Recent advances in our understanding of the self-recruitment and connectivity of island, coastal, and estuarine fauna and flora were made possible by an integration of physical oceanographic observations and modelling with results from studies of the behaviour of the seeds, eggs, larvae, propagules, juve-niles and polyps, of population dynamics, microchemical tagging using natural and artificial markers, genetics and direct observations of trajectories. The spatial scales of dispersal and connectivity vary with the species from a few meters to 1,000's of kilometers, and the temporal scales vary from one to several generations.
These studies suggest that, with increasing physical openness of a given site for a given species, self-recruiting increasingly relies on the behaviour of individuals.
Thus the integration of oceanographic and biological (i.e., early life history traits, including behaviour) understanding and interactions is increasingly required in dispersal and recruitment studies.
This Research Topic will focus on coupled biophysical processes during the early phase of marine spe-cies, which are the very foundation of marine populations and ecosystems. It will take a dual theoreti-cal and empirical approach to understand the dispersion and fate of offspring (seeds, eggs, larvae, propagules, juveniles and polyps), largely through projects that have applications in marine conserva-tion. It will deal with advances in the fields of movement ecology and oceanography including larval navigation.
Significant applications of this research are the optimization of MPA networks, the spread of invasive species, diseases, and pollutants in the marine environment, and the impact of climate change on ma-rine ecosystems.
Recent advances in our understanding of the self-recruitment and connectivity of island, coastal, and estuarine fauna and flora were made possible by an integration of physical oceanographic observations and modelling with results from studies of the behaviour of the seeds, eggs, larvae, propagules, juve-niles and polyps, of population dynamics, microchemical tagging using natural and artificial markers, genetics and direct observations of trajectories. The spatial scales of dispersal and connectivity vary with the species from a few meters to 1,000's of kilometers, and the temporal scales vary from one to several generations.
These studies suggest that, with increasing physical openness of a given site for a given species, self-recruiting increasingly relies on the behaviour of individuals.
Thus the integration of oceanographic and biological (i.e., early life history traits, including behaviour) understanding and interactions is increasingly required in dispersal and recruitment studies.
This Research Topic will focus on coupled biophysical processes during the early phase of marine spe-cies, which are the very foundation of marine populations and ecosystems. It will take a dual theoreti-cal and empirical approach to understand the dispersion and fate of offspring (seeds, eggs, larvae, propagules, juveniles and polyps), largely through projects that have applications in marine conserva-tion. It will deal with advances in the fields of movement ecology and oceanography including larval navigation.
Significant applications of this research are the optimization of MPA networks, the spread of invasive species, diseases, and pollutants in the marine environment, and the impact of climate change on ma-rine ecosystems.