Publication Date:
2022-05-25
Description:
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): 14-21.
Description:
There is growing consensus that life within the world’s ocean is under considerable
and increasing stress from human activities (Hutchings, 2000; Jackson et al.,
2001). This unprecedented strain on both the structure and function of marine ecosystems has
led to calls for new management approaches to counter anthropogenic impacts in the coastal ocean
(Botsford et al., 1997; Browman and Stergiou, 2004: Pikitch et al., 2004). Spatial management, including
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), has been touted as a method for both conserving biodiversity
and managing fisheries (Agardy, 1997). Continuing debates on the efficacy of MPAs have identified
the need for models that capture the spatial dynamics of marine populations, especially with respect
to larval dispersal (Willis et al., 2003; Sale et al., 2005). Theoretical studies suggest that population connectivity plays a fundamental role in local and metapopulation dynamics, community dynamics and
structure, genetic diversity, and the resiliency of populations to human exploitation (Hastings and
Harrison, 1994; Botsford et al., 2001). Modeling efforts have been hindered, however, by the paucity of
empirical estimates of, and knowledge of the processes controlling, population connectivity in ocean
ecosystems. While progress has been made with older life stages, the larval-dispersal component of
connectivity remains unresolved for most marine populations. This lack of knowledge represents a
fundamental obstacle to obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the population dynamics of
marine organisms. Furthermore, a lack of spatial context that such information would provide has
limited the ability of ecologists to evaluate the design and potential benefits of novel conservation and
resource-management strategies.
Description:
Over the years, we have each
received support from a variety of agencies
in support of research relevant to
Population Connectivity; in addition to
NSF, we acknowledge funding from the
World Bank/GEF Coral Reef Targeted
Research Program, University of Miami’s
Maytag Chair in Ichthyology, the Oak
Foundation, and the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Article
Format:
application/pdf
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