Before revision:  We developed a spatial optimization model that explores how the provision of ecosystem services varies along the coast under different management scenarios. Our approach assumes that the baseline structure of biological communities largely relies on large-scale connectivity . Therefore, based on the baseline potential of a site to provide services, conditioned by biophysical connectivity, the model explores the optimal allocation of protected areas. This approach was tested in central Chile, where the biological productivity is tightly linked to the hydrodynamics driven by the Humboldt current, through biophysical connectivity of early-life stages.
After revision:  We developed a spatial optimization model that explores how the provision of ecosystem services in coastal areas by accounting for the role of dispersal and larval connectivity. The approach combines a validated coastal circulation model that reproduces realistic patterns of larval transport along the coast, which ultimately conditions the biological connectivity and productivity of an area, with additional spatial layers describing potential ecosystem services. The spatial optimisation exercise was tested along the coast of Central Chile, a highly productive area dominated by the Humboldt current, through biophysical connectivity of early-life stages.