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Complex Larval Connectivity Patterns Among Marine Invertebrate Populations, Bonnie Becker, Lisa A. Levin, E. Joel Fodrie, Pat A. Mcmillan

Bonnie Becker

Based on the belief that marine larvae, which can spend days to months in the planktonic stage, could be transported considerable distances by ocean currents, it has long been assumed that populations of coastal species with a planktonic larval stage are demographically open and highly "connected." Such assumptions about the connectivity of coastal populations govern approaches to managing marine resources and shape our fundamental understanding of population dynamics and evolution, yet are rarely tested directly due to the small size and high mortality of marine larvae in a physically complex environment. Here, we document a successful application of elemental fingerprinting …