Coral Reef Targeted Research: Connectivity Working Group

Connectivity is a critical question of central concern for coral reef management. Connectivity is broadly described as the "flux of stuff" between locations, systems, or populations. "Stuff" can be organisms, gametes, genes, nutrients, pollutants, toxins, or food sources - any stuff at all. To measure connectivity you measure rates of transfer - the flux.

This working group will focus attention on demographic connectivity at least for first 5 year phase. The movement of individuals between reef populations is unlikely to be due simply to hydrodynamics. Yet it is important that we get estimates of demographic connectivity soon.

The goals for the connectivity group are:
o To determine, for several representative taxa, the rate of demographically effective exchange in particular reef locations
o To include representative fish, corals, spiny lobster, and perhaps conch in our studies
o To develop new techniques for measuring connectivity in reef populations

Chair:	Peter Sale, University of Windsor
Members:	see list
Documents	(in members area)