Recruitment limitation of a deep benthic hard-bottom octocoral population in the Hawaiian Islands

Abstract

Recruitment appears to be the major determinant of abundance and structure of an isolated, spaually conflned deep-water rocky bottom octocoral community in the Hawauan Islands As opposed to some rocky lntertldal communities, post-settlement factors such as compeution for space, predation and physical dlsturbance are of less importance Recrmtment and mortality of the primary species studied, Corall~um secundum Dana (pink coral) was found to be low, relatively constant and independent of population density Constant recruitment in ~solated habitats could b e a consequence of long-lived larvae with good capabil~ty to postpone settlement Recovery of species from man-induced d~sturbance in such envuonments may be a dlrect function of recruitment and year-class infllling -