Abstract
Larvae of coastal-marine fishes have been shown repeatedly to swim directionally in the pelagic environment. Yet, biophysical models of larval dispersal typically impose a Simple Random Walk (SRW) algorithm to simulate non-directional movement in the open ocean. Here we investigate the use of a Correlated Random Walk (CRW) algorithm; imposing auto-correlated directional swimming onto simulated larvae within a high-resolution 3D biophysical model of the Gulf of Aqaba, the Red Sea. Our findings demonstrate that implementation of auto-correlated directional swimming can result in an increase of up to ×2.7 in the estimated success rate of larval-settlement, as well as an increase in the extent of connectivity. With accumulating empirical support for the capacity for directional-swimming during the pelagic phase, we propose that CRW should be applied in biophysical models of dispersal by coastal marine fish-larvae.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 76-85 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Journal of Theoretical Biology |
Volume | 439 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 14 Feb 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2017 Elsevier Ltd
Keywords
- Connectivity
- Correlated random walk
- Directional swimming
- Gulf of Aqaba
- Larval dispersal
- Orientation
- Pelagic