Marine Spatial Ecology Laboratory School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Goddard Building, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia.
Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, 4111, Australia.
Ecology. 2016 Sep;97(9):2447-2457. doi: 10.1002/ecy.1463.
The connectivity of marine organisms among habitat patches has been dominated by two independent paradigms with distinct conservation strategies. One paradigm is the dispersal of larvae on ocean currents, which suggests networks of marine reserves. The other is the demersal migration of animals from nursery to adult habitats, requiring the conservation of connected ecosystem corridors. Here, we suggest that a common driver, wave exposure, links larval and demersal connectivity across the seascape. To study the effect of linked connectivities on fish abundance at reefs, we parameterize a demographic model for The Bahamas seascape using maps of habitats, empirically forced models of wave exposure and spatially realistic three-dimensional hydrological models of larval dispersal. The integrated empirical-modeling approach enabled us to study linked connectivity on a scale not currently possible by purely empirical studies. We find sheltered environments not only provide greater nursery habitat for juvenile fish but larvae spawned on adjacent reefs have higher retention, thereby creating a synergistic increase in fish abundance. Uniting connectivity paradigms to consider all life stages simultaneously can help explain the evolution of nursery habitat use and simplifies conservation advice: Reserves in sheltered environments have desirable characteristics for biodiversity conservation and can support local fisheries through adult spillover.
海洋生物栖息地斑块之间的连通性一直由两个具有不同保护策略的独立范式主导。一个范式是幼虫随海流扩散，这表明海洋保护区网络的存在。另一个范式是动物从育苗地到成鱼栖息地的底栖洄游，这需要保护连通的生态系统走廊。在这里，我们提出一个共同的驱动因素，即波浪暴露，将幼虫和底栖连通性联系起来。为了研究连通性对珊瑚礁鱼类丰度的影响，我们使用栖息地地图、经验驱动的波浪暴露模型和空间现实的幼虫扩散三维水力学模型，为巴哈马海域景观参数化了一个人口统计模型。这种综合的经验模型方法使我们能够在以前仅通过经验研究不可能达到的规模上研究连通性。我们发现，遮蔽环境不仅为幼鱼提供了更大的育苗栖息地，而且在相邻珊瑚礁上产卵的幼虫保留率更高，从而使鱼类丰度呈协同增长。将连通性范式结合起来，同时考虑所有生命阶段，可以帮助解释育苗栖息地利用的演变，并简化保护建议：遮蔽环境中的保护区具有生物多样性保护的理想特征，并可以通过成年洄游鱼的溢出效应支持当地渔业。
