Abstract

The life-cycle of coral reef fishes consists of a relatively sedentary adult phase and a dispersive larval phase. It is the larval phase that is responsible for population replenishment and stability, and is therefore of great research interest. Progress in the study of larval spatial distribution and dynamics has been held-back by classical larval taxonomy, which offers low taxonomic resolution in the analysis of field samples. We have recently concluded the first quantitative metagenomic study of a highly specious reef-fish larval assemblage. Overcoming several technical and computational hurdles, the study classified to species ca. 5,000 larvae from 384 temporally and spatially stratified samples; collected in the Northern Gulf of Aqaba, the Red Sea. The combination of extensive field-samples and species-level resolution facilitated several, previously unattainable, ecological inferences; the like of which could inform coral-reef conservation and fisheries management.