Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Marine Microbial Ecology

Marine Microbial Ecology

Marine microbial ecosystems are shaped by distinct physicochemical limits, including high salinity, low nutrient availability, and fluctuating oxygen levels. These conditions favor smaller microbial cell sizes, which maximize their surface-to-volume ratio for efficient nutrient uptake.Microbial activity and community composition are closely linked to biogeochemical cycles, particularly in dynamic environments like estuaries, where halotolerant microbes thrive in response to variable salinity...

Speciation Rates

Speciation Rates

Freshwater Microbial Ecology

Freshwater Microbial Ecology

Freshwater systems such as streams, rivers, and lakes exhibit distinct physical and biological characteristics that influence their microbial communities. These environments are broadly categorized into lotic systems—those with flowing waters like streams and most rivers—and lentic systems, which include still or slow-moving waters such as lakes, ponds, and marshes.In lentic systems, phytoplankton drive primary production, generating autochthonous organic carbon. In contrast, lotic...

Osmoregulation in Fishes

Osmoregulation in Fishes

When cells are placed in a hypotonic (low-salt) fluid, they can swell and burst. Meanwhile, cells in a hypertonic solution—with a higher salt concentration—can shrivel and die. How do fish cells avoid these gruesome fates in hypotonic freshwater or hypertonic seawater environments?

Membrane Fluidity

Membrane Fluidity

Cell membranes are composed of phospholipids, proteins, and carbohydrates loosely attached to one another through chemical interactions. Molecules are generally able to move about in the plane of the membrane, giving the membrane its flexible nature called fluidity. Two other features of the membrane contribute to membrane fluidity: the chemical structure of the phospholipids and the presence of cholesterol in the membrane.

Deep Sea Microbial Ecology

Deep Sea Microbial Ecology

The deep ocean and its underlying sediments represent vast, largely unexplored microbial habitats that extend far beyond the sunlit photic zone. The photic (euphotic) zone typically spans the upper ~100–200 meters of pelagic waters in the open ocean, but its depth varies geographically and seasonally, where sufficient light supports photosynthetic life. Below this lies the deep sea, spanning roughly 1000–6000 meters (bathypelagic to abyssal zones), with deeper hadal trenches...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Beyond Exponential Decay: How Biphasic and Delayed Decay Dynamics Shape Marine eDNA Dispersal.

Ecology and evolution·2026

Same author

It's about (taking up) space: Discreteness of individuals and the strength of spatial coexistence mechanisms.

Ecology·2024

Same author

To Prosper, Live Long: Understanding the Sources of Reproductive Skew and Extreme Reproductive Success in Structured Populations.

The American naturalist·2024

Same author

The natural history of luck: A synthesis study of structured population models.

Ecology letters·2024

Same author

Towards integrated modeling of the long-term impacts of oil spills.

Marine policy·2023

Same author

Evidence for a consistent use of external cues by marine fish larvae for orientation.

Communications biology·2022

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 23, 2026

Author Spotlight: Unveiling Plankton Response to Climate Change Through Time-Series Data and Artistic Expression

Author Spotlight: Unveiling Plankton Response to Climate Change Through Time-Series Data and Artistic Expression

Published on: July 28, 2023

How much do marine connectivity fluctuations matter?

Robin E Snyder¹, Claire B Paris, Ana C Vaz

¹Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106.

The American Naturalist

|September 17, 2014

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Marine metapopulation growth is slightly depressed by larval connectivity fluctuations (∼2%). Reproductive timing and larval behavior, like vertical migration, can significantly alter these effects, influencing population dynamics.

More Related Videos

Investigating the Relationship between Sea Surface Chlorophyll and Major Features of the South China Sea with Satellite Information

Investigating the Relationship between Sea Surface Chlorophyll and Major Features of the South China Sea with Satellite Information

Published on: June 13, 2020

Measuring the Structure, Composition, and Change of Underwater Environments with Large-area Imaging

Measuring the Structure, Composition, and Change of Underwater Environments with Large-area Imaging

Published on: April 18, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 23, 2026

Author Spotlight: Unveiling Plankton Response to Climate Change Through Time-Series Data and Artistic Expression

Author Spotlight: Unveiling Plankton Response to Climate Change Through Time-Series Data and Artistic Expression

Published on: July 28, 2023

Investigating the Relationship between Sea Surface Chlorophyll and Major Features of the South China Sea with Satellite Information

Investigating the Relationship between Sea Surface Chlorophyll and Major Features of the South China Sea with Satellite Information

Published on: June 13, 2020

Measuring the Structure, Composition, and Change of Underwater Environments with Large-area Imaging

Measuring the Structure, Composition, and Change of Underwater Environments with Large-area Imaging

Published on: April 18, 2025

Area of Science:

Marine ecology
Population dynamics
Metapopulation theory

Background:

Larval flux, or connectivity, is crucial for marine metapopulation persistence.
Fluctuations in larval connectivity are known to negatively impact long-term population growth, but the magnitude is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To quantify the impact of connectivity fluctuations on marine metapopulation growth.
To investigate how reproductive timing and larval behavior influence the effects of connectivity fluctuations.

Main Methods:

Larval dispersal simulations were conducted for the Florida Keys.
Theoretical ecological models were employed to calculate the effects of connectivity fluctuations.
The study focused on the bicolor damselfish (Stegastes partitus).

Main Results:

Connectivity fluctuations were found to depress growth only slightly (approximately 2%) for the studied species.
The negative impact on growth would be substantially greater for species with restricted spawning seasons.
Larval vertical migration can lead to entrainment in eddies, synchronizing connectivity fluctuations.

Conclusions:

Larval behavior, specifically vertical migration, can synchronize connectivity, potentially decreasing metapopulation growth.
Eddies can create independently fluctuating regions, mitigating the negative effects of local synchrony.
Understanding larval behavior and its interaction with oceanographic features is critical for predicting metapopulation dynamics.