Project: An Integrative Investigation of Population Connectivity Using a Coral Reef Fish

Acronym/Short Name:Elacatinus Dispersal I
Project Duration:2013-03 - 2017-02
Geolocation:Belizean Barrier Reef System (16.803 degrees North 88.096 degrees West)

Description

Understanding the patterns, causes and consequences of larval dispersal is a major goal of 21st century marine ecology. Patterns of dispersal determine the rates of larval exchange, or connectivity, between populations. Both physical factors (e.g., water movement) and biological factors (e.g., larval behavior) cause variation in population connectivity. Population connectivity, in turn, has major consequences for all aspects of an organism's biology, from individual behavior to metapopulation dynamics, and from evolution within metapopulations to the origin and extinction of species. Further, understanding population connectivity is critical for the design of effective networks of marine reserves, creation of vital tools in conservation, and the development of sustainable fisheries.

Over the last decade, three methods, each of which tells something slightly different, have emerged as leading contenders to provide the greatest insights into population connectivity. First, coupled biophysical models make assumptions regarding water flow, larval behavior and ecology, to predict population connectivity. Second, indirect genetic methods use spatial distributions of allele frequencies to infer population connectivity. Third, direct genetic methods use parentage analyses, tracing recruits to specific adults, to measure population connectivity. Despite advances, lack of integration means that we do not know the predictive skill of biophysical models, or the extent to which patterns of dispersal predict spatial genetic structure. The overall objective of this proposal is to conduct an integrated investigation of population connectivity, using all three methods in one tractable system: the neon goby, Elacatinus lori, on the Belizean Barrier Reef. There are three motives for this choice of study system: i) fourteen highly polymorphic microsatellite loci have been developed, facilitating the assignment of recruits to parents using parentage analyses and the measurement of dispersal; ii) the physical oceanography of the Belizean Barrier Reef is well-studied, facilitating the development and testing of coupled biophysical models; and, iii) E. lori has a relatively small biogeographic range, facilitating analysis of the spatial distribution of allele frequencies throughout its range.

Broader Impacts. The grant will support one postdoc and two graduate students who will be trained in scientific diving, marine fieldwork, population genetics, biophysical modeling, and mathematical modeling, and will gain collaborative research experience. PIs will incorporate research findings in their courses, which cover all these topics. The grant will also broaden participation of under-represented groups by supporting six undergraduates from groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields. In each year of the project there will be an All Participants meeting to reinforce the network of participants. A project website will be developed, in English and Spanish, on the theme of larval dispersal and population connectivity. This will include a resource for K-12 marine science educators developed in collaboration with a marine science educator. All PIs will ensure that results are broadly disseminated to the scientific community and general public via appropriate forms of media.


DatasetLatest Version DateCurrent State
Genotype data for E. lori individuals sequenced at 71 microsatellites from a 41 km-long transect of the Belize Barrier reef during 20182018-10-22Final no updates expected
Microsatellite genotypes and geolocation data from the Belizean Barrier reef collected in 2012.2018-08-16Final no updates expected
Microsatellite genotype data from Curlew Caye on the Belizean Barrier reef collected in 2011.2018-08-16Final no updates expected
Cytochrome b and radloci genotype identification data from fish sampled in the Belizean Barrier Reef in 2014.2018-06-18Final no updates expected
Data from fish genotyped at 14 and 20 loci at different life stages in the Belizean Barrier Reef in 2013.2018-06-18Final no updates expected
Aligned mtDNA haplotype data from the Belizean Barrier Reef in 2012.2018-06-18Final no updates expected
Data from 120 parent-offspring matches identified in fish on the Belizean Barrier Reef in 2013.2018-06-18Final no updates expected
Trajectories of fifty-five biodegradable drifters in the Belizean Barrier Reef.2018-03-08Final no updates expected
Outputs from four ocean models describing the waters of the Belizean Barrier Reef.2018-03-08Final no updates expected
Goby distribution and morphology data from Curlew Caye in the Belizean Barrier Reef collected in 2011.2018-02-23Final no updates expected
Geolocation, abundance, and morphology data from Carrie Bow Caye in the Belizean Barrier Reef.2017-06-14Final no updates expected
UTM coordinates for waypoint locations used to generate Elori raw data in 2006. 2017-06-14Final no updates expected

Project Home Page


People

Principal Investigator: Peter Buston
Boston University (BU)

Principal Investigator: Claire B. Paris-Limouzy
University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (UM-RSMAS)

Co-Principal Investigator: Dr Richard Harrison
Cornell University (Cornell)

Co-Principal Investigator: Claire B. Paris-Limouzy
University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (UM-RSMAS)

Co-Principal Investigator: Dr Robert Warner
University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB)

Co-Principal Investigator: Dr Colleen Webb
Colorado State University (CSU)

Contact: Peter Buston
Boston University (BU)


Data Management Plan

NSF_ElacatinusDispersal_DataManagement_20120807.pdf (60.92 KB)
02/09/2025