‘Effect of marine discontinuities on the genetic biodiversity of benthic invertebrates: implications for the design of marine protected areas (DisMarGen)’

Gabriel Rodolfo Navas Suárez, Adriana Bermúdez Tobón, Marta Pascual Berniola, Pere Abelló Sala, Milena Benavides Serrato, Enrique Macpherson Mayol, Cruz Palacín Cabañas, Xavier Turon Barrera, Harilaos Lessios, Aymée Robainas Barcía, Isabel Cristina Calderón Moreno, Gemma Calabria García, Víctor Hugo García Merchán, Owen Wangensteen Fuentes, Daniela Silveira Simao.

In marine ecology, it is often assumed that larval transport facilitates inter-population connectivity, meaning that degraded zones could be restored through colonization by better conserved populations. Recent studies have found that oceanographic discontinuities may exert a barrier effect on population connectivity. This effect, furthermore, seems to be independent of species’ dispersal capacity. The lack of quantitative demographic data on this connectivity for most marine species is an obstacle to the design of effective conservation or even exploitation strategies.

The main goals of this project are to use molecular markers to establish the inter-population connectivity of different species of decapod crustaceans and equinoderms, analyzing the impact of oceanographic discontinuities in the Atlantic-Mediterranean and Caribbean regions, and to study how the Panama Isthmus affects marine biodiversity. The data obtained should provide invaluable input for the design of marine reserves.