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August 13, 2020: Fish Larva

This surgeonfish larvae was caught with a plankton net during the Coral Ecosystem Connectivity 2013: From Pulley Ridge to the Florida Keys expedition. The whole body is almost transparent except for a silvery vertical band masking the eye as if there were another fish in the vertical plane (great camouflage to avoid predators). This larvae started out as a small floating egg which rapidly developed into this stealthy swimmer ready to settle onto a coral reef somewhere on Pulley Ridge.

Image courtesy of Brian Cousin, Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch. Download larger version (jpg, 367 KB).

This surgeonfish larva was caught with a plankton net during the Coral Ecosystem Connectivity 2013: From Pulley Ridge to the Florida Keys expedition. The whole body of the fish is almost transparent except for a silvery vertical band masking the eye, as if there were another fish in the vertical plane (great camouflage to avoid predators). This larvae started out as a small floating egg which rapidly developed into this stealthy swimmer ready to settle onto a coral reef somewhere on Pulley Ridge.

During the expedition, scientists were interested in learning more about population connectivity, which refers to the exchange of individuals from one population or sub-population to another. Population connectivity has important implications in understanding the linkages among geographically separated populations of organisms such as corals and fish.

From: Connecting with Connectivity.