Large‐scale, multidirectional larval connectivity among coral reef fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Large‐scale, multidirectional larval connectivity among coral reef fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
复制标题
大堡礁海洋公园珊瑚礁鱼类种群之间的大规模、多向幼体连接
作者：
D. Williamson;H. Harrison;G. Almany;M. Berumen;M. Bode;M. Bonin;Severine Choukroun;P. Doherty;A. Frisch;P. Saenz‐Agudelo;G. Jones
幼体扩散是连接和补充大多数海洋鱼类和无脊椎动物种群的关键过程。幼虫标记和遗传学方面的进展增强了我们追踪幼虫扩散、评估种群连通性的规模以及量化禁止捕捞海洋保护区和捕鱼区之间幼虫交换的能力。最近的研究发现，保护区可能是40公里外种群招募新兵的重要来源，但幼虫在较大海景中的连接规模和方向仍不清楚。在这里，我们应用遗传亲子关系分析来研究两种被开发的珊瑚礁石斑鱼(Plectroomus maculatus和Plectroomus leopardus)在澳大利亚大堡礁海洋公园内相距60-220公里的三个珊瑚礁群内和之间的幼体扩散模式。共有69只幼鱼和17只幼鱼(分别占样本总数的6%和9%)被遗传归入研究区域内礁石上的亲本个体。我们既发现了幼虫在区域内(200米至50公里)的短距离传播，也发现了区域之间长达约250公里的长距离、多方向的传播。扩散强度随距离的增加而显著下降，最优扩散核估计的平均扩散距离，斑点对虾约为110公里，麻斑对虾约为190公里。珊瑚礁之间的幼虫交换表明，已建立的保护区形成了一个高度相连的网络，并在多个空间尺度上为鱼礁的补充贡献了幼虫。我们的发现突出了在重要的珊瑚礁鱼类群体中远距离扩散的潜力，并提供了进一步的证据，表明有效保护的保护区可以为被开发的鱼类种群带来补充和可持续效益。
Larval dispersal is the key process by which populations of most marine fishes and invertebrates are connected and replenished. Advances in larval tagging and genetics have enhanced our capacity to track larval dispersal, assess scales of population connectivity, and quantify larval exchange among no‐take marine reserves and fished areas. Recent studies have found that reserves can be a significant source of recruits for populations up to 40 km away, but the scale and direction of larval connectivity across larger seascapes remain unknown. Here, we apply genetic parentage analysis to investigate larval dispersal patterns for two exploited coral reef groupers (Plectropomus maculatus and Plectropomus leopardus) within and among three clusters of reefs separated by 60–220 km within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia. A total of 69 juvenile P. maculatus and 17 juvenile P. leopardus (representing 6% and 9% of the total juveniles sampled, respectively) were genetically assigned to parent individuals on reefs within the study area. We identified both short‐distance larval dispersal within regions (200 m to 50 km) and long‐distance, multidirectional dispersal of up to ~250 km among regions. Dispersal strength declined significantly with distance, with best‐fit dispersal kernels estimating median dispersal distances of ~110 km for P. maculatus and ~190 km for P. leopardus. Larval exchange among reefs demonstrates that established reserves form a highly connected network and contribute larvae for the replenishment of fished reefs at multiple spatial scales. Our findings highlight the potential for long‐distance dispersal in an important group of reef fishes, and provide further evidence that effectively protected reserves can yield recruitment and sustainability benefits for exploited fish populations.