Influence of some cological features of the adult fishes on spatial distribution of their larvae near coral reefs at Hurghada, Egyptian Red Sea

Abstract

he distribution of fish larvae near coral reefs can be influenced by physical and biological factors. This paper aims to determine the influence of some ecological features of adult fish on the distribution of their larva stages at offshore and inshore sites. The spawning mode of the adults, their habitats and the depth of water column at which they live were investigated. Fish larval were collected from Hurghada by plankton net of 0.5 mm mesh size from January to December 2005. The Chi square test showed that the distribution of fish larvae in the area was dependent on the spawning mode and neither on the adult habitat nor the depth they live at. The analysis of variance ANOVA indicated that the distribution of larvae of pelagic fishes was significantly different between offshore and inshore sites. The study has provided further information on the distributional patterns of the larvae of coral reef fishes that help to understand the interrelationships among fish species during their larval stages.

Abundance and diversity of reef fish larvae in Mabahiss Bay, on the Egyptian Red Sea coast

“…Some studies have been carried out on the species composition of larval fish inshore and offshore (Clark, 1991;Leis, 1986aLeis, , 1991a. The distribution patterns obtained were independent of the spawning mode of species (Borges et al, 2007, Abu El-Regal, 2008b. The interest in fish larval communities has increased noticeably during the last two decades as a tool to provide insights into the ecology and dynamics of marine fish larvae (Moser & Smith, 1993, Abu El-Regal, 2008.…”

“…Abu El-Regal et al (2008b) studied the influence of ecological guilds of the adult stages on the dispersal of their larval stages and found that the distribution is affected by the spawning mode but not the habitat of the adult or the depth at which the adult lives. Physical parameters such as temperature in the Red Sea in general do not vary greatly.…”

“…The distribution of fish larvae can be determined by spawning behavior and spawning grounds of the adult, topography of the reef, duration of larval period, behavior of the larvae and the growth and mortality of the larvae (Cushing, 1990;Leis, 1991a;Lazzari, 2001; Leis et al, 2006;Montgomery et al, 2001, Abu El-Regal, 2008b.…”