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Development of the nasal olfactory organs in the larvae, settlement-stages and some adults of 14 species of Caribbean reef fishes (Labridae, Scaridae, Pomacentridae)

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Abstract

Larval fishes likely use a variety of settlement cues to locate and navigate toward the habitats they will inhabit as juveniles. Information about the morphology and state of development of the sensory organs of larval stages of fishes provides insight into their capabilities at the time of settlement. The peripheral olfactory organ of wild-caught late-stage larvae and early juveniles and some adults of 14 species of the Caribbean reef fishes wrasses (Labridae), parrot fishes (Scaridae) and damselfish (Pomacentridae) were examined using scanning electron microscopy and compared in terms of settlement specificity. Ages in days after hatching and days post-settlement were determined from the otoliths. Morphology of the nares and the olfactory epithelium are described for these species by stage. The separation of the anterior and posterior nares occurred before settlement in the labrids but in some specimens of scarids this separation was not complete by the time of settlement. Densities of ciliated and microvillous receptor cells and non-sensory ciliated epithelial cells were calculated. Densities of ciliated receptor cells ranged from 0.389 μm−2 in a specimen of Thallasoma bifasciatum to 0.0057 μm−2 in Bodianus rufus and of microvillous receptor cells from 0.038 μm−2 in a Clepticus parrae juvenile to 0.266 μm−2 in a juvenile Doratonotus megalepis. Densities of non-sensory cilia, also associated with high olfactory ability, were also high. The olfactory organ in wrasses is well developed prior to settlement and is comparable to that of adult fishes. The possible role of olfaction in larval schooling, reef cue detection and orientation toward habitat at settlement is discussed.

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Notes

  1. The larvae appeared suddenly just after sunset. Labrids had a small amount of juvenile coloration and when placed in aquaria, immediately buried themselves and emerged several days later as morphologically juvenile (in size and color).

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Acknowledgments

This study was conducted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary. I would like to thank my advisors Dr. John E. Olney and Dr. S. Laurie Sanderson, the members of my doctoral committee Dr. John M. Brubaker, Dr. John E. Graves and Dr. Mark R. Patterson and all of the members of the faculty and staff at V.I.M.S. who through their support and hard work helped me to bring this work to fruition. I would like to thank William J. Richards and Wolfgang K. Vogelbein for allowing me the use of the resources in their laboratories, the staff of Glover’s Reef and Carrie Bow Cay field stations for facilitating the field work and especially David L. Jones and Patrice L. Mason and for their extensive and cheerfully given technical assistance. Financial support was provided by Sigma Xi, V.I.M.S., William and Mary, Smithsonian Institution CCRE program and the American Museum of Natural History. Finally, thanks to my family and friends who kept me going. The experiments described herein comply with the current laws of the United States of America and Belize.

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  1. Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami/NOAA-SEFSC, 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy, Miami, FL, 33149, USA

    Monica R. Lara

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Communicated by P.W. Sammarco.

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Lara, M.R. Development of the nasal olfactory organs in the larvae, settlement-stages and some adults of 14 species of Caribbean reef fishes (Labridae, Scaridae, Pomacentridae). Mar Biol 154, 51–64 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-007-0899-2

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