ADVECTION-DIFFUSION-MORTALITY SOLUTIONS FOR INVESTIGATING PELAGIC LARVAL DISPERSAL

Many marine organisms release into the ocean planktonic larvae which must reach specific sites in order to be recruited to the next stage of their life-cycle. Solutions of the 2-dimensional advection-diffusion-mortality equation are presented which enable larval losses between release and recruitment sites to be quantified. The model assumes constant mean advection, eddy diffusivity and larval mortality. Solutions confirm that dispersal can make a significant contribution to pelagic losses and that survival is highly sensitive to the level of mean advection. The solutions have been used to examine the minimum fecundity required to overcome pelagic larval losses from a population.