| Understanding key factors determining the bentho-pelagic species larval growth and dispersal remains one of the challenges of marine ecology, notably to understand the adult population structure and dynamics. In the present study, we explore this determinism on the development and dispersal of the black-lip pearl oyster (Pinctada margaritifera var. cumingii, Linné 1758) larvae in a French Polynesian atoll lagoon (Ahe, Tuamotu archipelago). Rearing of the pearl oyster for the production of black pearls takes on a major social and economic place in French Polynesia. However, the supply of pearl oyster seed to the farms depends entirely on the natural collection of wild spat of the only one specie P. margaritifera, and spatial and temporal variability of spat... |
