Polovina et al.: Application of satellite altimetry to simulate transport dynamics of Panulirus marginatus 



133 



Figure 1 



The Hawaiian Archipelago. 



large sample size and comparing just Maro 

 and Necker, found a statistically signifi- 

 cant difference in allele frequency between 

 Necker and Maro for one of the seven loci 

 analyzed, raising the possibility that lar- 

 val transport between the two banks may 

 be limited (Seeb et. al., 1990). 



The importance of Ekman transport in 

 larval dynamics is not known, but larval 

 sampling has found that a significant lar- 

 val density exists well below the shallow 

 Ekman layer and, in particular, that lar- 

 vae appear to make diurnal movements 

 from about 80-100 m in the day to 10-20 

 m at night (Polovina and Moffitt, 1995). 

 Thus larval transport may be more influ- 

 enced by transport of the mixed layer or 

 geostrophic transport than by Ekman 

 transport. The importance of geostrophic 

 transport is also supported by correlations 

 between sea-level height from tide gauges 

 and spatial patterns in the subsequent 

 fishery catches (Polovina and Mitchum, 

 1992, 1994). Indeed, the flat, leaf-like shape of spiny 

 lobster larvae suggests they are adapted for passive 

 horizontal transport assisted by vertical migration 

 within the mixed layer (Lipcius and Cobb, 1994). The 

 Hawaiian Archipelago lies near the center of the Sub- 

 tropical Gyre; therefore the geostrophic transport 



consists of weak flow from northwest to southeast 

 along the archipelago, turning to the east at the 

 southern end of the archipelago. Although the mean 

 geostrophic transport is weak, geostrophic mesoscale 

 features, particularly eddies, are prevalent and are 

 likely to be significant for larval spatial djTiamics. 



