The dynamic nature of coral reefs offers a rare opportunity to examine the response of ecosystems to disruption due to climate change. In 1998, the Great Barrier Reef experienced widespread coral bleaching and mortality. As a result, cryptobenthic fish assemblages underwent a dramatic phase-shift. Thirteen years, and up to 96 fish generations later, the cryptobenthic fish assemblage has not returned to its pre-bleach configuration. This is despite coral abundances returning to, or exceeding, pre-bleach values. The post-bleach fish assemblage exhibits no evidence of recovery. If these short-lived fish species are a model for their longer-lived counterparts, they suggest that (1) the full effects of the 1998 bleaching event on long-lived fish populations have yet to be seen, (2) it may take decades, or more, before recovery or regeneration of these long-lived species will begin, and (3) fish assemblages may not recover to their previous composition despite the return of corals.

No abstract

Length-weight relationships of 33 cryptic reef fishes from the southwestern Gulf of California were estimated. The most common families were Gobiidae (seven species), Labrisomidae (four), Pomacentridae (three), and Tripterygiidae (three). These are the first length-weight parameters reported for 32 of these species. Specimens were sampled during a comparative ecological study of community structure of fish assemblages associated with coral heads, rocky walls, and artificial reefs in Bahı´a de La Paz, Baja California Sur. The b values varied between 2.63 and 3.61. New maximum length records for five of the species were established in the study.