Independent estimates of marine population connectivity are more concordant when accounting for uncertainties in larval origins.

ABSTRACT: Marine larval dispersal is a complex biophysical process that depends on the effects of species biology and oceanography, leading to logistical difficulties in estimating connectivity among populations of marine animals with biphasic life cycles. To address this challenge, the application of multiple methodological approaches has been advocated, in order to increase confidence in estimates of population connectivity. However, studies seldom account for sources of uncertainty associated with each method, which undermines a direct comparative approach. In the present study we explicitly account for the statistical uncertainty in observed connectivity matrices derived from elemental chemistry of larval mussel shells, and compare these to predictions from a biophysical model of dispersal. To d

SUBMITTER: Nolasco R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5805787 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature