Abstract
In the last 10 years, new techniques have helped answer some of the most difficult questions in reef fish ecology, and a broader range of topics has been investigated. Despite this there has been an increasing emphasis on studies of larval biology, recruitment dynamics, and early postsettlement demography. This focus exists because these topics are key to understanding demography of reef fish populations, and because improved management depends on understanding demography, and particularly the connectivity due to larval exchange between populations. I review these advances, and make suggestions for the future. I outline ECONAR, a regional-scale, multi-disciplinary project, as the kind of program needed to gain satisfactory answers to major questions in reef fish ecology.
