All in the Family

In Full-Sibs in Cohorts of Newly Settled Coral Reef Fishes, authors Giacomo Bernardi, Ricardo Beldade, Sally Holbrook, and Russell Schmitt report their findings on the collective journey that families of three-spot dascyllus (Dascyllus trimaculatus) take together during the larval stage of their lives. Prior to this discovery, scientist presumed that fish larvae “siblings” were split up and dispersed by ocean currents. The team’s findings is the first of its kind, and “has fundamental ramifications for how we envision the dynamics and genetic structure of fish populations, together with all the practical implications that ensue, such as the design of marine protected areas and the management of fisheries resources.”  -Photo courtesy of waterworld.com- The initial stages of the study were conducted in 2000 on the island of Moorea in French Polynesia. Local sea anemones were established at the study site in the waters off the north coast. The anemones were used as collection sites for three-spot dascyllus larvae which floated in the water column for over 3 weeks before setting. Using microsatellite markers and mitochondrial DNA sequences, the scientists were able to concretely identify at least 14% of the collected larvae as biological siblings. Read more here!