Award: OCE-1031256

Many marine populations are connected through larval dispersal, which is significantly affected by ocean circulation. It has also been recognized that ocean environments are dynamic with the existence of fronts and eddies, and can substantially affect the connectivity of marine populations. Understanding the oceanography of any region of interest is therefore an essential step towards a comprehensive understanding of population connectivity and ultimately the design of management strategies for the effective conservation and sustainable exploitation of marine metapopulations. Our study is focused in Kimbe Bay on the north coast of New Britain in Papua New Guinea. Kimbe Bay is on the eastern corner of the Coral Triangle, the world?s most diverse tropical marine environment. A key reason for selecting this study site is the existence of a unique dataset that allow us to map and calculate the dispersal of hundreds of orange clownfish (Amphiprion percula) across reef habitats in the bay based on a technique related to DNA fingerprinting called DNA parentage analysis. The study area was also the focus of a marine protected area (MPA) network design process in the region. A major goal of this project is to describe the connectivity pattern in the region and assess the oceanographic metrics that influence larval dispersal and settlement. To achieve this goal, we have built a high-resolution 3-D hydrodynamic model for the Kimbe Bay study region that has been validated with in situ temperature and pressure measurements. We have also built a tracking model to simulate larval connectivity across the study region. We have also analyzed around island dispersal dynamics (<1km) to examine patterns of small-scale dispersal. This project has trained 3 graduate students, an undergraduate summer student fellow, a female postdoctoral researcher, and an international visiting investigator. The research findings have been broadly disseminated. Ideas developed as part of this project have resulted in more than 15 peer-reviewed publications. The PIs co-organized a session for the 2014 ASLO/AGU/TOS Ocean Sciences Meeting entitled "Dynamic physical and ecological drivers of marine metapopulation connectivity." The PIs, students and postdocs have given 18 research presentations at scientific conferences including the International Marine Conservation Congress, the International Coral Reef Symposium, the Joint Mathematics Meeting, the Ecological Society of America, and the Coastal Ocean Modeling Gordon Research Conference. PIs have lectured or participated in a number of other management focused workshops including the Sustainable Management of Living Resources Workshop sponsored by the Mathematical Biosciences Institute and The North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES). Material from this work has been incorporated into three courses on marine ecology and coastal management at WHOI. Modeling tools and results have been archived and linked to BCO-DMO database. Last Modified: 10/28/2016 Submitted by: Rubao Ji