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Planktonic Larval Duration, age and growth of Ostorhinchus doederleini (Pisces: Apogonidae) on the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia

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Abstract

Cardinalfishes (Apogonidae) are abundant on corals reefs, but there are few data on demography to understand trophodynamics and population dynamics. Ostorhinchus doederleini is a small and abundant apogonid on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and throughout the western Pacific Ocean. We present key demographic parameters for the entire life history from the southern GBR. Daily deposition of increments in otoliths was validated. Fish had a Planktonic Larval Duration (PLD) of 16–26 days. PLD was established from fish collected immediately prior to settlement as no settlement mark was found. Fish grew at about 0.35 mm day−1 for the first 20 days after settlement. Fish reached a maximum standard length at about 200 days, and no fish lived longer than 368 days at four reefs separated by kilometers to tens of kilometers. There was no evidence for differences in size at age between sexes. Mortality was very high, and for fish greater than 60 days old, mortality rates ranged from 2.9 to 4.6 % day−1. Short lives and high mortality rates make O. doederleini, and potentially other apogonids, vulnerable to recruitment failure. Here, we review data on the demographic characteristics of other reef fishes. Although some taxa live to over 50 years, the short lives of apogonids are most aligned with the Gobiidae and Blenniidae (i.e., typically <1.5 years). Descriptions of fish size, age, longevity, growth and mortality, from hatching to age maxima, are very rare for most taxa, even at the level of family.

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Acknowledgments

We specifically would like to thank One Tree Island Research Station staff and Norm of the MV Melantra for our inter-reef excursions. This project was funded by ARC Grants to MJK and funding from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. This paper is a contribution from the Reef and Ocean Ecology Laboratory, James Cook University and One Tree Island Field Station.

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  1. M. J. Kingsford & M. D. Finn

    Present address: School of Marine and Tropical Biology, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Marine and Tropical Biology, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia

    M. D. O’Callaghan

  2. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA

    J. Atema

  3. Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    J. Atema

  4. Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Str. 9-11, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany

    G. Gerlach

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Correspondence to M. J. Kingsford.

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Kingsford, M.J., Finn, M.D., O’Callaghan, M.D. et al. Planktonic Larval Duration, age and growth of Ostorhinchus doederleini (Pisces: Apogonidae) on the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Mar Biol 161, 245–259 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2331-4

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