PDFFirst Paragraph
An understanding of the extent to which marine populations are connected by larval dispersal is vital, both to comprehend past impacts and future prospects for sustaining biodiversity. Marine populations and their supporting ecosystems are now subject to a multitude of threats, most notably overharvesting, pollution, and climate change (Hixon et al., 2001; Jackson et al., 2001; Hutchings and Reynolds, 2004; Kappel, 2005; Lotze et al., 2006). The intensity and scale of anthropogenic impacts in the world’s ocean have increased dramatically during the industrial age (Jackson et al., 2001; Lotze et al., 2006), and these impacts are combining to accelerate the loss and fragmentation of important coastal marine habitats, including mangroves (Ellison and Farnsworth, 1996; Alongi, 2002), seagrasses (Duarte, 2002; Orth et al., 2006), kelp forests (Dayton et al., 1998; Steneck et al., 2002), and coral reefs (McClanahan, 2002; Gardiner et al., 2003; Hughes, et al., 2003; Aronson and Precht, 2006). The increasing risk of extinction in the sea is widely acknowledged (Roberts and Hawkins, 1999; Powles et al., 2000; Dulvy et al., 2003; Kappel, 2005; Reynolds et al., 2005), and the conservation of marine biodiversity has become a high priority for researchers and managers alike.