Mesoscale flow variability and its impact on connectivity for the island of Hawai'i
Authored by A C Vaz, K J Richards, Y Jia, C B Paris
Date Published: 2013
DOI: 10.1029/2012gl054519
Sponsors:
United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Brazilian Ministry of Education (CAPES)
The Fulbright Commission
Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (JIMAR)
Platforms:
No platforms listed
Model Documentation:
Other Narrative
Model Code URLs:
Model code not found
Abstract
Understanding population connectivity is a contemporary challenge in
marine ecology. Connectivity results from a combination of biological
traits and physical mechanisms, at different life stages. We focus on
the transport of particles around an oceanic island, simulating
transport at early life stages of marine organisms. We aim to
investigate through case studies how mesoscale features influence
particle transport, recruitment, and connectivity. We determine particle
dispersion by using an individual-based model and the flow fields
derived from a regional implementation of an ocean circulation model. To
understand the underlying physical processes of transport, we locate
coherent structures in the flow field, identify recurrent physical
features, and observe how particle transport is related to them. Our
results show that the varying eddying flow increases connectivity among
populations located on different sides of the island. Both the flow
field and dispersal patterns are highly variable. In this scenario, eddy
events influence transport in distinct ways, and the timing of release
plays an important role in dispersal. Our results highlight the need for
modeling studies to use hydrodynamical model flows that represent the
scales of variability affecting transport and dispersion. Citation: Vaz, A. C., K. J. Richards, Y. Jia, and C. B. Paris (2013), Mesoscale flow
variability and its impact on connectivity for the island of Hawai'i, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 332-337, doi:10.1029/2012GL054519.
Tags
Reef
Waters
Fishes
Eddy