Howfar domarine larvae disperse in the ocean? Decades of population genetic
studies have revealed generally low levels of genetic structure at large spatial
scales (hundreds of kilometres). Yet this result, typically based on discrete
sampling designs, does not necessarily imply extensive dispersal. Here, we
adopt a continuous sampling strategy along 950 km of coast in the northwestern
Mediterranean Sea to address this question in four species. In line
with expectations, we observe weak genetic structure at a large spatial scale.
Nevertheless, our continuous sampling strategy uncovers a pattern of isolation
by distance at small spatial scales (few tens of kilometres) in two species. Individual-
based simulations indicate that this signal is an expected signature of
restricted dispersal. At the other extreme of the connectivity spectrum, two
pairs of individuals that are closely related genetically were found more
than 290 km apart, indicating long-distance dispersal. Such a combination of
restricted dispersal with rare long-distance dispersal events is supported by
a high-resolution biophysical model of larval dispersal in the study area,
and we posit that it may be common in marine species. Our results bridge
population genetic studies with direct dispersal studies and have implications
for the design of marine reserve networksVersión del edito