Wind-induced variability in larval retention in a coral reef system: a biophysical modelling study in the South-West Lagoon of New Caledonia
| Type | Article | ||||||||||||
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| Date | 2014-03 | ||||||||||||
| Language | English | ||||||||||||
| Author(s) | Cuif Marion1, 2, 3, Kaplan David1, Lefevre Jerome4, Faure Vincent Martin5, 6, Caillaud Matthieu7, Verley Philippe8, 9, Vigliola Laurent2, Lett Christophe3 | ||||||||||||
| Affiliation(s) | 1 : IRD, Ctr Rech Halieut Mediterraneenne & Tropicale, UMR EME 212, F-34203 Sete, France. 2 : IRD, Lab Excellence LABEX Corail, UR COREUS, Noumea 98848, New Caledonia. 3 : IRD, UMI UPMC UMMISCO 209, Ctr Rech Halieut Mediterraneenne & Tropicale, F-34203 Sete, France. 4 : IRD, LEGOS MIO, Noumea 98848, New Caledonia. 5 : Aix Marseille Univ, MIO, F-13288 Marseille 9, France. 6 : Univ Sud Toulon Var, CNRS INSU IRD UM 110, F-83957 La Garde, France. 7 : IFREMER, DYNECO PHYSED Ctr Bretagne, F-29280 Plouzane, France. 8 : Univ Cape Town, IRD, UMR EME 212, Marine Res Inst, ZA-7701 Cape Town, South Africa. 9 : Univ Cape Town, Dept Oceanog, ZA-7701 Cape Town, South Africa. |
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| Source | Progress In Oceanography (0079-6611) (Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd), 2014-03 , Vol. 122 , P. 105-115 | ||||||||||||
| DOI | 10.1016/j.pocean.2013.12.006 | ||||||||||||
| WOS© Times Cited | 17 | ||||||||||||
| Abstract | In the present work, a biophysical dispersal model is used to understand the role of the physical environment in determining reef fish larval dispersal patterns in the South-West Lagoon of New Caledonia. We focus on a reef fish species, the humbug damselfish Dascyllus aruanus, to investigate seasonal variability of simulated larval retention at the scale of a reef patch and at the scale of the lagoon, and to explore links between larval retention and wind variability. The model shows that retention exhibits considerable temporal variability and periodically reaches values much larger than anticipated. Non-zero larval settlement occurs over a large part of the lagoon. Nevertheless, settlement values decrease quickly away from the natal reef and mean dispersal distances are of order 25-35 km. Cross-correlation analyses indicate that weather conditions characterized by strong south east trade winds lead to low retention rates at both local (reef) and regional (lagoon) scales. By contrast, subtropical weather conditions characterized by weak winds result in high retention rates. These results suggest that large-scale weather regimes can be used as proxies for larval retention of the humbug damselfish in the South-West Lagoon of New Caledonia. Nevertheless, relatively small mean dispersal distances suggest that meta-population dynamics occur on relatively small spatial scales. | ||||||||||||
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