The connectivity of temperate reef fish along the east Australian coast and the effects of ontogenetic vertical migration

There is a dearth of information about the ontogenetic vertical migration of temperate reef fish larvae, especially for Australian species. Yet it is known that these ontogenetic vertical migration processes chanage predicted connectivity patterns, reducing the size of the dispersal kernel. The aim of the study was to combine empirical data on ontogenetic vertical migration, collected for 8 common temperate reef fish that occur in New South Wales, Australia and see how it effects their connectivity patterns, both spatially and temporally. The empirical data was collected aboard the RV Investigator, sampling zooplankton at different vertical distributions using a MOCHNESS net. The fish were identified to their lowest taxonomic level and classified to developmental stage (pre-flexion, flexion, post-flexion). The results were parameterised into a coupled biological-physical model to estimate the connectivity patterns of each species along the east Australian coast. These connectivity patterns can inform us about potential source-sink areas and thus there are implications for both management and conservation of these important temperate reef species.