Larval Retention/Reception: Marine Connectivity Patterns in Hawaii (Kobayashi)
Channel: Ronald Cannarella
Date: 07/06/2012

A presentation at the Hawaii Conservation Conference 2007 by Donald Kobayashi (1Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries, Honolulu, HI, 2Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW, Australia) on "Larval Retention Versus Larval Reception: Marine Connectivity Patterns Within and Around the Hawaiian Archipelago". Metapopulation connectivity of insular populations in the Hawaiian Archipelago is poorly understood, which hinders effective management and assessment of these living marine resources. This study addresses potential connectivity between geographically separated areas via the pelagic egg and larval life history phases assuming that propagules are passively carried by ocean currents. Pelagic transport was investigated using high-resolution ocean current data and computer simulation. Connectivity measures between 25 geographic strata are presented for a suite of pelagic larval durations. In general, adjacent strata in the archipelago were well connected via pelagic larval transport. Retention, i.e., the return of natal propagules, is contrasted with reception, i.e., the influx of propagules from other sources. These two processes appear to be decoupled based on examination of archipelago-wide patterns. Single-generation and multi-generation effects of connectivity are considered using a simple population dynamics model driven by the dispersal kernel probability estimates. The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument appears to be largely self-sustaining based on these results, with differential input to certain of the inhabited islands further southward in the archipelago depending on the pelagic larval duration.

Hawaii Conservation Alliance
Executive Producer: Ronald Cannarella