Connectivity of Brazilian scleractinian coral populations

 

A species can be found in several locations and is formed by distinct populations. Understanding how these populations interact is part of the study of connectivity. The exchange of individuals between populations can help them recover from environmental disturbances of both anthropogenic and natural origin. On the other hand, isolated populations have less exchange of individuals, a greater chance of losing genetic diversity and, therefore, are more prone to extinction. This line of research aims to understand the population dynamics, genetic structure, as well as the identification of source or sink populations of Brazilian stony corals in order to better understand our reefs and to better manage the species.

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