Post-settlement ontogeny in three Mediterranean reef fish species of the genus Diplodus

Ontogenetic changes in morphology and habitat use were studied for three sp ecies of the genus Diplodus (Pisces: Sparidae) from the Mediterranean Sea. From the settlement of larvae into the benthic environment to the recruitme nt of juveniles into adult habitats, two ecomorphological stages were deter mined. The first stage (transition juvenile) corresponds to fish from about 6.6 mm (settlement) to 22.5 mm SL. (21.0-23.5 mm depending on species). Du ring this period fish acquire early morphological adaptations to the benthi c habitat, become pigmented, and are restricted to specific settlement habi tats in the nursery zone. The second stage (post-transition juvenile) corre sponds to fish from about 22.5 mm to an average 43.7 mm SL (39.5-48.5mm dep ending on species). During this period, fish complete their morphological a daptation to benthic life and colonize the whole nursery zone. Fish longer than about 43.7 mm become immature adults as they possess all the character istics of adults except sexual maturity, and start leaving the nursery zone to colonize adult habitats. This phase corresponds to the recruitment of j uvenile fishes. Finally, we developed a complete life-history model for Dip lodus, analysed the extent to which our model can be extended to other deme rsal species and recommend the limits in size of each life stage be precise ly defined for every study of post-settlement processes.