Open AccessPersistence of self‐recruitment and patterns of larval connectivity in a marine protected area network
Author(s) -
Berumen Michael L.,
Almany Glenn R.,
Planes Serge,
Jones Geoffrey P.,
SaenzAgudelo Pablo,
Thorrold Simon R.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
ecology and evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.17
H-Index - 63
ISSN - 2045-7758
DOI - 10.1002/ece3.208
Subject(s) - marine protected area , biological dispersal , marine reserve , biodiversity , ecology , reef , biology , coral reef , coral reef fish , extinction (optical mineralogy) , fishery , habitat , population , paleontology , demography , sociology
The use of marine protected area (MPA) networks to sustain fisheries and conserve biodiversity is predicated on two critical yet rarely tested assumptions. Individual MPAs must produce sufficient larvae that settle within that reserve's boundaries to maintain local populations while simultaneously supplying larvae to other MPA nodes in the network that might otherwise suffer local extinction. Here, we use genetic parentage analysis to demonstrate that patterns of self‐recruitment of two reef fishes ( Amphiprion percula and Chaetodon vagabundus ) in an MPA in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, were remarkably consistent over several years. However, dispersal from this reserve to two other nodes in an MPA network varied between species and through time. The stability of our estimates of self‐recruitment suggests that even small MPAs may be self‐sustaining. However, our results caution against applying optimization strategies to MPA network design without accounting for variable connectivity among species and over time.