Passive retention of simulated larvae on coral reefs
The extent to which local coral populations are self-sustaining through local recruitment has important implications for managing coral reef systems. However, a lack of understanding has led to overly simplistic representation of this phenomenon in coral reef population models. In this study, we sim...
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The Royal Society
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
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| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241708 |
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| author | Jim Greenwood C. J. Sun Christopher Doropoulos Damian Thomson Mark Baird J. Porobic Scott Condie |
| author_facet | Jim Greenwood C. J. Sun Christopher Doropoulos Damian Thomson Mark Baird J. Porobic Scott Condie |
| author_sort | Jim Greenwood |
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| description | The extent to which local coral populations are self-sustaining through local recruitment has important implications for managing coral reef systems. However, a lack of understanding has led to overly simplistic representation of this phenomenon in coral reef population models. In this study, we simulate the dispersal of artificial larvae from 24 selected individual reefs across the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, over a spawning period in December 2016, to identify key physical factors influencing their retention. We found the dispersal pattern of larvae differed depending on whether they are well mixed throughout the water column and transported by depth-averaged velocity or floating near the surface, with well-mixed populations following more circuitous routes and dispersing more slowly. Retention time (Rt) varies widely between reefs, with most of the variation observed in this study (r2 = 0.90) explained by reef area (A) represented by the empirical power law relationship Rt = 10.34 A0.65, or alternatively by a combination of reef area and mean water depth ([Formula: see text]) using the linear relationship Rt = 1.23(A) – 6.38([Formula: see text]). The formation of tidal eddies and being situated among closely aggregated reefs are shown to be important factors for larval retention. Simple retention relationships like these have the potential to be incorporated into larval connectivity modelling and reef meta-community modelling where reef area and water depth are known. Further research is needed to determine how different oceanographic conditions and interannual variability will affect these relationships. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-013cb0047c2e47858ef7018f4bb2c6b8 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
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| spelling | doaj-art-013cb0047c2e47858ef7018f4bb2c6b82025-08-20T01:57:05ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032025-05-0112510.1098/rsos.241708Passive retention of simulated larvae on coral reefsJim Greenwood0C. J. Sun1Christopher Doropoulos2Damian Thomson3Mark Baird4J. Porobic5Scott Condie6CSIRO Environment, Perth, Western Australia, AustraliaCSIRO Environment, Perth, Western Australia, AustraliaCSIRO Environment, Brisbane, Queensland, AustraliaCSIRO Environment, Perth, Western Australia, AustraliaCSIRO Environment, Hobart, Tasmania, AustraliaCSIRO Environment, Hobart, Tasmania, AustraliaCSIRO Environment, Hobart, Tasmania, AustraliaThe extent to which local coral populations are self-sustaining through local recruitment has important implications for managing coral reef systems. However, a lack of understanding has led to overly simplistic representation of this phenomenon in coral reef population models. In this study, we simulate the dispersal of artificial larvae from 24 selected individual reefs across the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, over a spawning period in December 2016, to identify key physical factors influencing their retention. We found the dispersal pattern of larvae differed depending on whether they are well mixed throughout the water column and transported by depth-averaged velocity or floating near the surface, with well-mixed populations following more circuitous routes and dispersing more slowly. Retention time (Rt) varies widely between reefs, with most of the variation observed in this study (r2 = 0.90) explained by reef area (A) represented by the empirical power law relationship Rt = 10.34 A0.65, or alternatively by a combination of reef area and mean water depth ([Formula: see text]) using the linear relationship Rt = 1.23(A) – 6.38([Formula: see text]). The formation of tidal eddies and being situated among closely aggregated reefs are shown to be important factors for larval retention. Simple retention relationships like these have the potential to be incorporated into larval connectivity modelling and reef meta-community modelling where reef area and water depth are known. Further research is needed to determine how different oceanographic conditions and interannual variability will affect these relationships.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241708coral larvaedispersallocal retentionocean model |
| spellingShingle | Jim Greenwood C. J. Sun Christopher Doropoulos Damian Thomson Mark Baird J. Porobic Scott Condie Passive retention of simulated larvae on coral reefs Royal Society Open Science coral larvae dispersal local retention ocean model |
| title | Passive retention of simulated larvae on coral reefs |
| title_full | Passive retention of simulated larvae on coral reefs |
| title_fullStr | Passive retention of simulated larvae on coral reefs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Passive retention of simulated larvae on coral reefs |
| title_short | Passive retention of simulated larvae on coral reefs |
| title_sort | passive retention of simulated larvae on coral reefs |
| topic | coral larvae dispersal local retention ocean model |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241708 |
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