T: larval stage of most coral reef fishes is spent in the pelagic environment, potentially well away from the reef proper. Survival of this stage is tenuous, being mediated by factors such as food availability, predator abundance, and physical conditions. The complex biological and physical interactions of these factors can result in a seemingly stochastic larval supply that drives temporal and spatial variation in recruitment intensity (Cowen, 1985; Roughgarden et al., 1988; Choat et al., 1988). This variation can be a major determinant of adult population sizes (Cushing, 1975; Rothschild, 1986; Sinclair, 1988). A growing awareness of this perspective has placed a premium on the need to study the early life history stages of marine organisms, forcing us to peer into the black box of larval biology and ecology. The following discussion will outline where advances have occurred in our understanding of how, and to what effect, coral reef fish larvae interact with the pelagic environment. Without denying the importance of food and predation to larval survival (Houde, 1987; Bailey and Houde, 1989), it is clear that many species of coastal marine fishes are particularly dependent on directed transport to their juvenile or adult habitat. For