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Annual and spatial variation in recruitment of labroid fishes among seven reefs in the Capricorn/Bunker Group, Great Barrier Reef

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Abstract

Recruitment of labroid fishes to a lagoonal habitat within each of 7 reefs in the Capricorn/Bunker Group on the Great Barrier Reef was recorded for 2 yr (April 1982–April 1983). The density of recruitment of a species on one reef was not a good indicator of its density on other reefs. There were significant differences in the levels of recruitment between years. For several species, the ranking of reefs according to density of recruitment changed between years and the ranking of the two years changed among reefs. Recruitment varied differently for each species. Southern reefs were ranked more highly than northern reefs overall, but no North-South gradient was apparent. Populations of labroid fishes in the Capricorn/Bunker Group experience unpredictable variations in recruitment.

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Communicated by G. F. Humphrey, Sydney

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Eckert, G.J. Annual and spatial variation in recruitment of labroid fishes among seven reefs in the Capricorn/Bunker Group, Great Barrier Reef. Mar. Biol. 78, 123–127 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00394691

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00394691

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