Biophysical Processes Determining the Connectivity of the Alboran Sea Fish Populations.

Abstract

Capítulo 12 del libro "Alboran Sea - Ecosystems and Marine Resources". Two main concepts arise when dealing with the topic dynamics-of-population: dispersal and connectivity. The former describes the mechanism employed to disperse early life stages of the biological cycle (spores, eggs, larvae for benthic or pelagic species and also juveniles for pelagic ones) and aims at maximizing the spread and at expanding the distribution of the species over the maximum geographical range (Cowen and Sponaugle 2009). Marine propagule dispersal relies basically on the environmental dynamics, where turbulence, advection and diffusion acting at different scales determine the connections or separation of different (sub-) populations of both benthic and pelagic taxa (Dubois et al., 2016). The patterns of linkage or isolation, which determine the very development and abundance of certain species in certain areas, are summarized under the concept of connectivity.