Juvenile fish often use alternative habitats distinct from their adult phases. Parrotfishes are an integral group of coral reef fish assemblages, are targeted in fisheries, are sensitive to reef disturbances, and have been documented as multiple-habitat users. Considering the abundance of research conducted on parrotfishes, very little is known about their juvenile ecology at the species level due to their cryptic and variable coloration patterns. We collected juvenile parrotfishes in non-reef habitats (macroalgal beds, seagrass beds, and lagoons) in the Philippines and used DNA analysis to determine species composition. The results were then compared with data on adult parrotfish abundance from underwater visual census (UVC) surveys in coral reef and non-reef habitats. Collections identified 15 species of juvenile parrotfishes in non-reef habitats, and of these, 10 were also recorded in UVCs as adults. Informed by adult surveys, 42% of the 19 parrotfish species observed as adults were classified as multi-habitat users based on their presence in coral reef and non-reef habitats. When accounting for the occurrence of species as juveniles in non-reef habitats, 93% of the species collected as juveniles would be considered multi-habitat users. Species identified as juveniles in non-reef habitats comprised 50% of the average adult parrotfish density on coral reefs and 58–94% in non-reef habitats. The species richness of juveniles in non-reef habitats was greater than that of adults occupying the same habitats, and the most common adult species observed in UVCs was not collected as juveniles in non-reef habitats. Finally, UVC suggested that 97% of juvenile parrotfish <10-cm total length was present in non-reef habitats compared to coral reefs. These results provide further evidence for ontogenetic movement across habitat boundaries for parrotfish species in a diverse and highly connected tropical seascape. This is one of the few studies to quantify links between nursery and adult habitat in parrotfishes, highlighting the importance of including non-reef habitats in ecological studies of an iconic group of coral reef fish.

中文翻译：

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揭开隐性生活阶段的海景模式：少年鹦嘴鱼的非珊瑚礁栖息地使用。

幼鱼通常使用不同于成年阶段的替代栖息地。鹦嘴鱼是珊瑚礁鱼群中不可或缺的组成部分，以渔业为目标，对礁石干扰敏感，并已被记录为多生境使用者。考虑到对鹦嘴鱼的大量研究，由于其隐秘的和可变的着色模式，对它们在物种水平上的幼稚生态知之甚少。我们在菲律宾的非珊瑚礁栖息地（宏藻层，海草层和泻湖）中收集了幼体鹦嘴鱼，并使用DNA分析来确定物种组成。然后将结果与珊瑚礁和非珊瑚礁栖息地的水下视觉普查（UVC）调查中的成年鹦嘴鱼丰度数据进行比较。收集物在非珊瑚礁栖息地中鉴定出15种幼体鹦嘴鱼，其中10种还记录在UVC中为成年。根据成年人调查，被观察到的19种鹦鹉鱼中有42％成年后根据其在珊瑚礁和非珊瑚礁生境中的存在被归类为多生境使用者。当考虑到在非珊瑚礁栖息地中作为未成年人出现的物种时，作为未成年人而收集的物种中有93％被认为是多栖息地使用者。在非珊瑚礁栖息地中被确定为幼鱼的物种占珊瑚礁平均成年鹦嘴鱼密度的50％，在非珊瑚礁栖息地中为58-94％。在非珊瑚礁栖息地中，未成年人的物种丰富度高于在相同栖息地中的成年鱼类，在非珊瑚礁栖息地中，UVCs中观察到的最常见成年物种未作为未成年人被收集。最后，UVC指出，与珊瑚礁相比，非珊瑚礁栖息地中有97％的总长度小于10厘米的幼体鹦嘴鱼。这些结果提供了进一步的证据，证明了在多样化且高度相关的热带海景中，鹦嘴鱼物种越过了生境跨生境运动。这是对鹦鹉鱼的苗圃和成年栖息地之间的联系进行量化的少数研究之一，突显了在标志性珊瑚礁鱼群生态研究中包括非珊瑚礁栖息地的重要性。