CoMSES Catalog

Asymmetric connectivity of the lobster Panulirus pascuensis in remote islands of the southern Pacific: importance for its management and conservation

Authored by Erika Meerhoff, Beatriz Yannicelli, Boris Dewitte, Ernesto Diaz-Cabrera, Caren Vega-Retter, Marcel Ramos, Luis Bravo, Emilio Concha, Freddy Hernandez-Vaca, David Veliz

Date Published: 2018

DOI: 10.5343/bms.2017.1114

Sponsors: Chilean National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT)

Platforms: Ichthyop

Model Documentation: Other Narrative

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

Understanding patterns of marine connectivity in oceanic islands is a fundamental element for conservation and management of fished species. In the present study, the level of connectivity of the endemic lobster Panulirus pascuensis Reed, 1954 from remote islands in the southern Pacific Ocean was estimated, focusing on the Motu Motiro Hiva Marine Park (MMH), considered here as a source of recruits to Easter Island. The connectivity of adult lobster populations between Eastern Island (EI) and Salas y Gomez Island (SG), in the center of MMH, was studied by quantifying the reciprocal migration rates using variability of microsatellite loci and a biophysical individual-based model of larval transport based on the outputs of a regional high-resolution oceanic model. Considering a system composed only of adult populations located in both islands, the genetic analysis showed that 3\% of the adults from EI came from SG; however, only 0.02\% in the opposite direction. Neglecting the effect of other islands (e.g., Pitcairn Island located at 2000 km west of EI), the self-recruitment was estimated at 97\% in EI and 99.8\% in SG. The results of the Lagrangian analysis of the oceanic model simulations are consistent with the concept of asymmetric connectivity, although there is appreciable variation in recruitment among years. Both genetic and oceanographic approaches revealed large variance in connectivity from SG to EI. The asymmetric connectivity from SG to EI emphasizes the importance of the MMH Marine Park for lobster conservation in SG, and that it also supports recruitment of P. pascuensis to EI.

Asymmetric connectivity of the lobster Panulirus pascuensis in remote islands of the southern Pacific: importance for its management and conservation

Abstract

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