title: Modeled Population Connectivity across the Hawaiian Archipelago.
abstract: We present the first comprehensive estimate of connectivity of passive pelagic particles released from coral reef habitat throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago. Potential connectivity is calculated using a Lagrangian particle transport model coupled offline with currents generated by an oceanographic circulation model, MITgcm. The connectivity matrices show a surprising degree of self-recruitment and directional dispersal towards the northwest, from the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) to the northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). We identify three predicted connectivity breaks in the archipelago, that is, areas in the mid and northern part of the archipelago that have limited connections with surrounding islands and reefs. Predicted regions of limited connectivity generally match observed patterns of genetic structure reported for coral reef species in the uninhabited NWHI, but multiple genetic breaks observed in the inhabited MHI are not explained by passive dispersal. The better congruence in our modeling results based on physical transport of passive particles in the low-lying atolls of the uninhabited NWHI, but not in the anthropogenically impacted high islands of the MHI begs the question: what ultimately controls connectivity in this system?
authors.affiliation: Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawai'i, United States of America.|Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Kāne'ohe, Hawai'i, United States of America.
authors.forename: Johanna L K
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wren
authors.affiliation: Ecosystems and Oceanography Program, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Honolulu, Hawai'i, United States of America.
authors.forename: Donald R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.affiliation: International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawai'i, United States of America.
authors.forename: Yanli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Kāne'ohe, Hawai'i, United States of America.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Toonen
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D057894:Coral Reefs; D006254:Hawaii