Coral populations Fringing Islands: Larval Connections

Abstract

The ubiquitous Indo-Pacific coral Pocillopora damicornis utilises two modes of larval dispersal; one operates over short distances and involves a brooded, asexually-produced, planula; the second acts over longer distances and involves a sexual propagule. When examined genetically, larval connections between definable populations were weaker between fringing reefs around an island than they were between patch reefs in an embayment of similar dimensions. Differing regimes of water circulation were inferred to explain this pattern. One implication for management is that populations on fringing reefs are more likely to contain singularities than those on patch reefs and will thus contribute more to the total genetic diversity within a species.