Abstract
Very little is known about the ecology and biology of the smallest marine vertebrates, fishes in the genus Schindleria. Even though over half of named Schindleria species have been identified in the Red Sea, the collection of only very few specimens has been documented. Here, we assessed abundance patterns of nearly two thousand Red Sea long dorsal fin (LDF) adults and found evidence for putative seasonal and spatial differences, likely related to differing habitat and environmental conditions. The highest abundances were outside local seasonal temperature extremes and decoupled from peaks of coral reef fish recruitment. We also found evidence for global trends in abundances related to lunar cycles using our Red Sea data and that from a recently published large collection of specimens from the DANA Expedition (1928–1930). The abundance of adult LDF Schindleria in relation to lunar phases differed significantly, with most Schindleria caught outside the full moon, and mostly during the new moon in the Red Sea and the 3rd quarter moon in the DANA collection. We further suggest that the abundances of Schindleria at coral reefs may be related to reproductive cycles and that these cycles may be timed with the moon as back-calculations of hatch dates from otoliths from the Red Sea significantly resulted after the new moon, making Schindleria the fastest-lived coral reef fish with the shortest generation times. Schindleria could be the most numerous coral reef fish in the world, for which we encourage increased research.
Highlights
Schindleria (Giltay, 1934)[1] is a small cryptic gobioid genus[2] comprising the smallest vertebrates of the marine realm and the naturally youngest reproducing vertebrates on the planet[3]
We used a large collection of nearly two-thousand adult long dorsal fin type (LDF) Schindleria specimens from the Red Sea and data from a recently published collection of more than five hundred adult LDF Schindleria from the DANA Expedition in 1928–193012 in order to support our hypothesis and access more information on the biology and reproductive behavior of this fish
We found evidence for global trends in the abundances of adult LDF Schindleria related to lunar cycles
Summary
Schindleria (Giltay, 1934)[1] is a small cryptic gobioid genus[2] comprising the smallest vertebrates of the marine realm and the naturally youngest reproducing vertebrates on the planet[3]. 17 mm in average6), and have paedomorphic features (i.e., never undergoing metamorphosis and retaining a larval phenotype throughout their life[2]) They are generally overlooked or mistaken for larval fishes[7,8] and most studies are based on very few samples or report the sightings of some individuals as bycatch of other research purposes (mainly from light traps and planktonic tows)[9,10]. Many marine species show reproductive cycles linked to lunar patterns[29] For this purpose, we collected specimens during the nights of an entire lunar month deploying LED light traps from mid-October to mid-November (in 2014) and assessed whether or not specimens were rather absent in the catches around the full moon. Our study is the first based on a collection of nearly two thousand specimens of Schindleria and provides first baseline information on putative temporal distribution patterns worldwide, as well as year-round abundances in the Red Sea
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