ABSTRACT
Hatching is a key life-history switch point (Sih & Moore, 1993). At hatching, an animal leaves the safety of its sessile, self-contained egg for the active freedom of larval life. For beach-spawning fishes, this transition must occur at a time when aquatic conditions prevail, as the delicate larvae are far less able to handle terrestrial conditions than the embryos wrapped in their sturdy chorions are.
