Tropical reef fishes, along with many benthic invertebrates, have a life cycle that includes a sedentary, bottom-dwelling reproductive phase and a planktonic stage that occurs early in development. The adult benthic populations occupy disjunct, patchy habitats; the extent of gene flow due to dispersal of the planktonic life stage is generally unknown.
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Shulman et al. (1995) studied this question.
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