Location Isn't Everything: Timing of Spawning Aggregations Optimizes Larval Replenishment.

ABSTRACT: Many species of reef fishes form large spawning aggregations that are highly predictable in space and time. Prior research has suggested that aggregating fish derive fitness benefits not just from mating at high density but, also, from oceanographic features of the spatial locations where aggregations occur. Using a probabilistic biophysical model of larval dispersal coupled to a fine resolution hydrodynamic model of the Florida Straits, we develop a stochastic landscape of larval fitness. Tracking virtual larvae from release to settlement and incorporating changes in larval behavior through ontogeny, we found that larval success was sensitive to the timing of spawning. Indeed, propagules released during the observed spawning period had higher larval success rates than those released outsi

SUBMITTER: Donahue MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4477890 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature