Modeling population connectivity by ocean currents, a graph-theoretic approach for marine conservation

By Eric A. Treml, Patrick N. Halpin, Dean L. Urban, L. Pratson. Landscape Ecology, 2007

527 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The dispersal of individuals among marine populations is of great importance to metapopulation dynamics, population persistence, and species expansion. Understanding this connectivity between distant populations is key to their effective conservation and management. For many marine species, population connectivity is determined largely by ocean currents transporting larvae and juveniles between distant patches of suitable habitat. Recent work has focused on the biophysics of marine larval dispersal and its importance to population dynamics, although few studies have evaluated the spatial and temporal patterns of this potential dispersal. Here, we show how an Eulerian advection–diffusion approach can be used to model the dispersal of coral larvae between reefs throughout the Tropical Pacific. We illustrate how this connectivity can be analyzed using graph theory—an effective approach for exploring patterns in spatial connections, as well as for determining the importance of each site and pathway to local and regional connectivity. Results indicate that the scale (average distance) of dispersal in the Pacific is on the order of 50–150 km, consistent with recent studies in the Caribbean (Cowen, et al. 2006). Patterns in the dispersal graphs highlight pathways for larval dispersal along major ocean currents and through island chains. A series of critical island ‘stepping stones’ are discovered providing potential pathways across the equatorial currents and connecting distant island groups. Patterns in these dispersal graphs highlight possible pathways for species expansions, reveal connected upstream/downstream populations, and suggest areas that might be prioritized for marine conservation efforts.

Subfields: Ecology, Global and Planetary Change, Oceanography

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/30fb12480346a4d2895b1ca8a6967261919db084

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Citations in the corpus

Marine Geospatial Ecology Tools: An integrated framework for ecological geoprocessing with ArcGIS, Python, R, MATLAB, and C++ (2010, methodology): “Using the method developed by Treml et al. (2008), this tool simulates the dispersal of coral larvae from reefs by ocean currents using anEulerian advectionediffusion algorithm implemented inMATLAB andoutputs agraphstructure representing theconnectionsbetween reefs.”
Consistency and inconsistency in multispecies population network dynamics of coral reef ecosystems (2014, unknown): “…the degree to which a node serves to connect other nodes in the network, such as a corridor or stepping stone to multistep, or in this case, multigenerational connectivity (Freeman 1977, Estrada & Bodin 2008, Rozenfeld et al. 2008, Treml et al. 2008, Treml & Halpin 2012, Andrello et al. 2013).”
Seascape ecology of coastal biogenic habitats: advances, gaps, and challenges (2011, methodology): “This requires novel interdisciplinary approaches, better use of the latest technology and analytical methods (Treml et al. 2008), and perhaps most importantly, an in-depth understanding of the biology of marine organisms, including life cycle analysis, recruitment patterns and bottlenecks, movement…”
Seascape Genetics: Populations, Individuals, and Genes Marooned and Adrift (2013, background): “…then, seascape genetics has seen strong development and usage of biophysical models that incorporate asymmetric movements (Galindo et al. 2006; Treml et al. 2008; Kool et al. 2010; Selkoe et al. 2010; White et al. 2010; Kool et al. 2011; Foster et al. 2012), with published models for the…”
Connectivity networks reveal the risks of crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks on the Great Barrier Reef (2014, methodology): “Connectivity networks have been used successfully to describe connectivity in both terrestrial and marine systems (Urban & Keitt 2001; Minor & Urban 2008; Treml et al. 2008; Lookingbill et al. 2010; Mumby et al. 2011; Watson et al. 2011, 2012) and also to understand the outbreaks of undesirable agen”
Estimating dispersal distance in the deep sea: challenges and applications to marine reserves (2015, methodology): “The most frequently utilized is the PLD during which larvae are susceptible to physical mixing and advection (Sponaugle et al., 2002; Treml et al., 2008).”
Primacy of seascape connectivity effects in structuring coral reef fish assemblages (2012, background): “…exert an influence across a range of scales, from 100s of metres for diel and tidal feeding movements (e.g. Grober-Dunsmore et al. 2007), to 10s of kilometres for ontogenetic migrations between habitats (e.g. Mumby 2006) and up to 1000s of kilometres for broader dispersal (e.g. Treml et al. 2008).”
Population genetics, larval dispersal, and connectivity in marine systems (2009, unknown): “…in the length of the planktonic larval stage being used as a convenient measure of dispersal potential for benthic organisms, both historically and in a growing number of ecological (e.g. Lester et al. 2007), management (e.g. Treml et al. 2008), and evolutionary (e.g. Jablonski 1986) studies.”
Graph models of habitat mosaics. (2009, background): “For example, while natural links (arcs) connecting coral reefs are governed by ocean currents (Treml et al. 2008), other connections are made via ballast water from ships following trade routes that are independent of currents.”
Paradigm shifts in marine fisheries genetics: ugly hypotheses slain by beautiful facts (2008, background): “Topics such as connectivity among marine populations (Cowen et al. 2006; Treml et al. 2008), the spatial and temporal scale of population differentiation (Jørgensen et al.”