COMPARISON OF LARVAL DURATION AND PRESETTLEMENT AND POSTSETTLEMENT GROWTH IN 2 SPECIES OF DAMSELFISH, CHROMIS-ATRIPECTORALIS AND POMACENTRUS-COELESTIS (PISCES, POMACENTRIDAE), FROM THE GREAT-BARRIER-REEF

Light traps were used to capture larval fishes, immediately before settlement, at two localities 500 km apart on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in December, 1987. Samples from Lizard Island, in the northern GBR, and Davies Reef, in the central GBR, were dominated by two species of damselfish:Chromis atripectralis and Pomacentrus coelestis. Analysis of otoliths revealed significant differences in both size and age at settlement between the two localities for P. coelestis, but not for C. atripectoralis. Growth rates determined for pre- and post-settlement P. coelestis suggested a sigmoidal growth trajectory through the larval life, with growth slowing as fishes approached the time of settlement. Post-settlement growth rates were faster than growth prior to settlement in both species. Growth in both species was, however, similar between localities. The relationship between fish size and otolith size was complex, varying both between pre- and post-settlement fishes, and among localities. This emphasizes the need to validate the relationship between fish size and otolith size before otoliths may be used to back-calculate individual growth trajectories. © 1990 Springer-Verlag.