Coral reef connectivity: an empirical and theoretical synthesis

澳大利亚拥有第一世界国家中最大的海洋生物多样性，这种生物多样性是我们经济财富的主要贡献者。尽管如此，澳大利亚的珊瑚礁群落仍受到各种人类活动和气候变化的威胁。设计合理的海洋保护区系统对于减轻对珊瑚礁的威胁至关重要，但现有的方法没有纳入关于珊瑚礁之间生态联系的关键信息。我们将使用图论度量方法，基于经验的遗传和水文连通性信息来确定优先保护的珊瑚礁。此外，我们将确定这些优先事项对气候变化情景的敏感性。

Australia possesses the greatest marine biodiversity of any first world country and this biodiversity is a major contributor to our economic wealth. Nonetheless, Australia's coral reef communities are threatened by various human activities and climate change. Wisely designed systems of marine reserves are critical to mitigating threats to coral reefs, but existing approaches do not incorporate crucial information about ecological connections between reefs. We will use graph theory metrics to identify priority reefs for protection based on empirical genetic and hydrological connectivity information. In addition, we will determine the sensitivity of these priorities to climate change scenarios.