Abstract
In four lagoons at two atolls and one high island in the Tuamotu and Society Islands, French Polynesia, plankton samples were taken weekly during 4 weeks in January/February 1989. A third atoll lagoon was sampled once. The lagoons varied in size and physical openness. We also sampled in the ocean near two atolls and the high island. All locations were sampled during the day, and three lagoons (two atolls and one high island) were also sampled at night. Pelagic fish eggs were more abundant in the ocean than in the lagoons at the atolls, but not at the high island. Larvae of coastal fishes were abundant in all lagoons. In the atoll lagoons, larvae of oceanic fishes were very rare to absent, but in the high-island lagoons and in the ocean, they were commonly encountered. In the ocean, larvae of many typical reef-fish taxa were abundant (58 taxa were represented by at least 10 individuals), but in the lagoons, most of these were rare or absent, and we conclude that these rare and absent taxa normally do not complete their larval phase in lagoons.
Taxa were considered to be able to complete their pelagic phase in a lagoon (i.e., were 'completers') if they were present in the lagoon plankton samples from across a full larval size range. In the high-island barrier-reef lagoon, young, preflexion larvae were abundant, but only two taxa (of 56 captured) were present over a wide size range and were considered completers in this lagoon. In the high-island lagoonal bay, 11 taxa (of 67 captured) were considered completers. The numbers of taxa captured in the three atoll lagoons ranged from 39–44, and the number of taxa considered to be completers increased with increasing lagoon size and physical openness. The 17 completer taxa in the smallest, most enclosed atoll lagoon were, with one exception, a subset of those (18) in the second lagoon which, in turn, with one exception, were a subset of those in the largest, most open lagoon (26). Completer taxa were of the families Apogonidae, Blenniidae, Bothidae, Callionymidae, Carangidae, Gobiidae, Microdesmidae, Mullidae, Pomacentridae, Schindleriidae, and Tetraodontidae. The species that can complete their pelagic periods in coral-reef lagoons are a highly predictable group, and not simply a random selection of the potential species pool. Most of these species hatch from non-pelagic eggs. Water renewal times in the atoll lagoons, unlike the high-island barrier-reef lagoon, were much longer than expected pelagic larval durations of completer taxa. Demographically, lagoon populations of completer taxa apparently self-recruit and are probably near the closed end of the open/closed population continuum. The lagoonal bay on the high island differs from the other lagoons in containing larvae of species not found elsewhere, including some completers, and lacking some species that are abundant completers in other lagoons. In French Polynesia, lagoon size is a strong predictor of the number of lagoon completer taxa. The number of completer taxa apparently peaks at intermediate lagoon water-exchange times.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bell JD, Galzin R (1988) Distribution of coral and fish in the lagoon at Mataiva: potential for increase through mining. Proc 6th Int Coral Reef Symp Townsville 2:347–352
Cohen D, Inada T, Iwamoto T, Scialabba N (1990) Gadiform fishes of the world (Order Gadiformes). FAO Species Catalogue 10, FAO, Rome, pp 1–442
Colin PL, Bell LJ (1991) Aspects of spawning of labrid and scarid fishes (Pisces: Labroidei) at Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands, with notes on other families. Environ Biol Fish 31:229–260
Cowen RK (2002) Larval dispersal and retention and consequences for population connectivity. In: Sale PF (ed) Coral reef fishes: dynamics and diversity in a complex ecosystem. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 149–170
Delesalle B, Buscail R, Carbonne J, Courp T, Dufour V, Heussner S, Monaco A, Schrimm M (1998) Carbon export from a coral reef ecosystem (Moorea Island, French Polynesia). Coral Reefs 17:121–132
Dufour V (1991) Variations of fish larvae abundance in reefs: effects of light on the colonization of the reefs by fish larvae. CR Acad Sci Paris 313(3):187–194
Dufour V (1994) Colonization of fish larvae in lagoons of Rangiroa (Tuamotu Archipelago) and Moorea (Society Archipelago). Atoll Res Bull 416:1–12
Dufour V, Galzin R (1993) Colonization patterns of reef fish larvae to the lagoon at Moorea Island, French Polynesia. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 102:143–152
Dufour V, Riclet E, Lo-Yat A (1996) Colonisation of fish larvae at Moorea Island, French Polynesia: temporal and spatial variation of the larval flux. Mar Freshwater Res 47:413–422
Dufour V, Pierre C, Rancher J (1998) Stable isotopes in fish otoliths discriminate between lagoonal and oceanic residents of Taiaro Atoll (Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia). Coral Reefs 17:23–28
Fowler AJ (1991) Reproductive biology of bisexual and all-female populations of chaetodontid fishes from the southern Great Barrier Reef. Environ Biol Fish 31:261–274
Galzin R, Pointier JP (1985) Moorea Island, Society Archipelago. Proc 5th Int Coral Reef Congr Tahiti 1:75–101
Galzin R, Planes S, Dufour V, Salvat B (1994) Variation in diversity of coral reef fish between French Polynesian atolls. Coral Reefs 13:175–180
Galzin R, Planes S, Adjeroud M, Chauvet C, Doherty PJ, Poupin J (1998) Objectives and background to the 1994 Franco–Australian expedition to Taiaro Atoll (Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia). Coral Reefs 17:15–21
Jones GP, Milicich MJ, Emslie MJ, Lunow C (1999) Self-recruitment in a coral reef fish population. Nature 402:802–804
Kingsford MJ (2001) Diel patterns of abundance of presettlement reef fishes and pelagic larvae on a coral reef. Mar Biol 138:853–867
Leis JM (1986) Vertical and horizontal distribution of fish larvae near coral reefs at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef. Mar Biol 90:505–516
Leis JM (1991) The pelagic phase of coral reef fishes: larval biology of coral reef fishes. In: Sale PF (ed) The ecology of fishes on coral reefs. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 183–230
Leis JM (1994) Coral Sea atoll lagoons—closed nurseries for the larvae of a few species of coral-reef fishes. Bull Mar Sci 54:206–227
Leis JM (2002) Pacific coral-reef fishes: the implications of behaviour and ecology of larvae for biodiversity and conservation, and a reassessment of the open population paradigm. Environ Biol Fish 65:199–208
Leis JM, Carson-Ewart BM (2000) Larvae of Indo-Pacific coastal fishes: an identification guide to marine fish larvae. Brill, Leiden
Leis JM, Carson-Ewart BM (2003) Orientation of the pelagic larvae of coral-reef fishes in the ocean. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 252:239–253
Leis JM, McCormick MI (2002) The biology, behaviour and ecology of the pelagic, larval stage of coral-reef fishes. In: Sale PF (ed) Coral reef fishes: dynamics and diversity in a complex ecosystem. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 171–199
Leis JM, Trnski T, Galzin R, Harmelin-Vivien M, Renon J-P, Dufour V, El Moudni MK (1991) High concentrations of tuna larvae (Pisces: Scombridae) in near-shore waters of French Polynesia (Society and Tuamotu Islands). Bull Mar Sci 48:150–158
Leis JM, Sweatman HPA, Reader SE (1996) What the pelagic stages of coral reef fishes are doing out in blue water: daytime field observations of larval behavioural capabilities. Mar Freshwater Res 47:401–411
Leis JM, Trnski T, Doherty PJ, Dufour V (1998) Replenishment of fish populations in the enclosed lagoon of Taiaro Atoll: evidence from eggs and larvae. Coral Reefs 17:1–8
Pagès J, Andréfouёt S (2001) A reconnaissance approach for hydrology of atoll lagoons. Coral Reefs 20:409–414
Planes S, Romans P, Lecomte-Finiger R (1998) Genetic evidence of closed life-cycles for some coral reef fishes within Taiaro Lagoon (Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia). Coral Reefs 17:9–14
Planes S, Galzin R, Harmelin-Vivien M, Kulbicki M, Mou-Tham G (2003) Influence of lagoon size on diversity and biomass of reef fish assemblages in Pacific atolls. Mar Biol
Ralston S (1976) Anomalous growth and reproductive patterns in populations of Chaetodon miliaris (Pisces, Chaetodontidae) from Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii. Pac Sci 30:395–403
Randall JE (1985) Fishes. In: Richard G (ed) Fauna and flora: a first compendium of French Polynesian sea-dwellers. Proc 5th Int Coral Reef Congr Tahiti 1:462–481
Randall JE, Allen GR, Steene R (1997) Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea, 2nd edn. Crawford House, Bathurst, Australia
Ricard M (1985) Rangiroa Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago. Proc 5th Int Coral Reef Congr Tahiti 1:159–210
Sale PF (1980) The ecology of fishes on coral reefs. Oceanogr Mar Biol 18:367–421
Sale PF (1991) Reef fish communities: open nonequilibrial systems. In: Sale PF (ed) The ecology of fishes on coral reefs. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 564–598
Salvat B, Richard G (1985) Takapoto Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago. Proc 5th Int Coral Reef Congr Tahiti 1:323–378
Swearer SE, Caselle JE, Lea DW, Warner RR (1999) Larval retention and recruitment in an island population of a coral-reef fish. Nature 402:799–802
Taylor MS, Hellberg ME (2002) Genetic evidence for local retention of pelagic larvae in a Caribbean reef fish. Science 299:107–109
Wolanski E, Delesalle B (1995) Wind-driven upwelling in Opunohu Bay, Moorea, French Polynesia. Estuarine Coastal Shelf Sci 40:57–66
Wolanski E, Delesalle B, Dufour V, Aubanel A (1993) Modelling the fate of pollutants in the Tiahura lagoon, Moorea, French Polynesia. Proc 11th Australasian Conf Coastal and Ocean Engineering, Townsville 2:583–587
Acknowledgments
Financial support was provided by the Australian Museum, a visiting professorship at EPHE, Université de Perpignan to J.M.L., and the Australian–French Joint Coral Reef Research Program (DITEC 88/5692, DIST 94/2743, and PICS-CNRS no. 77). P. Cabral allowed access to EVAAM facilities at Takapoto and Rangiroa. I. Moorea, J. Algret, A. Lefevre, and M.K. el Moudni provided field assistance. M.-J. Anderson, P. Bolomey, S. Bullock, B.M. Carson-Ewart, M. Fagerstrom, A. Hay, S. Joseph, M.K. el Moudni, and S. Williams sorted plankton samples. K. Amaoka identified adult bothids from Rangiroa. B. Salvat provided information on lagoons, A. Lo-Yat provided base maps for Fig. 1, and S. Bullock provided editorial assistance. Many thanks to all.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Leis, J.M., Trnski, T., Dufour, V. et al. Local completion of the pelagic larval stage of coastal fishes in coral-reef lagoons of the Society and Tuamotu Islands. Coral Reefs 22, 271–290 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-003-0316-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-003-0316-3