Individual variation in marine larval‐fish swimming speed and the emergence of dispersal kernels
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Dispersal emerges as a consequence of how an individual's phenotype interacts with the environment. Not all dispersing individuals have the same phenotype, and variation among individuals can generate complex variation in the distribution of dispersal distances and directions. While active locomotion performance is an obvious candidate for a dispersal phenotype, its effects on dispersal are difficult to measure or predict, especially in small organisms dispersing in wind or currents. Therefore, we analyzed the effects of larval swimming on dispersal and settlement of coral‐reef fish larvae using a high‐resolution biophysical model. The model is, to date, the only biophysical model of marine larval dispersal that has been statistically validated against genetic parentage estimates of larval origin and destination, and incorporates empirically‐estimated larval behaviors and their ontogeny. Larval swimming, in combination with depth, orientation and navigation behaviors, actually reduced dispersal distances compared to those of passive larvae. Swimming had no consistent effects on long distance dispersal, but increased the spread of settlement locations. Swimming speed, in contrast, did not consistently affect median dispersal distances, but faster swimming larvae had greater mean and maximum dispersal distances than slower swimming larvae. Finally, faster larval swimming speeds consistently increased the probability of settlement. Our analysis shows how larval swimming differentially affects multiple properties of dispersal kernels. In doing so, it indicates how selection could favor faster larval swimming to increase settlement and local retention, which may actually result in longer dispersal distances as a by‐product of larvae trying to locate habitat rather than to disperse greater distances.
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Fish larvae can make only small individual, mainly vertical, movements, but they undergo passive travel because they cannot decisively oppose currents.
“During the early life phase, fish larvae can make only small individual, mainly vertical, movements, but they undergo passive travel because they cannot decisively oppose the currents [19,23,24].”
From Environmental Conditions along Tuna Larval Dispersion: Insights on the Spawning Habitat and Impact on Their Development Stages (2022) · cites this paper as [24]
The Introduction (page unavailable) says newly hatched larvae spend several days drifting before they can swim and navigate, supporting passive travel at the earliest stage. But it also says later larvae can influence dispersal through horizontal swimming, and the Discussion reports that faster swimmers were displaced less by a prevailing current. The claim's restriction to small, mainly vertical movements throughout the early-life phase is therefore not supported. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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- Buston, P. M. et al. 2012. Probability of successful larval dispersal declines fivefold over 1 km in a coral reef fish. -Proc. R. Soc. B 279: 1883-1888.
- Clobert, J. et al. 2012. Dispersal ecology and evolution. -Oxford Univ. Press.
- D'Aloia, C. C. et al. 2015. Patterns, causes and consequences of marine larval dispersal. -Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 112: 13940-13945.
- Gerlach, G. et al. 2007. Smelling home can prevent dispersal of reef fish larvae. -Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 104: 858-863.
- Hovestadt, T. et al. 2012. Evolution and emergence of dispersal ker- nels -a brief theoretical evaluation. -In: Clobert, J. et al. (eds), Dispersal ecology and evolution. Oxford Univ. Press, pp. 211-221.
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Russo, S., Torri, M., Patti, B., Musco, M., Masullo, T., Di Natale, M. V., Sarà, G., & Cuttitta, A. (2022) · Water · doi:10.3390/w14101568 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
- Authors
- Burgess, S. C., Bode, M., Leis, J. M., & Mason, L. B.
- Affiliations
- Florida State University (US)
- Queensland University of Technology (AU)
- University of Tasmania (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Burgess, Scott C.
- Venue
- Oikos
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2021-12-08
- Volume
- 2022
- Issue
- 3
- ISSN
- 0030-1299 (ISSN-L)
- 1600-0706
- OpenAlex
- W4200049241
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3
- FWCI
- 2.03
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Oikos (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- UTAS Research Repository (acceptedVersion)
- QUT ePrints (Queensland University of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (1829867)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Marine and fisheries research
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Keywords
- larval swimming speed, larval fish dispersal, dispersal kernels, coral reef fish larvae, settlement, larval behavior, ontogeny, passive dispersal, local retention, genetic parentage
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