Scaling of Connectivity in Marine Populations

Defining the scale of connectivity, or exchange, among marine populations and determining the factors driving this exchange are pivotal to our understanding of the population dynamics, genetic structure, and biogeography of many coastal species. Using a high-resolution biophysical model for the Caribbean region, we report that typical larval dispersal distances of ecologically relevant magnitudes are on the scale of only 10 to 100 kilometers for a variety of reef fish species. We also show the importance of the early onset of active larval movement mediating the dispersal potential. In addition to self-recruitment, larval import from outside the local area is required to sustain most populations, although these population subsidies are very limited in particular systems. The results reveal distinct regions of population isolation based on larval dispersal that also correspond to genetic and morphological clines observed across a range of marine organisms.

[1]  Claire B. Paris,et al.  Direct evidence of a biophysical retention mechanism for coral reef fish larvae , 2004 .

[2]  Brad deYoung,et al.  Challenges of Modeling Ocean Basin Ecosystems , 2004, Science.

[3]  G. Jones,et al.  Self-recruitment in a coral reef fish population , 1999, Nature.

[4]  Paul R. Armsworth,et al.  The structure of reef fish metapopulations: modelling larval dispersal and retention patterns , 2002, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[5]  J. Roughgarden,et al.  Recruitment dynamics in complex life cycles. , 1988, Science.

[6]  Botsford,et al.  Dependence of sustainability on the configuration of marine reserves and larval dispersal distance , 2001 .

[7]  Robert John,et al.  Nonrandom Processes Maintain Diversity in Tropical Forests , 2006, Science.

[8]  Daniel R. Lynch,et al.  Spatially-explicit individual based modeling of marine populations: A review of the advances in the 1990s , 2001 .

[9]  W. R. Coe.  Resurgent Populations of Littoral Marine Invertebrates and Their Dependence on Ocean Currents and Tidal Currents , 1953 .

[10]  D. Reed,et al.  Conceptual Issues Relevant to Marine Harvest Refuges: Examples from Temperate Reef Fishes , 1993 .

[11]  J. C. Andrews,et al.  The helix experiment: differential localized dispersal and recruitment patterns in Great Barrier Reef corals , 1989 .

[12]  Cynthia M. Jones,et al.  Natal homing in a marine fish metapopulation. , 2001, Science.

[13]  Peter Chesson,et al.  Coexistence Mediated by Recruitment Fluctuations: A Field Guide to the Storage Effect , 1985, The American Naturalist.

[14]  M. Hellberg,et al.  Regionally isolated populations of an imperiled Caribbean coral, Acropora palmata , 2005, Molecular ecology.

[15]  G. Jones,et al.  Coral Reef Fish Larvae Settle Close to Home , 2005, Current Biology.

[16]  J. Caselle,et al.  Larval retention and recruitment in an island population of a coral-reef fish , 1999, Nature.

[17]  Claire B Paris-Limouzy,et al.  Connectivity of marine populations: open or closed? , 2000, Science.

[18]  S. Palumbi,et al.  Biogeography: A marine Wallace's line? , 2000, Nature.

[19]  C. Roberts,et al.  Connectivity and management of caribbean coral reefs , 1997, Science.

[20]  E. Wolanski,et al.  Directional Swimming of Fish Larvae Determines Connectivity of Fish Populations on the Great Barrier Reef , 1997, Naturwissenschaften.

[21]  S. Goldhor.  Ecology , 1964, The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine.

[22]  Steven D. Gaines,et al.  Temperature or Transport? Range Limits in Marine Species Mediated Solely by Flow , 2000, The American Naturalist.

[23]  R. S. Scheltema.  On dispersal and planktonic larvae of benthic invertebrates: an eclectic overview and summary of problems , 1986 .

[24]  I. Efford.  Recruitment To Sedentary Marine Populations as Exemplified By the Sand Crab, Emerita Analoga (Decapoda, Hippidae) , 1970 .

[25]  A. Hill.  Pelagic dispersal of Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus larvae examined using an advection-diffusion-mortality model , 1990 .

[26]  R. Cowen.  Large scale pattern of recruitment by the labrid, semicossyphus pulcher: causes and implications , 1985 .

[27]  Michael S. Taylor,et al.  Genetic Evidence for Local Retention of Pelagic Larvae in a Caribbean Reef Fish , 2003, Science.

[28]  David A. Siegel,et al.  Lagrangian descriptions of marine larval dispersion , 2003 .