Population connectivity and larval dispersal : using geochemical signatures in calcified structures

Author Posting. © Oceanography Society, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 20, 3 (2007): 80-89.The importance of larval dispersal to the population dynamics and biogeography of marine organisms has been recognized for almost a century (Hjort, 1914; Thorson, 1950). More recently, theoretical studies have highlighted the role that connectivity may play in determining the resilience of marine populations (Hastings and Botsford, 2006). Effective spatial management of marine capture fisheries, including the design of marine reserve networks, also requires an understanding of population connectivity (Sale et al., 2005). However, remarkably few empirical estimates of larval dispersal or population connectivity in ocean environments exist.Our sincere thanks to the Division of Ocean Sciences at the National Science Foundation for funding larval connectivity research on K. kelletii (OCE 0351860 to DZ), bivalve mussels (OCE 0327209 and 0648656 to LAL), and coral reef fishes (OCE 0424688 to SRT)