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Horizontal distribution patterns of presettlement reef fish: are they influenced by the proximity of reefs?

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Abstract

The distribution patterns of presettlement reef fish and how they were influenced by the proximity of reefs were investigated off the coast of Northland, New Zealand, from 1981–1986. We used ichthyoplankton tows and visual counts of fish. Distributions of presettlement fish of some species were influenced by the proximity of reefs, regardless of whether reefs were on the coast of the mainland or islands across the shelf. Presettlement fish of families that lay demersal eggs were most abundant near reefs: Gobiescocidae, Acanthoclinidae, Tripterygiidae, Eleotridae, and Gobiidae. The distribution of presettlement sparids, mullids (pelagic eggs), and blenniids and monacanthids (demersal eggs) was not determined in a predictable way by the proximity of reefs. High-frequency sampling over three days suggested that patches of presettlement sparids of 1 to 2 km in dimension may move quickly through a study area. High abundance of presettlement gobiescocids and tripterygiids were found in 0 to 2 m of water over rocky reefs at high and low tides. Presettlement eleotrids were associated with reefs in deeper water (3 to 20 m) and in some habitats with aggregations of mysids. The lack of general patterns of distribution for presettlement reef fish suggests that modelling patterns of drift of these fish as a single group is inappropriate; this concurs with evidence from tropical waters.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Auckland, Marine Laboratory, R.D. Leigh, New Zealand

    M. J. Kingsford & J. H. Choat

  2. School of Biological Sciences, A08, University of Sydney, 2006, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    M. J. Kingsford

  3. Marine Biology Department, James Cook University of North Queensland, 4811, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

    J. H. Choat

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  1. M. J. Kingsford
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  2. J. H. Choat
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Communicated by G. F. Humphrey, Sydney

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Kingsford, M.J., Choat, J.H. Horizontal distribution patterns of presettlement reef fish: are they influenced by the proximity of reefs?. Marine Biology 101, 285–297 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00428124

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