheries Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology larvae larval development Larval Growth life history managers Marine marine fish Otolith prediction Recruitment Reef fish Resource management Sea water ecosystems Settlements Stage Duration Survival Synecology Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Understanding the causes of variation in recruitment of marine fishes has been a central goal for marine ecologists, fishery scientists and resource managers over the last century. Although the idea that recruitment variability is linked to the pelagic environmental conditions that enhance larval growth, survival, and/or delivery is consensual, such relationship is poorly known for most species. In this study we analyzed patterns of recruitment and early life history of a temperate reef fish, Coris julis from the Azores archipelago to test the relationships between early life history and recruitment success over two consecutive years. Growth from hatch to larval age 30 d was the best predictor of recruitment, implying that fast growing larger-at-age larvae have a survival advantage and contribute more to high recruitment, supporting the “bigger-is-better” hypothesis. The “stage-duration” hypothesis and the predictions regarding the relationships between size at age (SAA), size at settlement (SAS) and recruit abundance were also partially supported. The results presented in this study highlight the importance of understanding the early life traits that determine recruitment and larval-survivorship patterns, especially early larval growth, as this may provide a basis for prediction of recruitment and thus management of resources.
ISSN:	1385-1101 1873-1414