Settlement Patterns of Dascyllus flavicaudus and D. aruanus on Pocillopora spp

Moira Decima and Holly Kindsvater Abstract Settlement patterns of two Dascyllus species provide insight into the relationship between recruits and adult distribution of reef fish larvae because of the close association between damselfish and settlement substrate. In Moorea, experimental coral heads were monitored for sixteen days for gregarious settlement by D. flavicaudus and D. aruanus. Three replicates of treatments stocked with three conspecifics each were surveyed and compared with four accumulation treatments (left alone) and eight control replicates (blanks). Except for the accumulation treatment, corals were cleared periodically. Corals were analyzed qualitatively for possible cues affecting settlement. A positive effect of conspecifics was observed for D. aruanus. The same effect was not seen for D. flavicaudus, though this species seemed to prefer corals deemed more structurally complex. A current net was placed upstream of the experimental coral site to attempt to connect levels of larval input with observed settlement patterns, though very few Pomacentrids were caught.