The Eastern Tropical Pacific coral population connectivity and the role of the Eastern Pacific Barrier.

ABSTRACT: Long-distance dispersal is believed to strongly influence coral reef population dynamics across the Tropical Pacific. However, the spatial scale and strength at which populations are potentially connected by dispersal remains uncertain. To determine the patterns in connectivity between the Eastern (ETP) and Central Tropical Pacific (CTP) ecoregions, we used a biophysical model incorporating ocean currents and larval biology to quantify the seascape-wide dispersal potential among all population. We quantified the likelihood and determined the oceanographic conditions that enable the dispersal of coral larvae across the Eastern Pacific Barrier (EP-Barrier) and identified the main connectivity pathways and their conservation value for dominant reef-building corals. Overall, we found that cora

SUBMITTER: Romero-Torres M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6008413 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature