Transport of reef lizardfish larvae by an ocean eddy in Hawaiian waters

Abstract

Competent (settlement-stage) larvae of the lizardfish, Trachinocephalus myops were collected from one ocean location (near a coral reef) at times before and during a mesoscale ocean eddy event. Mesoscale ocean eddies occur periodically at this location, offshore of the island of Hawaii. Larval age was younger ( t-test, P < 0.0001) for lizardfish collected at the time when a cyclonic mesoscale eddy dominated the offshore ocean flow field. This result supports two important notions: (1) that reef fish larvae have flexibility in the age at which they can transition to the reef habitat and (2) that offshore deep-sea ocean currents can be influential in larval reef fish recruitment.