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El Niño and coral larval dispersal across the eastern Pacific marine barrier

Author

Listed:
  • S. Wood

    (School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol)

  • I. B. Baums

    (Pennsylvania State University)

  • C. B. Paris

    (Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami)

  • A. Ridgwell

    (University of California
    School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road)

  • W. S. Kessler

    (Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory/NOAA)

  • E. J. Hendy

    (School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol)

Abstract

More than 5,000 km separates the frequently disturbed coral reefs of the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) from western sources of population replenishment. It has been hypothesized that El Niño events facilitate eastward dispersal across this East Pacific Barrier (EPB). Here we present a biophysical coral larval dispersal model driven by 14.5 years of high-resolution surface ocean current data including the extreme 1997–1998 El Niño. We find no eastward cross-EPB connections over this period, which implies that ETP coral populations decimated by the 1998 bleaching event can only have recovered from eastern Pacific sources, in congruence with genetic data. Instead, rare connections between eastern and central Pacific reefs are simulated in a westward direction. Significant complexity and variability in the surface flows transporting larvae mean that generalized upper-ocean circulation patterns are poor descriptors of inter-regional connectivity, complicating the assessment of how climate change will impact coral gene flow Pacific wide.

Suggested Citation

  • S. Wood & I. B. Baums & C. B. Paris & A. Ridgwell & W. S. Kessler & E. J. Hendy, 2016. "El Niño and coral larval dispersal across the eastern Pacific marine barrier," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-11, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:7:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms12571
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12571
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    Cited by:

    1. Raapoto, H. & Monaco, C.J. & Van Wynsberge, S. & Le Gendre, R. & Le Luyer, J., 2024. "Assessing regional connectivity patterns of bivalvia in fragmented archipelagos: Insights from biophysical modeling in French Polynesia," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 489(C).

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