Terrestrial chemical cues help coral reef fish larvae locate settlement habitat surrounding islands.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the degree of connectivity between coastal and island landscapes and nearby coral reefs is vital to the integrated management of terrestrial and marine environments in the tropics. Coral reef fish are capable of navigating appropriate settlement habitats following their pelagic larval phase, but the mechanisms by which they do this are unclear. The importance of olfactory cues in settlement site selection has been demonstrated, and there is increasing evidence that chemical cues from terrestrial sources may be important for some species. Here, we test the olfactory preferences of eight island-associated coral reef fish recruits and one generalist species to discern the capacity for terrestrial cue recognition that may aid in settlement site selection. A series of pairwise cho

SUBMITTER: Dixson DL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3287328 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature