Knowra Larval dispersal Larval dispersal Larval dispersal is the movement of young animals away from their birthplace before settlement or maturation. In many marine species, larvae travel through water currents while living in the plankton.
Ocean current : A continuous, directed movement of seawater driven by forces such as wind, tides, and differences in water density. Currents transport planktonic larvae, but their routes and speeds shape dispersal distances.
Population connectivity : The exchange of individuals among populations through movement, reproduction, or dispersal. Successful larval journeys link breeding populations that would otherwise remain isolated.
Biophysical dispersal model : A model that combines ocean physics with organism traits to simulate movement and fate of drifting organisms. These models estimate larval pathways by combining currents with development, behavior, and mortality.
Larval retention : The tendency for larvae to remain near their birthplace or within a local habitat region. Retention limits export and can sustain local populations even when the surrounding sea carries larvae away.
Plankton : Organisms that drift in water and cannot swim effectively against currents. Many dispersing larvae spend part or all of their early life as plankton.
Marine metapopulation : A set of local marine populations connected by dispersal, with local extinction and recolonization shaping persistence. Larval exchange is the process that can connect reefs, shores, or other separate habitat patches.
Marine larval tagging : Methods that mark, identify, or infer the origins of marine larvae to trace dispersal and connectivity. Tags and natural chemical signatures can reveal where larvae originated and where they settled.
Self-recruitment : The proportion of new individuals in a population that originated from that same population. It distinguishes local replacement from recruitment supplied by distant larval sources.
Larval settlement : The transition in which a mobile larva takes up residence in a habitat and begins a later life stage. Settlement marks the end of dispersal and determines which habitat receives a larva.
Genetic differentiation : Differences in allele frequencies among populations of the same species. Restricted larval exchange can let populations diverge genetically despite being geographically close.
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