Alladi Ramakrishnan Hall

Ocean flow networks predict connectivity provinces that can shape coastal biodiversity

Bharti Dharapuram

IMSc Chennai

Ocean circulation drives the scale of connectivity in marine
organisms. This is especially true for invertebrates, which produce
millions of larvae that can drift thousands of kilometers riding ocean
currents. Ocean flow determines the extent of genetic connectivity
between populations, shaping where and how many species occur over
evolutionary time scales. To understand how ocean currents shape
biological connectivity along the Indian coastline, we simulated the
dispersal of several million virtual larvae across monsoonal seasons
and ocean states across years. Analysing connectivity networks built
from dispersal trajectories, we found that certain areas were
consistently associated with breaks in connectivity. These disruptions
broadly coincide with known genetic and biogeographic breaks
suggesting that ocean circulation has a significant influence on
biological communities. We also found that the extent of connectivity
and the role of coastal sites in maintaining network structure varied
with season and larval duration, calling for adaptive strategies to
manage coastal biodiversity.