Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

SS42 American Fisheries Society/ASLO Joint Session: Scaling Fisheries From Egg to Adult and Back Again (Spatial and Temporal Connections)

Date: Wednesday, February 14, 2001, Time: 2:15:00 PM

Location: Sandia/Santa Ana

Paris, C, B, Sate University of New York, Marine Sciences Research Center, Stony Brook, USA, cparis@rsmas.miami.edu

Cowen, R, K, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Miami, USA, rcowen@rsmas.miami.edu

SURVIVAL OF LARVAL CORAL REEF FISHES: THE MISSING LINK BETWEEN EGG PRODUCTION AND RECRUITMENT

Multivariate optimum interpolation was used to obtain a 3D structure of the in situ flow in the coastal region of Barbados. Field based realization of the flow field served to model larval transport, using both a turbulent scheme to predict diffusion, and the observed ontogenetic vertical migration behavior of larval cohorts of the bicolor damselfish (Stegastes partitus). Differential retention rates in the near field during the pelagic phase lead to significant variations in advective loss of larvae. Larval fluxes and observed declines in cohort densities were used to calculate age-specific instantaneous mortality rates throughout the entire pelagic duration. By tracking cohort dynamics, we were able to link recruitment cycles to egg production, and explain the observed inter-annual variability in recruitment rates to the reef.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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