Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42338405›Full record

ReviewEcological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America2026

Methods to estimate marine functional connectivity: A primer.

Anna M Sturrock, Susanne E Tanner, Sophie Arnaud-Haond, Jacopo Aguzzi, Francisco R Barboza, Maria Beger, Andreu Blanco, Deirdre Brophy, Marta Carreton, Amber-Robyn Childs and 22 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Methods to estimate marine functional connectivity: A primer.Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America · 2026
    Review
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

32 authors.

Anna M SturrockSchool of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Essex, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9423-9845
Susanne E TannerMarine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2225-7002
Sophie Arnaud-HaondIfremer, Station de Sète, Sète Cedex, France.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5814-8452
Jacopo AguzziInstitut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC), Barcelona, Catalan Country, Spain.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1484-8219
Francisco R BarbozaEstonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu, Tallinn, Estonia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9100-2962
Maria BegerSchool of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1363-3571
Andreu BlancoCentro de Investigación Mariña, Future Oceans Lab, Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Spain.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4162-6598
Deirdre BrophyMarine and Freshwater Research Centre, Atlantic Technological University (ATU), ATU Galway City, Galway, Ireland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4111-762X
Marta CarretonInstitut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC), Barcelona, Catalan Country, Spain.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9490-1453
Amber-Robyn ChildsDepartment of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, Rhodes University, Makhanda, Eastern Cape, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4717-2646
Federica CostantiniDepartment of Biological, Geological and Environmental Science, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8813-1923
Oscar E GaggiottiCentre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1827-1493
Bronwyn M GillandersSchool of Biological Sciences, Adelaide University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7680-2240
José M González-IrustaInstituto Español de Oceanografía (CSIC), Centro Oceanografico de Santander, Santander, Spain.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3948-604X
Katell GuizienCNRS-Sorbonne Université, Laboratoire d'Ecogéochimie des Environnements Benthiques, LECOB, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9884-7506
Tamar Guy-HaimNational Institute of Oceanography, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, Haifa, Israel.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6962-0262
Stefanie HaaseThünen Institute of Baltic Sea Fisheries, Rostock, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9523-6547
Ewan HunterFisheries and Aquatic Ecosystems Branch, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Belfast, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0140-2928
Jonne KottaEstonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu, Tallinn, Estonia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4970-6755
Geneviève LacroixRoyal Belgium Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3227-0000
Rafet Ç ÖztürkDepartment of Fisheries Technology Engineering, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1785-4056
Angel Pérez-RuzafaDepartment of Ecology and Hydrology and Regional Campus of International Excellence "Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4769-8912
Patrick Reis-SantosSchool of Biological Sciences, Adelaide University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9843-9465
Cynthia RiginosSchool of the Environment, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5485-4197
Gil RilovNational Institute of Oceanography, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, Haifa, Israel.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1334-4887
Buki RinkevichNational Institute of Oceanography, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, Haifa, Israel.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2401-0145
Guiomar RotllantInstitut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC), Barcelona, Catalan Country, Spain.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6692-9678
David H SecorUniversity of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), Cambridge, Maryland, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6007-4827
Szymon SmolińskiDepartment of Fisheries Resources, National Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Gdynia, Poland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2715-984X
Clive N TruemanOcean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4995-736X
Benjamin D WaltherDepartment of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2902-4001
Audrey M DarnaudeMARBEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, Ifremer, Montpellier, France.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7129-3902

Funding

Australian Research Council DP220103846Axencia Galega de Innovación ED481D 2023/007European Commission 101112883-GAP-101112883European Commission 101135492-GAP-101135492European Commission 101156759Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia 2023.15441.TENURE.019/CP00003/CT00009Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia LA/P/0069/2020Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia UID/04292/2025UK Research and Innovation MR/V023578/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Organism movement is a key process in the transfer of individuals, genes, functional traits, matter, and energy among habitat patches, at sea and across the land-sea interface. The resulting fluxes, collectively termed marine functional connectivity (MFC), underpin planetary health and an array of ecosystem services. The ecological and economic impacts of rapid environmental change, including climate change, overexploitation, habitat loss and fragmentation, and the global transport of nonindigenous species make accurate estimation and prediction of MFC patterns paramount. However, estimating MFC is challenging given the relative inaccessibility of the oceans and the small size of many of the organisms and life stages with the highest dispersal potential. Here, we provide a methodological roadmap to help researchers and stakeholders understand, use, and integrate different tools to estimate organism movement and connectivity, focusing on (1) tagging and telemetry, (2) analysis of chemical markers in body tissues and structures, (3) genetics, and (4) numerical modeling. We describe method strengths and weaknesses, and the spatiotemporal resolution and scale of resulting connectivity estimates. Ancillary and emerging methods to estimate MFC are also reviewed. We then present case studies that have successfully applied or integrated different methods, particularly to support (1) marine protected area design, (2) global change predictions, focusing on climate change and bioinvasions, and (3) fisheries management. Finally, we highlight methodological innovations and concepts that promise to transform MFC research in the future.

Indexed as

EcosystemEnvironmental MonitoringMarine BiologyAnimalsConservation of Natural ResourcesModels, BiologicalOceans and Seasbioinvasionsdispersalecological modelingfisheries managementgeneticsmarine protected areasmigrationmovementotolith chemistrytagging

Identifiers

PMID42338405
PMCPMC13291831

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.