Multispecies connectivity: Comparative analysis of marine connectivity and its drivers for the coral reefs of Hawaii

种群之间的个体交换，称为连通性，是种群持久存在和维持遗传多样性的核心要素，影响着大多数生态和进化过程。迄今为止，对海洋连通性的实地研究一次只能集中在一个或几个物种上，对整个社区连通性的变异程度以及驱动这种变异的因素了解甚少。该项目将通过在夏威夷群岛采样的不同海洋动物群的种群基因数据集来解决这些问题。通过将这些遗传数据与广泛的海洋、生态和历史数据相结合，该项目可能会改变我们对种群遗传结构基础和影响遗传模式的过程的理解。该项目将为基础海洋生态学和基于生态系统的管理科学提供独特和新的知识，同时纳入最新的分析和模拟方法。结果将在几个方面具有新颖性：1)增进我们对群落遗传学和相关统计技术的理解；2)利用世界遗产同时实现许多物种在大空间范围内的遗传、生态和海洋学数据的真正整合；3)将历史影响纳入连通性研究；4)提供有关连通性障碍的位置、个体的源和汇以及影响社区一级生态格局的物理过程的信息。该项目将导致对海洋连通性的概念和经验理解以及在基础和应用海洋科学中利用种群遗传数据方面的巨大飞跃。该项目还将通过建立的科学-管理伙伴关系、电台脱口秀节目以及怀基基水族馆和Telus科学世界中心的展览为管理层和普通公众提供独特的见解，预计每年将有超过80万名游客参观。此外，夏威夷大学拥有美国文化最多元化的校园之一，可以吸引学生和助教。主要研究人员在招收少数民族学生方面有既定的记录，该项目将发展分子遗传学、定量分析、统计学和景观遗传技术方面的技能组合，以促进他们在STEM学科的职业选择。

The exchange of individuals among populations, termed connectivity, is a central element of population persistence and maintenance of genetic diversity, and influences most ecological and evolutionary processes. To date, field studies of marine connectivity have necessarily focused on one or a few species at a time, providing little understanding of both the extent of variability in connectivity across a whole community and what factors drive that variability. This project will address these questions with population genetic datasets of a diverse marine fauna sampled across the Hawaiian Archipelago. By combining these genetic data with extensive oceanographic, ecological and historical data, this project can potentially transform our understanding of the basis of the genetic structure of populations and the processes influencing genetic patterns. This project will provide unique, and new, knowledge to basic marine ecology and the science of Ecosystem Based Management while incorporating the latest analytical and simulation approaches. The results will be novel on several fronts: 1) advancing our understanding of community genetics and associated statistical techniques; 2) achieving true integration of genetic, ecological and oceanographic data over large spatial scales for many species simultaneously using a World Heritage Site; the Hawaiian Papahânaumokuâkea Marine National Monument; 3) factoring historical effects into connectivity studies; and 4) providing information on the location of barriers to connectivity, the sources and sinks of individuals and the physical processes influencing ecological patterns at a community level. This project will result in a quantum leap for both the conceptual and empirical understanding of marine connectivity and the utility of population genetic data in basic and applied marine science. This project will also provide unique insights for both management and the general public through an established science-management partnership that reaches 14,000 people annually, a radio talk show, and through exhibits at the Waikiki Aquarium and Telus World of Science Center that is expected to reach over 800,000 visitors each year. Additionally, the University of Hawaii has one of the most culturally diverse campuses in the country from which to draw students and assistants. The principal investigators have an established track record of recruiting minority students, and this project will develop a combination of skills in molecular genetics, quantitative analysis, statistics, and landscape genetic techniques to further their career options in STEM disciplines.