Abstract
The colonial ascidian Podoclavella moluccensis Sluiter (Aplousobranchia, Polycitoridae) occurs on discrete patches of substrata, separated by uninhabitable sandy seafloor. The potential for exchange between these patches was determined by continuously observing individual larvae from their release from adult colonies until their settlement. Of 270 larvae, 100 were successfully followed to settlement and 80% settled within 2.5 m of their parent colonies. The average distance moved by larvae was 2.2 m after swimming for < 2 min. The distance over which larvae dispersed was a positive function of the time that they spent swimming, but was influenced by current speed and the behaviour of larvae. We conclude that populations of P. moluccensis have extremely limited potential for gene flow and may be regarded as effectively closed systems.
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