We seek studies of the importance of retention and loss on early life stage dynamics. We encourage contributions on the role of mesoscale hydrographic features in recruitment processes including the specificity of spawning times and locations and transport to suitable nursery locations from spawning sites. Climate Variability and Recruitment Processes Documentation of causal factors underlying regime shifts in the marine environment is essential. Studies of synchrony in recruitment among different taxa or populations within species on large spatial scales have provided important insights into recruitment processes. The resilience of populations to exploitation is critically dependent on compensatory processes.
Compensation can dampen the effects of environmentally induced variability in recruitment.
We seek contributions examining compensatory mechanisms at one or more life history stages, stock-recruitment models with environmental inputs, and analyses of interactions between environmental variability and internal regulatory mechanisms. Life History Strategies in Variable Environments Marine populations exhibit a diverse array of life history strategies in response to environmental variability. We encourage contributions which examine fundamental life history characteristics in relation to recruitment processes. Examples of life history characteristics in relation to variable marine environments, comparative studies of life history traits across taxa, and the implications of different life history strategies in relation to anthropogenic perturbations are sought. The Symposium will feature invited presentations providing overviews of key issues in understanding the linkages between environmental variability and population dynamics.