Population Connectivity In Ocean Ecosystems

A central goal of marine ecology is to achieve a mechanistic understanding of the factors regulating the abundance and distribution of marine populations. With such an understanding, it should be possible to generate theory capable of predicting the effects of changes in physical and biological parameters on the dynamics of these populations. A critical component of the above goal is to quantify rates of exchange, or connectivity, among subpopulations of marine organisms. We have, however, little more than a rudimentary understanding of the spatial scales over which marine populations are connected by larval dispersal. This lack of knowledge represents a fundamental obstacle to any 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 fisheries scientists to evaluate the design and potential benefits of novel, spatially-explicit management strategies including marine protected areas (MPAs). The inability to accurately predict dispersal makes it impossible to determine the effect of climate change and/or human exploitation on marine ecosystems. Thus, there is a clear need for an interdisciplinary effort to address this issue. This session will focus on what we know about population connectivity and what works need to be done in the coming decade.