title: Post-settlement dispersal: the neglected link in maintenance of soft-sediment biodiversity.
abstract: Seafloor integrity is threatened by disturbances owing to human activities. The capacity of the system to recover from disturbances, as well as maintain resilience and function, depends on dispersal. In soft-sediment systems, dispersal continues after larval settlement, but there are very few measurements of how far the post-settlers disperse in nature. Spatial scales of post-settlement dispersal are, however, likely to be similar to pelagic larval dispersal because of continued, frequent, small-scale dispersal over longer periods. The consequences of this dispersal may be more important for the maintenance of biodiversity and metacommunity dynamics than is pelagic larval dispersal, because of the greater size and competency of the dispersers. We argue that an increased empirical understanding of post-settlement dispersal processes is key for predicting how benthic communities will respond to local disturbances and shrinking regional species pools, with implications for monitoring, managing and conserving biodiversity.
authors: School of Science, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand.
authors: Conrad A
authors: CA
authors: Pilditch
authors: Tvärminne Zoological Station, University of Helsinki, Hanko 10900, Finland International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), Copenhagen 1553, Denmark.
authors: Sebastian
authors: S
authors: Valanko
authors: Tvärminne Zoological Station, University of Helsinki, Hanko 10900, Finland.
authors: Joanna
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9885-8408
authors: J
authors: Norkko
authors: Tvärminne Zoological Station, University of Helsinki, Hanko 10900, Finland Marine Research Centre, Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Helsinki 00251, Finland alf.norkko@helsinki.fi.
authors: Alf
authors: A
authors: Norkko
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D017753:Ecosystem; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000502:physiology*; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011157:Population Dynamics
keywords: community ecology; connectivity; dispersal scales; disturbance-recovery; metacommunity; post-larval dispersal
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