Oceanic dispersal and connectivity have been identified as crucial factors for structuring marine populations and designing marine protected areas (MPAs). Focusing on larval dispersal by ocean currents, we propose an approach coupling Lagrangian transport and new tools from Network Theory to characterize marine connectivity in the Mediterranean basin. Larvae of different pelagic durations and seasons are modeled as passive tracers advected in a simulated oceanic surface flow from which a network of connected areas is constructed. Hydrodynamical provinces extracted from this network are delimited by frontiers which match multiscale oceanographic features. By examining the repeated occurrence of such boundaries, we identify the spatial scales and geographic structures that would control larval dispersal across the entire seascape. Based on these hydrodynamical units, we study novel connectivity metrics for existing reserves. Our results are discussed in the context of ocean biogeography and MPAs design, having ecological and managerial implications.

We represent transport between different regions of a fluid domain by flow networks, constructed from the discrete representation of the Perron-Frobenius or transfer operator associated to the fluid advection dynamics. The procedure is useful to analyze fluid dynamics in geophysical contexts, as illustrated by the construction of a flow network associated to the surface circulation in the Mediterranean sea. We use network-theory tools to analyze the flow network and gain insights into transport processes. In particular, we quantitatively relate dispersion and mixing characteristics, classically quantified by Lyapunov exponents, to the degree of the network nodes. A family of network entropies is defined from the network adjacency matrix and related to the statistics of stretching in the fluid, in particular, to the Lyapunov exponent field. Finally, we use a network community detection algorithm, Infomap, to partition the Mediterranean network into coherent regions, i.e., areas internally well mixed, but with little fluid interchange between them. Water and air transport are among the basic processes shaping the climate of our planet. Heat and salinity fluxes change sea water density and thus drive the global thermohaline circulation. Atmospheric winds force the ocean motion, and also transport moisture, heat or chemicals, impacting the regional climate. These considerations of geophysical fluid motion suggests viewing fluid transport as a transportation network in which fluid advances along different branches that eventually split and merge. In this paper, we exploit this interpretation of fluid transport as a flow network so that we can use the powerful techniques of modern network theory to better characterize transport, mixing, and dispersion, with examples from ocean flows.

Meso-and submesoscales (fronts, eddies, filaments) in surface ocean flow have a crucial influence on marine ecosystems. Their dynamics partly control the foraging behavior and the displacement of marine top predators (tuna, birds, turtles, and cetaceans). In this work we focus on the role of submesoscale structures in the Mozambique Channel in the distribution of a marine predator, the Great Frigatebird. Using a newly developed dynamic concept, the finite-size Lyapunov exponent (FSLE), we identified Lagrangian coherent structures (LCSs) present in the surface flow in the channel over a 2-month observation period (August and September 2003). By comparing seabird satellite positions with LCS locations, we demonstrate that frigatebirds track precisely these structures in the Mozambique Channel, providing the first evidence that a top predator is able to track these FSLE ridges to locate food patches. After comparing bird positions during long and short trips and different parts of these trips, we propose several hypotheses to understand how frigatebirds can follow these LCSs. The birds might use visual and/or olfactory cues and/or atmospheric current changes over the structures to move along these biologic corridors. The birds being often associated with tuna schools around foraging areas, a thorough comprehension of their foraging behavior and movement during the breeding season is crucial not only to seabird ecology but also to an appropriate ecosystemic approach to fisheries in the channel.frigatebird ͉ finite-size Lyapunov exponent ͉ Mozambique Channel ͉ submesoscale

Aim Assessing the spatial structure and dynamics of marine populations is still a major challenge in ecology. The need to manage marine resources from ecosystem and large‐scale perspectives is recognized, but our partial understanding of oceanic connectivity limits the implementation of globally pertinent conservation planning. Based on a biophysical model for the entire Mediterranean Sea, this study takes an ecosystem approach to connectivity and provides a systematic characterization of broad‐scale larval dispersal patterns. It builds on our knowledge of population dynamics and discusses the ecological and management implications. Location The semi‐enclosed Mediterranean Sea and its marine ecosystems are used as a case study to investigate broad‐scale connectivity patterns and to relate them to oceanography and population dynamics. Methods A flow network is constructed by evenly subdividing the basin into sub‐regions which are interconnected through the transport of larvae by ocean currents. It allows for the computation of various connectivity metrics required to evaluate larval retention and exchange. Results Our basin‐scale model predicts that retention processes are weak in the open ocean while they are significant in the coastal ocean and are favoured along certain coastlines due to specific oceanographic features. Moreover, we show that wind‐driven divergent (convergent, respectively) oceanic regions are systematically characterized by larval sources (sinks, respectively). Finally, although these connectivity metrics have often been studied separately in the literature, we demonstrate they are interrelated under particular conditions. Their integrated analysis facilitates the appraisal of population dynamics, informing both genetic and demographic connectivities. Main conclusions This modelling framework helps ecologists and geneticists to formulate improved hypotheses of population structures and gene flow patterns and to design their sampling strategy accordingly. It is also useful in the implementation and assessment of future protection strategies, such as coastal and offshore marine reserves, by accounting for large‐scale dispersal patterns, a missing component of current ecosystem management.