creole wrasse, coral reef mass spawnings

[Bruce Carlson]

I haven't read any other replies to your query re: Creole wrasse 
"schooling" at night so here are some observations:

I have also seen the "parading" behavior you mention at Bonaire.  It looks 
to me very much like the parading behavior of yellow tangs here in Hawaii 
(and other species in other locales).  These parades form in the late 
afternoon through twilight as the fish (often hundreds or thousands) move 
from daytime feeding areas to nighttime resting areas.  Spawning is usually 
associated with these parades (at least it is with yellow tangs; I didn't 
observe Creole wrasse spawning at Bonaire).  Dr. William J. Walsh in Hawaii 
described this behavior for Hawaiian yellow tangs and I'm sure there are 
other references for other species.

Aloha
Bruce Carlson
Waikiki Aquarium




At 05:17 PM 5/30/2001 -0700, Julie Ekstrom wrote:
>>Hi Coral list,
>
>
>>I have two questions:
>>
>>1. Does anyone know why the Creole wrasse (Clepticus parrae) school over 
>>the reefs at dusk in Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean? I haven't been able to 
>>find the reason for this behavior (feeding I assume but if that is the 
>>case then why don't all wrasses do this everywhere?) and, as far as I 
>>know, it does not happen everywhere in the Caribbean.
>>
>>2. I am looking for specific mass spawning dates for coral reefs around 
>>the world. I would like to know whether synchronized coral spawning 
>>occurs in the following places and if so, when it occurs:
>>         Great Barrier Reef
>>         Caribbean
>>         Indian Ocean
>>         Red Sea
>>         Southeast Asia/Indonesia
>>         Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia
>>         Hawaii
>>         Cocos Island
>>
>>I would really appreciate any help or guidance in finding my answers.
>>
>>Thank you,
>>
>>Julie
>>
>>
>>
>>

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