Rapid, Long-Distance Dispersal by Pumice Rafting

نویسندگان

  • Scott E. Bryan
  • Alex G. Cook
  • Jason P. Evans
  • Kerry Hebden
  • Lucy Hurrey
  • Peter Colls
  • John S. Jell
  • Dion Weatherley
  • Jennifer Firn
چکیده

Pumice is an extremely effective rafting agent that can dramatically increase the dispersal range of a variety of marine organisms and connect isolated shallow marine and coastal ecosystems. Here we report on a significant recent pumice rafting and long-distance dispersal event that occurred across the southwest Pacific following the 2006 explosive eruption of Home Reef Volcano in Tonga. We have constrained the trajectory, and rate, biomass and biodiversity of transfer, discovering more than 80 species and a substantial biomass underwent a >5000 km journey in 7-8 months. Differing microenvironmental conditions on the pumice, caused by relative stability of clasts at the sea surface, promoted diversity in biotic recruitment. Our findings emphasise pumice rafting as an important process facilitating the distribution of marine life, which have implications for colonisation processes and success, the management of sensitive marine environments, and invasive pest species.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Passive rafting is a powerful driver of transoceanic gene flow.

Dispersal by passive oceanic rafting is considered important for the assembly of biotic communities on islands. However, not much is known about levels of population genetic connectivity maintained by rafting over transoceanic distances. We assess the evolutionary impact of kelp-rafting by estimating population genetic differentiation in three kelp-associated invertebrate species across a syste...

متن کامل

Comparison of population-genetic structuring in congeneric kelp- versus rock-associated snails: a test of a dispersal-by-rafting hypothesis

Phylogeographic studies indicate that many marine invertebrates lacking autonomous dispersal ability are able to achieve trans-oceanic colonization by rafting on buoyant macroalgae. However, less is known about the impact of rafting on on-going population-genetic connectivity of intertidal species associated with buoyant macroalgae. We hypothesize that such species will have higher levels of po...

متن کامل

Intercontinental dispersal by a microendemic burrowing reptile (Dibamidae).

Intercontinental dispersal via land bridge connections has been important in the biogeographic history of many Holarctic plant and animal groups. Likewise, some groups appear to have accomplished trans-oceanic dispersal via rafting. Dibamid lizards are a clade of poorly known fossorial, essentially limbless species traditionally split into two geographically disjunct genera: Dibamus comprises a...

متن کامل

Oceanic rafting by a coastal community.

Oceanic rafting is thought to play a fundamental role in assembling the biological communities of isolated coastal ecosystems. Direct observations of this key ecological and evolutionary process are, however, critically lacking. The importance of macroalgal rafting as a dispersal mechanism has remained uncertain, largely owing to lack of knowledge about the capacity of fauna to survive long voy...

متن کامل

Around the World in Eight Million Years: Historical Biogeography and Evolution of the Spray Zone Spider Amaurobioides (Araneae: Anyphaenidae)

Closely related organisms with transoceanic distributions have long been the focus of historical biogeography, prompting the question of whether long-distance dispersal, or tectonic-driven vicariance shaped their current distribution. Regarding the Southern Hemisphere continents, this question deals with the break-up of the Gondwanan landmass, which has also affected global wind and oceanic cur...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:

دوره 7  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2012