Meeting Abstract

2.3  Saturday, Jan. 4 08:30  Settler habitat preferences and post-settlement processes combine to explain the distribution of a coral reef fish MAJORIS, J.E.*; D’ALOIA, C.C.; BUSTON, P.M.; Boston University, MA; Boston University, MA; Boston University, MA jmajoris@bu.edu

In the marine environment, many organisms produce dispersive larvae that develop offshore before settling on benthic habitat. The distribution of newly settled larvae (here on designated ‘settlers’) are often non-random, suggesting that processes at settlement or post-settlement affect the distribution of settlers on the reef. Experiments have shown that the larvae of many reef fishes exhibit specific habitat preferences at settlement, however few empirical studies have linked fine scale habitat preferences with the observed distribution of settlers in the field. Here we investigated 6 alternative hypotheses to determine whether habitat preferences at settlement and a post-settlement process could help to explain the observed distribution of the sponge dwelling neon goby, Elacatinus lori on sponge habitat. Specifically, we utilized an in situ choice arena to compare multiple combinations of habitat stimuli and establish the habitat preferences of E. lori settlers. We then isolated visual and olfactory habitat cues independently to determine if their absence alters settler preference behaviors. Finally, an eviction experiment was conducted to determine if post-settlement interactions between residents and settlers affects settler habitat use. We found that E. lori settlers are capable of making fine-scale discriminations between settlement habitat utilizing visual, but not olfactory cues. These habitat preferences, in combination with post-settlement interactions with resident E. lori, can explain the observed distribution of settlers on the reef.