Abstract
Mortality rates of the coral reef fish Centropyge bicolor were based on the disappearance of known individual fish. Data were collected over three years from 1978 at four sites around Lizard Island, Queensland, Australia. To measure disappearance, membership of 36 harems (comprising about 150 fish at any one time) was determined at bimonthly intervals. Mortality rates varied significantly among the four study areas. A tenfold difference in mean mortality occurred between two of the areas. The ranking of areas according to mortality rate was similar for 1978–1979 and 1979–1980. The ranking of areas was again similar for 1980–1984 when mortality rates were determined from an additional census in June 1984. Average further life-expectancy of mature fish based on mortality rates varied from 1 yr in one study area to 5 to 13 yr in a different area.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Aldenhoven, J. M.: Social organization and sex change in an angelfish Centropyge bicolor on the Great Barrier Reef, 220 pp. Ph.D. thesis, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales 1984
Aldenhoven, J. M.: Different reproductive strategies in a sex-changing coral reef fish Centropyge bicolor (Pomacanthidae). Aust. J. mar. Freshwat. Res. (in press)
Bagenal, T. B. and F. W. Tesch: Age and growth. In: Methods for assessment of fish production in fresh waters, pp 101–136. Ed. by T. B. Bagenal. London: Blackwell Scientific Publications 1968
Bauer, J. A., Jr. and S. E. Bauer: Reproductive biology of pygmy angelfishes of the genus Centropyge (Pomacanthidae). Bull. mar. Sci. 31, 495–523 (1981)
Catala-Stucki, R.: Longévité d'organismes marins à l'aquarium de Nouméa. Bull. Mus. natn. Hist. nat., Paris (2e sér.) 42, 1311–1314 (1970)
Caughley, G.: Analysis of vertebrate populations, 234 pp. New York: John Wiley & Sons 1978
Charnov, E. L.: The theory of sex allocation. Monogr. Popul. Biol. 18, 1–355 (1982)
Ehrlich, P. R.: The population biology of coral reef fishes. A. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 6, 211–247 (1975)
Goeden, G. B.: A monograph of the coral trout Plectropomus leopardus (Lacépède). Res. Bull. Qd Fish. Serv. 1, 1–42 (1978)
Krebs, C. J.: Ecology: the experimental analysis of distribution and abundance, 694 pp. New York: Harper & Row 1972
Moyer, J. T. and A. Nakazono: Population structure, reproductive behaviour and protogynous hermaphroditism in the angelfish Centropyge interruptus at Miyake-jima, Japan. Jap. J. Ichthyol. 26, 148–160 (1978)
Pannella, G.: Otolith growth patterns: an aid in age determination in temperate and tropical fishes. In: The aging of fish, pp 28–39. Ed. by T. B. Bagenall. Old Working, Surrey: Unwin Bros. 1974
Peto, R., M. C. Pike, P. Armitage, N. E. Breslow, D. R. Cox, S. W. Howard, N. Mantel, K. McPherson, J. Peto and P. G. Smith: Design and analysis of randomized clinical trials requiring prolonged observation of each patient. Part 11: analysis and examples. Br. J. Cancer 35, 1–39 (1977)
Robertson, D. R.: A study of the ethology and reproductive biology of the labrid fish, Labroides dimidiatus at Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef, 295 pp. Ph.D. thesis, University of Queensland, Brisbane 1974
Sale, P. F., P. J. Doherty, G. J. Eckert, W. A. Douglas and D. J. Ferrell: Large scale spatial and temporal variation in recruitment to fish populations on coral reefs. Oecologia 64, 191–198 (1984)
Sokal, R. R. and F. J. Rohlf: Biometry. The principles and practice of statistics in biological research, 2nd ed. 859 pp. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman & Co. 1981
Sprott, D. A.: Normal likelihoods and their relation to large sample theory of estimation. Biometrika 60, 457–465 (1973)
Thresher, R. E. and E. B. Brothers: Reproductive ecology and biogeography of Indo-west Pacific angelfishes (Pisces: Pomacanthidae). Evolution, Lawrence, Kansas (In press)
Victor, B. C.: Daily otolith increments and recruitment in two coral-reef wrasses, Thalassoma bifasciatum and Halichoeres bivittatus. Mar. Biol. 71, 203–208 (1982)
Warner, R. R.: Deferred reproduction as a response to sexual selection in a coral reef fish: a test of the life historical consequences. Evolution, Lawrence, Kansas 38, 148–162 (1984)
Warner, R. R. and S. G. Hoffman: Local population size as a determinant of mating system and sexual composition in two tropical marine fishes (Thalassoma spp.). Evolution, Lawrence, Kansas 34, 508–518 (1980)
Weatherley, A. H.: Growth and ecology of fish populations, 293 pp. New York: Academic Press 1972
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by G. F. Humphrey, Sydney
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Aldenhoven, J.M. Local variation in mortality rates and life-expectancy estimates of the coral-reef fish Centropyge bicolor (Pisces: Pomacanthidae). Marine Biology 92, 237–244 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00392841
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00392841