Abstract
Coral reefs rely on inter-habitat connectivity to maintain gene flow, biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. Coral reef communities of the Red Sea exhibit remarkable genetic homogeneity across most of the Arabian Peninsula coastline, with a genetic break towards the southern part of the basin. While previous studies have attributed these patterns to environmental heterogeneity, we hypothesize that they may also emerge as a result of dynamic circulation flow; yet, such linkages remain undemonstrated. Here, we integrate satellite-derived biophysical observations, particle dispersion model simulations, genetic population data and ship-borne in situ profiles to assess reef connectivity in the Red Sea. We simulated long-term (>20 yrs.) connectivity patterns driven by remotely-sensed sea surface height and evaluated results against estimates of genetic distance among populations of anemonefish, Amphiprion bicinctus, along the eastern Red Sea coastline. Predicted connectivity was remarkably consistent with genetic population data, demonstrating that circulation features (eddies, surface currents) formulate physical pathways for gene flow. The southern basin has lower physical connectivity than elsewhere, agreeing with known genetic structure of coral reef organisms. The central Red Sea provides key source regions, meriting conservation priority. Our analysis demonstrates a cost-effective tool to estimate biophysical connectivity remotely, supporting coastal management in data-limited regions.
Highlights
Coral reefs occupy less than 0.2% of the world’s oceans, yet they host 35% of all known marine species[1]
We integrated our satellite-derived observations with ship-borne measurements of chlorophyll concentrations taken along transects from coastal to offshore waters in the central Red Sea (Fig. 2)
A deeper understanding of the key ecological processes of marine larval dispersal and recruitment requires a better comprehension of the physical pathways of connectivity[4, 19, 29]
Summary
Coral reefs occupy less than 0.2% of the world’s oceans, yet they host 35% of all known marine species[1]. The integration of oceanographic models with empirical genetic data has revealed the power of physical pathways to predict spatial population structuring for a range of species[12, 13]. Tracing large-scale physical connectivity pathways would bring insights into population dynamics and spatio-temporal patterns of gene flow[14,15,16], facilitating the effective design of marine protected area networks[17]. Satellite-derived observations can effectively provide global views of natural processes, including surface water movement at synoptic scales not feasible through conventional field measurements[19, 20]. We implement a multidisciplinary approach, integrating satellite-derived observations, ship-borne in situ profiles, particle dispersion simulations and genetic population data to visualize meso/large scale physical pathways and to investigate their role in driving gene flow among coral reef systems in the Red Sea. Reef www.nature.com/scientificreports/. Our approach presents a blueprint for the utilization of satellite-derived sea surface observations to predict avenues of connectivity in marine metapopulations
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