Propagule Dispersal Distance and the Size and Spacing of Marine Reserves

• Published in: Ecological applications 2003-02, Vol.13 (1), p.S159-S169
• Main Authors: Shanks, Alan L., Grantham, Brian A., Carr, Mark H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algae; Coasts; dispersal; Fish larvae; introduced species; Larvae; Larval development; Marine; Marine biology; Marine ecology; Marine fishes; marine protected area; marine reserve; Plankton; propagules; recruitment; Tadpoles
• ISSN: 1051-0761; 1939-5582
• DOI: 10.1890/1051-0761(2003)013[0159:PDDATS]2.0.CO;2

This study compiled available information on the dispersal distance of the propagules of benthic marine organisms and used this information in the development of criteria for the design of marine reserves. Many benthic marine organisms release propagules that spend time in the water column before settlement. During this period, ocean currents transport or disperse the propagules. When considering the size of a marine reserve and the spacing between reserves, one must consider the distance which propagules disperse. We could find estimates of dispersal distance for 32 taxa; for 25 of these, we were also able to find data on the time the propagules spent dispersing. Dispersal distance ranged from meters to thousands of kilometers, and time in the plankton ranged from minutes to months. A significant positive correlation was found between the log-transformed duration in the plankton and the log-transformed dispersal distance (r = 0.7776, r2= 0.60, df = 1, 25, P = 0.000); the more time propagules spend in the water column the further they tend to be dispersed. The frequency distribution of the log-transformed dispersal distance is bimodal (kurtosis = -1.29, t = -4.062, P < 0.001) with a gap between 1 and 20 km. Propagules that dispersed