maintained unfed in a dark insulated container for several days put 

 down a very different kind of mark on their otoliths (Victor , 1982) . 

 It is much narrower than the settlement band and does not show any 

 internal pattern of light and dark lines. 



Further confirmation of a five day period of metamorphosis 

 during which wrasse larvae remain hidden comes from my data on the 

 pattern of settlement of bluehead wrasses, Thalassoma bif asciatum , 

 onto patch reefs in the San Bias Islands. Settlement was monitored 

 by daily censuses of an area of coral outcrops in a seagrass bed 

 for two years. At the same time, nightly collections of fish 

 larvae were made at a nightlight. A preliminary analysis of the 

 data indicates that a lag of about five days occurs between peaks 

 of larval fish abundance and diversity and subsequent peaks of 

 juvenile wrasse appearances. 



Despite the fact that the process of settlement is such a critical 

 period in the life of an individual and can greatly influence the 

 abundance and distribution of adult populations, it remains both 

 one of the least understood and least examined phases in the life 

 history of reef fishes. The settlement strategies of reef fishes 

 are probably as varied and complex as any other feature of this 

 notably diverse assemblage, and clearly deserve closer and more 

 rigorous attention. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Brothers, E. B. 1981. What can otolith microstructure tell us 



about daily and subdaily events in the early life history of 



fish? Rapp. P.-v. Reun. Cons. Int. Explor. Mer. 178: 393-394. 

 Brothers, E. B., & W. N. McFarland. 1981. Correlations between 



otolith microstructure, growth, and life history transitions 



in newly recruited french grunts [ Haemulon f lavolineatum 



(Desmarest) , Haemulidae]. Rapp. P.-v. Reun. Cons. Int. Explor. 



Mer. 178:369-374. 

 Doherty, P. J. 1983. Tropical territorial damself ishes : is density 



limited by aggression or recruitment? Ecology 64: 176-190. 

 Mugiya, Y., N. Watabe, J. Yamada, J. M. Dean, D. G. Dunkelberger , & 



M. Shimuzu. 1981. Diurnal rhythm in otolith formation in the 



goldfish, Carassius auratus . Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 68A: 659- 



662. 

 Neilson, J. D., & G. H. Geen. 1982. Otoliths of chinook salmon 



( Onchorhynchus tschawytscha ) : daily growth increments and factors 



influencing their production. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sc i . 39: 



1340-1347. 

 Powles, H., & W. E. Burgess. 1978. Observations on benthic larvae 



of Pareques (Pisces: Sciaenidae) from Florida and Colombia. 



Copeia 1: 169-172. 

 Victor, B. C. 1982. Daily otolith increments and recruitment in 



two coral reef wrasses, Thalassoma bif asciatum and Halichoeres 



bivittatus . Mar. Biol. 71: 203-208. 

 Victor, B. C. 1983. Recruitment and population dynamics of a coral 



reef fish. Science 219: 419-420. 

 Williams, D. McB. 1980. Dynamics of the pomacentrid community on 



small patch reefs in One Tree Lagoon (Great Barrier Reef). Bull. 



Mar. Sci. 30: 159-170. 



Note! Photos by B. Victor 



51 



