Hobart

Seminar Abstract

Friday 28 November 2008, 11.30am (Tas time)
CSIRO Auditorium, Hobart

Eric A Treml
World Wildlife Fund Fuller Fellow
School of Integrative Biology
University of Queensland

Quantifying the spatiotemporal trends in marine connectivity: merging biophysical modeling and seascape genetics

The dispersal of individuals among marine populations is important to metapopulation dynamics, population persistence, species expansion, and the flow of genetic information. Understanding this connectivity between distant populations is key to their effective conservation and management. Here, I show how an Eulerian advection-diffusion approach can be used to model the dispersal of larvae between reefs throughout the Tropical Pacific. I 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. Patterns in the dispersal graphs highlight potential pathways for larval dispersal throughout the Tropical Pacific. Network analysis identified critical island ‘stepping stones’ and highly connected island clusters. Intersecting the dispersal graphs with geopolitical boundaries, anthropogenic threats, current marine protection efforts, and future climate predictions, suggest areas that should be prioritized for marine conservation efforts. Finally, the larval dispersal predictions (dispersal networks) were used to test the isolation-by-distance hypothesis of genetic differentiation for several marine species. The correlation between the dispersal network predictions (graph distance) and genetic distance across species illustrates the potential for using these methods to explain and explore the geographic structure in the genetic differentiation of marine species. I will briefly introduce how these methods are now being used to explore marine connectivity and conservation questions around Australia and the Coral Triangle.

Seminar Recording

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Location:
CSIRO = Marine Laboratories Auditorium, Castray Esplanade, Hobart

For further information, or to schedule a seminar, contact:
To schedule a seminar, contact:
Clothilde Langlais, (Oceanographic seminars) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (03) 6232 5399
Natalie Kelly, (Biology/Modelling seminars) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research 0438 452 483
Jillian Enraght-Moony, (seminar administrator) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (03) 6232 5320
Communications Manager, Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC (03) 6226 2265
Margaret Hazelwood, Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies (IASOS) University of Tasmania (03) 6226 2971

Last updated 21/07/09