Migratory flexibility in native Hawai'ian amphidromous fishes

• Published in: Journal of fish biology Vol. 96; no. 2; pp. 456 - 468
• Main Authors: Heim‐Ballew, Heidi, Moody, Kristine N., Blum, Michael J., McIntyre, Peter B., Hogan, James D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.02.2020; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: amphidromy; Animal Migration - physiology; Animals; Anthropogenic factors; eleotridae; Eleotris; Eleotris sandwicensis; fish; Fishes - physiology; Fresh Water; Freshwater; Hawaii; Inland water environment; Larva; Larvae; larval development; larval duration; Lentipes; Lentipes concolor; Life history; Marine environment; Migrations; migratory behavior; Migratory species; otolith Sr.: Ca; Otolithic Membrane - physiology; otoliths; partial migration; Seawater; Sicydiinae; Sicyopterus; Stenogobius; Hawaii; partial migration; eleotridae; otolith Sr.: Ca; larval duration; amphidromy; Sicydiinae
• ISSN: 0022-1112; 1095-8649; 1095-8649
• DOI: 10.1111/jfb.14224

We assessed the prevalence of life history variation across four of the five native amphidromous Hawai'ian gobioids to determine whether some or all exhibit evidence of partial migration. Analysis of otolith Sr.: Ca concentrations affirmed that all are amphidromous and revealed evidence of partial migration in three of the four species. We found that 25% of Lentipes concolor (n = 8), 40% of Eleotris sandwicensis (n = 20) and 29% of Stenogobius hawaiiensis (n = 24) did not exhibit a migratory life‐history. In contrast, all individuals of Sicyopterus stimpsoni (n = 55) included in the study went to sea as larvae. Lentipes concolor exhibited the shortest mean larval duration (LD) at 87 days, successively followed by E. sandwicensis (mean LD = 102 days), S. hawaiiensis (mean LD = 114 days) and S. stimpsoni (mean LD = 120 days). These findings offer a fresh perspective on migratory life histories that can help improve efforts to conserve and protect all of these and other at‐risk amphidromous species that are subject to escalating anthropogenic pressures in both freshwater and marine environments.