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Marine Ecology Progress Series

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MEPS 684:117-132 (2022)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13971

Interdisciplinary analysis of larval dispersal for a coral reef fish: opening the black box

C. W. W. Counsell1,2,*, R. R. Coleman2,3, S. S. Lal4, B. W. Bowen2, E. C. Franklin2, A. B. Neuheimer4,5, B. S. Powell4, R. J. Toonen2, M. J. Donahue2,#, M. A. Hixon6,#, M. A. McManus4,#

1Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut 06824, USA
2Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Kāne‘ohe, Hawai‘i 96744, USA
3Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816, USA
4Department of Oceanography, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822, USA
5Department of Biology & Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
6School of Life Sciences, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822, USA
*Corresponding author:
#Senior authors contributed equally and are listed alphabetically

ABSTRACT: Many marine animals have a biphasic life cycle in which demersal adults spawn pelagic larvae with high dispersal potential. An understanding of the spatial and temporal patterns of larval dispersal is critical for describing connectivity and local retention. Existing tools in oceanography, genetics, and ecology can each reveal only part of the overall pattern of larval dispersal. We combined insights from a coupled physical-biological model, parentage analyses, and field surveys to span larval dispersal pathways, endpoints, and recruitment of the convict surgeonfish Acanthurus triostegus. Our primary study region was the windward coast of O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. A high abundance of juvenile A. triostegus occurred along the windward coast, with the highest abundance inside Kāne‘ohe Bay. The output from our numerical model showed that larval release location accounted for most of the variation in simulated settlement. Seasonal variation in settlement probability was apparent, and patterns observed in model simulations aligned with in situ observations of recruitment. The bay acted as a partial retention zone, with larvae that were released within or entering the bay having a much higher probability of settlement. Genetic parentage analyses aligned with larval transport modeling results, indicating self-recruitment of A. triostegus within the bay as well as recruitment into the bay from sites outside. We conclude that Kāne‘ohe Bay retains reef fish larvae and promotes settlement based on concordant results from numerical models, parentage analyses, and field observations. Such interdisciplinary approaches provide details of larval dispersal and recruitment heretofore only partially revealed.


KEY WORDS: Larval dispersal · Self-recruitment · Coral reef · Coupled physical-biological modeling · Reef fish surveys · Parentage analysis · Connectivity · Acanthurus triostegus


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Cite this article as: Counsell CWW, Coleman RR, Lal SS, Bowen BW and others (2022) Interdisciplinary analysis of larval dispersal for a coral reef fish: opening the black box. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 684:117-132. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13971

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