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Are Baby Fishes Competent Swimmers?
Rebecca Fisher of James Cook University is using field and aquarium facilities at Lizard Island to conduct research on her project entitled "The behavioural capabilities of tropical reef fish larvae: implications for dispersal during the pelagic phase". Her work expands on studies by 1995 Doctoral Fellow Dr Ilona Stobutzki, now at CSIRO, and it complements the extensive research on fish larvae undertaken at Lizard Island by Dr Jeff Leis and colleagues from the Australian Museum. Rebecca will be funded from 2001 for two years of research at Lizard Island by the Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation under the Lizard Island Doctoral Fellowships program. Most coral reef fishes possess a dispersive larval phase. This phase lasts for several days or weeks and during this time the larvae may travel considerable distances before settling onto a reef. The distribution and abundance of reef fishes is thus significantly influenced by the dispersal of their planktonic larval stage. The traditional view is that fish larvae have very little influence over their dispersal patterns and that currents are responsible for the dispersal of larvae to and from reefs. Recent studies have revealed that reef fish larvae have excellent sustained swimming capabilities and considerable potential for modifying their dispersal patterns by active swimming. These studies, however, have concentrated on the swimming abilities of reef fish in their late pelagic phase. Rebecca's research is examining the development of swimming abilities of coral reef fishes from hatching through to settlement. Until recently, investigations into the swimming abilities of younger stages of larval reef fishes have been limited by difficulties in obtaining living individuals in the field in good condition. Newly-available larval rearing techniques now provide a means of determining the swimming capabilities of larval fish throughout their development. By hatching and rearing larvae under controlled conditions it is possible to obtain live specimens of known age and parentage, in good condition, and at all developmental stages. Using captive rearing techniques, Rebecca plans to determine how swimming ability develops with age in a range of reef fish taxa. At present, many management decisions regarding reef fish populations are based on assumptions concerning the extent of connectiveness of reefs. Rebecca's research will provide data that test these assumptions and this will enable management decisions to be based on more robust models. Thus, as well as improving our knowledge of coral reef ecology, Rebecca's work has important implications for the practical management of reef fish populations.
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