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in October-November, and D. vulgaris in 2 pulses, the first in November-December and the second in January-February. Settlement intensity varied spatially, temporally, and among species. At a small spatlal scale (with~n site), settlement intensity varied between stations and particularly between years. At a large spatial scale (among sites), settlement intensity varied among sites, with Marseille and Girona generally experiencing higher settlement than other sites. No difference in settlement intensity was observed between protected and unprotected areas The settlement of D. sargus was higher in 1994 than in 1993 and 1995 at all sites, suggesting the influence of meso-scale hydroclimatic conditions on the settlement success of t h~s species. The settlement of D. vulgaris was higher in 1993 in the western part of the NW Mediterranean, and in 1994 in the eastern part. No consistent spatial trend over t~m e was seen for D. puntazzo. Thus, settlement intensity of Diplodus species to nearshore habitats in the NW Mediterranean exhibited high year-to-year variations at both local and regional scales.

Based on 19 y of visual census data from the Medes Islands MPA (NW Mediterranean), this study analyzes the carrying capacity (K) and population recovery time of six species of fish strongly affected by harvesting pressure along the Mediterranean coast. Three of these species (Epinephelus marginatus, Diplodus cervinus and Dicentrachus labrax) have practically reached carrying capacity in the Medes Islands MPA, while others are still approaching population stabilization (Sciaena umbra) or are still increasing in biomass (Dentex dentex). The one exception to these trends is S. aurata, which tended to decrease inside the MPA, probably due to fishing just outside its borders. These results confirm that fish populations may require decadal time scales to recover from exploitation, both in terms of total abundance (21 to 29 y to exceed 95% K) as well as total biomass (25 to 35 y), and that rates of recovery differ between species (13 to 31 y). The recovery and saturation observed within the no-take zone contrasts with results obtained in the partially protected buffer area and the peripheral area open for fishing, which show much lower biomass values. In general, the spillover from the MPA is very moderate, and its effects extend only to the partially protected area.

Mortality patterns from peak of settlement to d~spersal from the nursery area, concurrently with integration of juveniles into adult populations, of 3 llttoral fishes of the genus Diplodus (D. puntazzo. D. sargus, and D. vulgaris) (Family Spalidae) were studied between May 1993 and June 1996. Twenty-one stations were censused weekly, weather conditions permitting, along the Mediterranean coasts of Spain, France, and Italy. Eight stations were located in protected areas and 13 in unprotected zones. Declines in abundance in all 3 species were particularly marked in the first month after settlement. Patterns of survivorship indicated that the 3 species were subject to density-dependent mortality from settlement to recruitment to the adult population. The effect of this mortality pattern was to reduce the variability In year-class strength, though without changing the rank order of abundance between years. The mortal~ty rates for D. sargus were higher than for D , puntazzo and D.vulgans The results of this study indicated that mortality rates in protected areas did not dlffer significantly from those in unprotected zones, suggesting that marme reserves are not necessanly a slnk for post-settlement fishes.