PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS ON CORAL REEF PLANKTON1

TLDR

Plankton were sampled near reefs by hand‑towing nets while swimming and by suction in caves. Plankton differed markedly between sheltered and nonsheltered reef areas, with some species remaining near reefs, suggesting a continuum between planktonic and epibenthic behavior; copepods swarmed, mysids school, and mysids with nesting pomacentrids showed loose commensalism, while offshore plankton likely provides net energy gain to the reef.

Abstract

Plankton collections near coral reefs were made by hand‐towing nets while swimming and by using a suction device for sampling caves. Plankton in sheltered areas was considerably different from that in nonsheltered areas; some plankton forms maintained position near coral reefs, indicating that the terms planktonic and epibenthic may represent extremes of a behavior continuum. Copepods were observed to swarm and mysids to school on the reef. Mysids and nesting pomacentrids exhibit a loosely developed commensalism. Offshore plankton probably represents a net energy gain to the reef.