COLONIZATION OF REEF FISHES AT MOOREA ISLAND, FRENCH-POLYNESIA - TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL VARIATION OF THE LARVAL FLUX

Colonization by settlement-stage fishes of the lagoon at Moorea Island , French Polynesia, was studied with nets fixed at five sites on the o uter reef crest around the island. The study occurred between 30 Janua ry and 29 March 1995 when an estimated 1 . 8 million settlement-stage fishes were collected in 164 samples, which contained 65 families and several new records for the biogeographical region. The results here c oncern only the largest taxa (length >1 . 5 cm), representing 46 famil ies of reef fishes. Patterns of larval colonization varied strongly am ong families, although all displayed lunar cycles. The serranid Epinep helus merra occurred sporadically in catches but in very high abundanc es (1000 to 4000 individuals per sample), In contrast, some acanthurid s such as Acanthurus triostegus were collected in most samples but cat ches never exceeded 100 individuals per sample. This methodology allow s the colonization to be monitored and provides the first estimates of larval density at settlement. Future applications could include estim ation of mortality rates during this critical phase of the life histor y.