title: Long-term aggregation of larval fish siblings during dispersal along an open coast.
abstract: Pelagic dispersal of most benthic marine organisms is a fundamental driver of population distribution and persistence and is thought to lead to highly mixed populations. However, the mechanisms driving dispersal pathways of larvae along open coastlines are largely unknown. To examine the degree to which early stages can remain spatially coherent during dispersal, we measured genetic relatedness within a large pulse of newly recruited splitnose rockfish (Sebastes diploproa), a live-bearing fish whose offspring settle along the US Pacific Northwest coast after spending up to a year in the pelagic environment. A total of 11.6% of the recruits in a single recruitment pulse were siblings, providing the first evidence for persistent aggregation throughout a long dispersal period. Such protracted aggregation has profound implications for our understanding of larval dispersal, population connectivity, and gene flow within demersal marine populations.
authors.affiliation: Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, Newport, OR 97365; daniel.ottmann.riera@gmail.com.|Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ottmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331.
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Grorud-Colvert
authors.affiliation: Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, Newport, OR 97365.|Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331.
authors.forename: Nicholas M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Sard
authors.affiliation: Marine Reserves Program, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Newport, OR 97365.
authors.forename: Brittany E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Huntington
authors.affiliation: Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, Newport, OR 97365.|Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331.
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Banks
authors.affiliation: Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, Newport, OR 97365.|Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331.
authors.forename: Su
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sponaugle
keywords: genetic patchiness; kin aggregation; larval dispersal; marine fish recruitment; population connectivity