Setting priorities for conservation at the interface between ocean circulation, connectivity, and population dynamics
Setting priorities for conservation at the interface between ocean circulation, connectivity, and population dynamics
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DOI：
10.1002/eap.2011
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发表时间：
2019-11-07
影响因子：
5
通讯作者：
Vanderklift, Mathew A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Boschetti, Fabio;Babcock, Russell C.;Vanderklift, Mathew A.
海洋环境中的种群持久性是由海洋环流模式、幼虫扩散、生态相互作用和人口比率驱动的。特别是对于栖息地形成生物来说，了解幼虫连通性和元种群动态之间的关系有助于规划海洋空间管理。在这里，我们通过结合基于大陆架环流的粒子跟踪模型和单个珊瑚礁亚种群动态模型来估计澳大利亚西北大陆架边缘珊瑚礁之间的连通性网络。珊瑚覆盖数据被用作整体栖息地质量的代表，栖息地质量会因自然过程、人为影响和管理举措而发生变化。我们得到了三个具有保护意义的主要结果。首先，生态网络的动态是网络连通性与单个珊瑚礁生态过程相互作用的结果。一个区域可以维持的最大珊瑚覆盖面积对单个珊瑚礁在网络动态中所起的作用施加了显著的非线性，从而对保护干预措施对特定珊瑚礁的影响施加了显著的非线性。其次，单个珊瑚礁在这些网络动态中的作用根据系统的整体状态而发生很大变化：珊瑚礁在维持系统状态方面的作用可能不同于同一珊瑚礁在重大干扰后帮助系统恢复的作用。第三，网络连通性模式随着大陆架环流的年变化趋势而显著变化，网络动力学的非线性使得平均连通性不能很好地反映年变化。从管理的角度来看，作为管理干预目标的珊瑚礁优先列表主要取决于需要解决的压力源类型（全系统还是局部）。这种选择不仅取决于管理的最终目的，还取决于未来的海洋学、气候变化和发展情景，这些将决定网络连通性和栖息地质量。
Population persistence in the marine environment is driven by patterns of ocean circulation, larval dispersal, ecological interactions, and demographic rates. For habitat-forming organisms in particular, understanding the relationship between larval connectivity and meta-population dynamics aids in planning for marine spatial management. Here, we estimate networks of connectivity between fringing coral reefs in the northwest shelf of Australia by combining a particle tracking model based on shelf circulation with models of subpopulation dynamics of individual reefs. Coral cover data were used as a proxy for overall habitat quality, which can change as a result of natural processes, human-driven impacts, and management initiatives. We obtain three major results of conservation significance. First, the dynamics of the ecological network result from the interplay between network connectivity and ecological processes on individual reefs. The maximum coral cover a zone can sustain imposes a significant nonlinearity on the role an individual reef plays within the dynamics of the network, and thus on the impact of conservation interventions on specific reefs. Second, the role of an individual reef within these network dynamics changes considerably depending on the overall state of the system: a reef's role in sustaining the system's state can be different from the same reef's role in helping the system recover following major disturbance. Third, patterns of network connectivity change significantly as a function of yearly shelf circulation trends, and nonlinearity in network dynamics make mean connectivity a poor representation of yearly variations. From a management perspective, the priority list of reefs that are targets for management interventions depends crucially on what type of stressors (system-wide vs. localized) need addressing. This choice also depends not only on the ultimate purpose of management, but also on future oceanographic, climate change, and development scenarios that will determine the network connectivity and habitat quality.