Journal article
The regional structure of spawning phenology and the potential consequences for connectivity of coral assemblages across the Eastern Tropical Pacific
Mauricio Romero-Torres, Alberto Acosta, Eric A Treml
ICES Journal of Marine Science | Oxford University Press (OUP) | Published : 2017
Abstract
The coral reefs of the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) are some of the most geographically isolated of the world. A key to understanding their long-term persistence and population recovery via dispersal (i.e. population connectivity), is knowing when the corals spawn in the region. To this end, we reviewed and synthesized the literature on the reproductive phenology of corals (month of spawning) and their dispersal-related characteristics to infer the potential impact on the region’s functional connectivity. We classified the region into four thermal regimes based on long-term mean sea surface temperature (SST) data: Tropical Upwelling, Thermally Stable, Equatorial Upwelling, and Seasonal. Ea..
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Awarded by Colciencias-Colfuturo
Awarded by Pontificia Universidad Javeriana
Funding Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by Colciencias-Colfuturo (Scholarship for Doctoral Studies - 528); the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Proposal ID 3577); Steve Swearer's Laboratory Group at School of Biosciences, University of Melbourne; Maria Claudia Diazgranados at Conservation International (Colombia) for early ideas on ETP connectivity; Carlos Munoz and Ana Castrillon at Universidad del Valle for Pocillopora information; and the High Performance Computing cluster (Edward) at the University of Melbourne. The comments and suggestions of Maria Angela Echeverry and two anonymous reviewers greatly improved earlier versions of the work.