Age and area predict patterns of species richness in pumice rafts contingent on oceanic climatic zone encountered

The theory of island biogeography predicts that area and age explain species richness patterns (or alpha diversity) in insular habitats. Using a unique natural phenomenon, pumice rafting, we measured the influence of area, age, and oceanic climate on patterns of species richness. Pumice rafts are formed simultaneously when submarine volcanoes erupt, the pumice clasts breakup irregularly, forming irregularly shaped pumice stones which while floating through the ocean are colonized by marine biota. We analyze two eruption events and more than 5,000 pumice clasts collected from 29 sites and three climatic zones. Overall, the older and larger pumice clasts held more species. Pumice clasts arriving in tropical and subtropical climates showed this same trend, where in temperate locations species richness (alpha diversity) increased with area but decreased with age. Beta diversity analysis of the communities forming on pumice clasts that arrived in different climatic zones showed that tropical and subtropical clasts transported similar communities, while species composition on temperate clasts differed significantly from both tropical and subtropical arrivals. Using these thousands of insular habitats, we find strong evidence that area and age but also climatic conditions predict the fundamental dynamics of species richness colonizing pumice clasts.     

Transoceanic dispersal of terrestrial species by debris rafting

Rare, long-distance dispersal events are a key process in generating and maintaining patterns in biological diversity and species distributions across space and time. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the eastern coast of Japan in 2011, and the subsequent 38 m high tsunami washed large amounts of shoreline debris into the Pacific Ocean that led to a large-scale biological rafting event carrying nearly 300 marine species to the western shores of North America. Whether oceanic, trans-Pacific dispersal via rafting generates long distance dispersal events for small, flightless, terrestrial species is unknown. By sampling beach debris associated with known hot-spots of tsunami debris along the north and east shores of Graham Island, Haida Gwaii, Canada, I document significantly dissimilar invertebrate communities associated with tide-line beach debris and the occurrence of several putative Japanese species of soil-dwelling mites (Acari: Oribatida). Previous explanations of Haida Gwaii's unique flora and fauna have been attributed to a proximity to the Beringian land bridge and the accumulated evidence of near-offshore glacial refugia during the last glacial period. However, my research also suggests that stochastic, trans-Pacific rafting events contribute to the biodiversity and biogeography of soil communities on the west coast of North America.     

Hitch-hiking on floating marine debris: macrobenthic species in the Western Mediterranean Sea

Marine litter has been defined as solid materials of human origin discarded at sea, or reaching the sea through waterways. The effect of marine debris on wildlife, tourism and human health is well documented and there is considerable scientific literature about plastic litter in the sea and over the seabed, mostly highlighting the possible impact on marine mammals and tourism. Dispersal of marine and terrestrial organisms on floating objects has biogeographical and ecological interest. For some species, extension of their geographical range is more likely to be related to transport of mature individuals on floating rafts than to the active or passive dispersal of reproductive propagules. Variability and variety of rafting materials has increased dramatically in recent years and marine litter has been used widely as a raft by ‘hitch-hiking’ species. This paper reports on the benthic invertebrates living on marine debris transported by wind and surface currents over the western Mediterranean Sea. Plastics accounted for the major item of debris because of poor degradability, however glass, cans, fishing nets and polyurethane containers, were also found. Macro-benthos living on raft material comprised mainly molluscs, polychaetes and bryozoans. Large fish were found commonly below large plastic bags. Estimations of the distances that may be covered by hitch-hiking species and the contribution of rafting to the theoretical dispersal of species is provided.     

Dispersal in Marine Organisms without a Pelagic Larval Phase

In contrast to marine organisms whose offspring go through an extended planktonic stage, the young of others develop directly into benthic juveniles or into yolky nonfeeding larvae that spend only a few hours in the plankton before settling. Yet, paradoxically, many such species have geographic distributions that are comparable to those with a pelagic dispersal stage. This article reviews some of the ways in which these organisms can expand their distributions: drifting, rafting, hitchhiking, creeping, and hopping. Drifting applies to species in which larvae may be short-lived, but adults can detach or be detached from their benthic substratum and be passively carried to new areas, floating at the water's surface or below it. Many encrusting species and mobile species can spread by rafting, settling on natural or artificial floating substrata which are propelled by wind and currents to new regions. Hitchhiking applies to those attaching to vessels or being carried in ballast water of ships to a distant region in which their offspring can survive. Other marine species extend their distributions by hopping from one island of hard substratum or favorable sedimentary microhabitat to another, while creeping species extend their distributions along shores or shelves where habitats remain similar for long distances.     

Comparison of population-genetic structuring in congeneric kelp- versus rock-associated snails: a test of a dispersal-by-rafting hypothesis

Phylogeographic studies indicate that many marine invertebrates lacking autonomous dispersal ability are able to achieve trans-oceanic colonization by rafting on buoyant macroalgae. However, less is known about the impact of rafting on on-going population-genetic connectivity of intertidal species associated with buoyant macroalgae. We hypothesize that such species will have higher levels of population-genetic connectivity than those exploiting nonbuoyant substrates such as rock. We tested this hypothesis by comparing nuclear multilocus population-genetic structuring in two sister topshell species, which both have a planktonic larval phase but are fairly well segregated by their habitat preference of low-tidal bull-kelp holdfasts versus mid-to-low tidal bare rock. We analyzed population samples from four sympatric sites spanning 372 km of the east coast of southern New Zealand. The sampled region encompasses a 180 km wide habitat discontinuity and is influenced by a stable, northward coastal current. The level of connectivity was high in both species, and neither of them showed significant correlation between genetic and geographic distances. However, a significant negative partial correlation between genetic distance and habitat discontinuity was found in the rock-associated species, and estimates of migrant movement between sites were somewhat different between the two species, with the kelp-associated species more often yielding higher estimates across the habitat discontinuity, whereas the rock-associated species more often exhibited higher estimates between sites interspersed by rock habitats. We conclude that for species with substantial means of autonomous dispersal, the most conspicuous consequence of kelp dwelling may be enhanced long-distance dispersal across habitat discontinuities rather than a general increase of gene flow.     

Rafting of benthic macrofauna: important factors determining the temporal succession of the assemblage on detached macroalgae

Rafting on biotic and abiotic substrata has been reported for many benthic marine invertebrates. Here, I describe important characteristics of common floating substrata and review published studies examining the succession of the assemblage on detached macroalgae to identify the most important factors determining this succession. Floating substrata differ in survival time (i.e. before they disintegrate) and in food value, with abiotic materials having high survival times but low food value and some biotic substrata (seagrasses, fresh wood) having high food values but short survival times. Large macroalgae with pneumatocysts may combine high survival times and high food values. Substratum survival and food value have consequences for the species composition of the rafting macrofauna. In general, suspension feeders dominate rafting assemblages on abiotic substrata, while grazing and boring species abound on macroalgae and wood. The succession of the rafting assemblage can be subdivided into three phases during which different processes predominate. During the initial phase some of the original colonizers (if present) disappear from the substratum, either due to active emigration or predation. This short, initial phase is followed immediately by the colonization phase, during which new organisms colonize the rafting substratum. Colonization may be rapid and intense in the beginning but then slows down. Towards the end of the colonization phase, some rafting organisms may reproduce and their offspring recruit within the parental raft. Results from two long-term studies confirmed that the proportion of species with direct development increased with duration of rafting. These successional changes will be most pronounced for large biotic substrata, rendering these particularly suitable for long-distance dispersal of organisms with direct development.     

Intercontinental dispersal by a microendemic burrowing reptile (Dibamidae)

Intercontinental dispersal via land bridge connections has been important in the biogeographic history of many Holarctic plant and animal groups. Likewise, some groups appear to have accomplished trans-oceanic dispersal via rafting. Dibamid lizards are a clade of poorly known fossorial, essentially limbless species traditionally split into two geographically disjunct genera: Dibamus comprises approximately 20 Southeast Asian species, many of which have very limited geographical distributions, and the monotypic genus Anelytropsis occupies a small area of northeastern Mexico. Although no formal phylogeny of the group exists, a sister-taxon relationship between the two genera has been assumed based on biogeographic considerations. We used DNA sequence data from one mitochondrial and six nuclear protein-coding genes to construct a phylogeny of Dibamidae and to estimate divergence times within the group. Surprisingly, sampled Dibamus species form two deeply divergent, morphologically conserved and geographically concordant clades, one of which is the sister taxon of Anelytropsis papillosus. Our analyses indicate Palaearctic to Nearctic Beringian dispersal in the Late Palaeocene to Eocene. Alternatively, a trans-Pacific rafting scenario would extend the upper limit on dispersal to the Late Cretaceous. Either scenario constitutes a remarkable long-distance dispersal in what would seem an unlikely candidate.     

Evolutionary consequences of microhabitat: population-genetic structuring in kelp- vs. rock-associated chitons

Rafting has long been invoked as a key marine dispersal mechanism, but biologists have thus far produced little genetic evidence to support this hypothesis. We hypothesize that coastal species associated with buoyant seaweeds should experience enhanced population connectivity owing to rafting. In particular, invertebrates strongly associated with the buoyant bull-kelp Durvillaea antarctica might be expected to have lower levels of population-genetic differentiation than taxa mainly exploiting nonbuoyant substrates. We undertook a comparative genetic study of two codistributed, congeneric chiton species, assessing population connectivity at scales of 61-516 km, using ≥ 186 polymorphic AFLP loci per species. Consistent with predictions, population-genetic differentiation was weaker in the kelp-associated Sypharochiton sinclairi than in the rock-associated S. pelliserpentis. Additionally, while we found a significant positive correlation between genetic and oceanographic distances in both chiton species, the correlation was stronger in S. pelliserpentis (R(2) = 0.28) than in S. sinclairi (R(2) = 0.18). These data support the hypothesis that epifaunal taxa can experience enhanced population-genetic connectivity as a result of their rafting ability.     

Newly developed PCR primers for polymorphic microsatellite loci from the marine isopod Limnoria sp.

Nine microsatellite loci are isolated and characterized for the marine isopod Limnoria sp., a model invertebrate species for the study of connectivity of marine brooders with high potential of dispersal through rafting. Analysis of 35 individuals of one population revealed a mean number of alleles of 12.66 and mean expected heterozygosity of 0.83, indicating a high level of variability at most loci. These polymorphic microsatellite loci should be useful to the study of the geographical distribution of the genetic diversity of this species of Limnoria.     

The influence of coastal topography, circulation patterns, and rafting in structuring populations of an intertidal alga

Understanding the dispersal processes that influence genetic structure in marine species requires estimating gene flow in a dynamic, fluid environment that is often poorly characterized at scales relevant to multiple dispersive stages (e.g. spores, gametes, zygotes, larvae, adults). We examine genetic structure in the marine alga Fucus vesiculosus L., which inhabits moderately exposed shores in the northern Atlantic but releases gametes only under sunny, calm conditions. We predicted genetic structure would correlate with coastal topography because weather frequently varies across coastal promontories on the Maine shore when F. vesiculosus is reproductive, which causes one side to experience high levels of water motion (= no gamete release) while one side is calm (= gamete release). Furthermore, we expected that the effect of low dispersal capacities of gametes and zygotes would result in spatial genetic structure over short distances. Using surface drifters, we characterized near-shore circulation patterns around the study sites to investigate whether directionality of gene flow was correlated with directionality of currents. We found significant genetic differentiation among sites sampled at two different peninsulas, but patterns of differentiation were unrelated to coastal topography and there was no within-site spatial structuring. Our genetic and near-shore circulation data, combined with an examination of gamete longevity, support the dependency of gene flow on storm-detached, rafting, reproductive adults. This study highlights the significance of rafting as a mechanism for structuring established populations of macroalgae and associated biota and demonstrates the importance of coupling population genetics' research with relevant hydrodynamic studies.     

Diversity and community biomass depend on dispersal and disturbance in microalgal communities

The evidence for species diversity effects on ecosystem functions is mainly based on studies not explicitly addressing local or regional processes regulating coexistence or the importance of community structure in terms of species evenness. In experimental communities of marine benthic microalgae, we altered the successional stages and thus the strength of local species interactions by manipulating rates of dispersal and disturbance. The treatments altered realized species richness, evenness and community biomass. For species richness, dispersal mattered only at high disturbance rates; when opening new space, dispersal led to maximized richness at intermediate dispersal rates. Evenness, in contrast, decreased with dispersal at low or no disturbance, i.e. at late successional stages. Community biomass showed a non-linear hump-shaped response to increasing dispersal at all disturbance levels. We found a positive correlation between richness and biomass at early succession, and a strong negative correlation between evenness and biomass at late succession. In early succession both community biomass and richness depend directly on dispersal from the regional pool, whereas the late successional pattern shows that if interactions allow the most productive species to become dominant, diverting resources from this species (i.e. higher evenness) reduces production. Our study emphasizes the difference in biodiversity–function relationships over time, as different mechanisms contribute to the regulation of richness and evenness in early and late successional stages.     

Effect of (a)synchronous light fluctuation on diversity,functional and structural stability of a marine phytoplankton metacommunity

Disentangling the mechanisms that maintain the stability of communities and ecosystem properties has become a major research focus in ecology in the face of anthropogenic environmental change. Dispersal plays a pivotal role in maintaining diversity in spatially subdivided communities, but only a few experiments have simultaneously investigated how dispersal and environmental fluctuation affect community dynamics and ecosystem stability. We performed an experimental study using marine phytoplankton species as model organisms to test these mechanisms in a metacommunity context. We established three levels of dispersal and exposed the phytoplankton to fluctuating light levels, where fluctuations were either spatially asynchronous or synchronous across patches of the metacommunity. Dispersal had no effect on diversity and ecosystem function (biomass), while light fluctuations affected both evenness and community biomass. The temporal variability of community biomass was reduced by fluctuating light and temporal beta diversity was influenced interactively by dispersal and fluctuation, whereas spatial variability in community biomass and beta diversity were barely affected by treatments. Along the establishing gradient of species richness and dominance, community biomass increased but temporal variability of biomass decreased, thus highest stability was associated with species-rich but highly uneven communities and less influenced by compensatory dynamics. In conclusion, both specific traits (dominance) and diversity (richness) affected the stability of metacommunities under fluctuating conditions.     

What is natural? The scale of cryptogenesis in the North Atlantic Ocean

Aim Cryptogenic species may include those taxa that were historically introduced and are now falsely viewed as native. Investigated here is the scale of cryptogenesis in the North Atlantic Ocean by examining disjunct distributions, defined as temperate species occurring only on both sides of the North Atlantic. Disjunct distributions can be explained by four scenarios: glacial relicts, taxonomic artefacts, natural trans‐oceanic dispersal and human‐mediated introduction. Location North Atlantic Ocean. Methods Model taxa included ascidians, bivalves and hydrozoans. Biogeographic status (native, introduced or cryptogenic) was assigned to all species exhibiting a disjunct distribution, based upon multiple criteria. Results Of 1030 species, 60 have a strictly disjunct distribution. Of these disjunct species, for five species there is no reason to doubt their native status, and 55 species are cryptogenic or introduced. Groups with high relative dispersal capacities do not have disjunct distributions more often. Infaunal bivalves have the lowest relative number of disjunct species; none are cryptogenic or naturally disjunct. This supports the concept that glaciations are unlikely to cause disjunct distributions: there are no studies that provide conclusive evidence for the glacial relict model. Hydrozoa have the highest relative number of disjunct species, which, while historically explained by undocumented rafting, may more likely be the result of dispersal by ships, which travel relatively fast, are independent of currents and provide greater surface area. Main conclusions This reanalysis of the historical biogeography of the North Atlantic marine biota reveals that far more species may have been introduced than previously recognized, potentially significantly altering our fundamental understanding of community evolution and ecology. Species that have been present for centuries and can be important ecological engineers who have shaped contemporary communities are possibly falsely viewed as native: they may in fact be the unrecognized introductions of historical times.     

Nonsignificant isolation by distance implies limited dispersal

Understanding the scale of dispersal is an important consideration in the conservation and management of many species. However, in species in which the high‐dispersal stage is characterized by tiny gametes or offspring, it may be difficult to estimate dispersal directly. This is the case for many marine species, whose pelagic larvae are dispersed by ocean currents by several days or weeks before beginning a benthic, more sedentary, adult stage. As consequence of the high‐dispersal larval stage, many marine species have low genetic structure on large spatial scales (Waples 1998 ; Hellberg 2007 ). Despite the high capacity for dispersal, some tagging studies have found that a surprising number of larvae recruit into the population they were released from (self‐recruitment). However, estimates of self‐recruitment are not informative about mean dispersal between subpopulations. To what extent are limited dispersal estimates from tagging studies compatible with high potential for dispersal and low genetic structure? In this issue, a study on five species of coral reef fish used isolation by distance (IBD) between individuals to estimate mean dispersal distances (Puebla et al. 2012 ). They found that mean dispersal was unexpectedly small (<50 km), given relatively low IBD slopes and long pelagic durations. This study demonstrates how low genetic structure is compatible with limited dispersal in marine species. A comprehensive understanding of dispersal in marine species will involve integrating methods that estimate dispersal over different spatial and temporal scales. Genomic data may increase power to resolve these issues but must be applied carefully to this question.     

Persistence and transport of fauna on drifting kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera (L.) C. Agardh) rafts in the Southern California Bight

Drifting rafts of Macrocystis pyrifera may connect isolated kelp forests in the Southern California Bight. To determine which species might utilize this dispersal mechanism, faunal samples from natural drifting rafts and attached M. pyrifera plants were collected during five cruises between March 1995 and December 1997. These rafts, which can be considered as floating islands, were aged and the macroinvertebrate assemblage enumerated. There was no significant relationship between raft age and species richness, or between species richness and distance offshore, which contrasts with predictions based on island biogeography. Species richness, however, was related to raft weight. Patterns of species presence and density were investigated relative to raft age for the species most frequently associated with rafts. Only one species, the isopod Idotea resecata, was found on all sampled rafts. Some species increased in frequency with raft age and others decreased, but only one relationship, a decline in the frequency of the anemone Epiactis prolifera with raft age was significant. When species density was examined over all cruises, only I. resecata had a significant change in density (an increase) with raft age, but additional significant relationships were found when species density patterns were considered by cruise. The results of all the tests were combined to provide a measure of "raft success". Nine of the most frequent 19 species had a positive score, indicating a favorable response to rafting, seven were unaffected, and two species had negative responses to rafting. Extinction times were calculated using species abundance and raft age relationships. Two species (E. prolifera and Paracerceis cordata), were predicted to persist on rafts for only about 100 days, which is the maximum estimated raft lifetime. All other species were predicted to persist for longer periods if the rafts floated longer. Kelp fauna that begin rafting appear to be largely unaffected by rafting, and hence dispersal on kelp rafts is possible for many members of the kelp forest community.     

Phylogeographic analysis of the brooding brittle star Amphipholis squamata (Echinodermata) along the coast of New Zealand reveals high cryptic genetic variation and cryptic dispersal potential

Abstract.— Direct development in benthic marine invertebrates is usually associated with narrow geographical range, low rates of colonization, and low levels of gene flow. Paradoxically, the small brittle star Amphipholis squamata broods its larvae to a crawl-away juvenile stage, yet has a cosmopolitan distribution. Using sequence and restriction-fragment-length-polymorphisms (RFLP) analyses of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from 16 coastal populations throughout New Zealand, we tested whether the species is indeed a poor disperser, as may be expected from its brooding habit. We predicted that local and regional populations would be genetically structured according to isolation by distance. We also suspected that this ubiquitous "species" is composed of a variety of cryptic taxa in different geographic areas, as has been discovered in an increasing number of marine invertebrates. We found evidence of four genetically divergent and reproductively isolated lineages that can exist in syntopy. Lineages vary in abundance, haplotype diversity, and geographic distribution. The partitioning of genetic variation within the most common lineage, as well as the geographic distribution of the four lineages, suggest a north/south split. This pattern is consistent with known New Zealand marine biogeographic zones and appears to be linked to the regime of oceanic circulation, which is characterized by subtropical, southward-moving water masses in the north, and sub-Antarctic, northward-moving water in the south. We conclude that the dispersal ability of A. squamata is regionally restricted but with sporadic long-distance dispersal, which serves to increase local genetic variation. Our results support the idea that dispersal occurs through passive transport by drifting or rafting on macroalgae, which A. squamata commonly inhabits, and emphasize that poor dispersal ability is not necessarily a corollary of direct development.     

Passive rafting is a powerful driver of transoceanic gene flow

Dispersal by passive oceanic rafting is considered important for the assembly of biotic communities on islands. However, not much is known about levels of population genetic connectivity maintained by rafting over transoceanic distances. We assess the evolutionary impact of kelp-rafting by estimating population genetic differentiation in three kelp-associated invertebrate species across a system of islands isolated by oceanic gaps for over 5 million years, using mtDNA and AFLP markers. The species occur throughout New Zealand''s subantarctic islands, but lack pelagic stages and any opportunity for anthropogenic transportation, and hence must rely on passive rafting for long-distance dispersal. They all have been directly observed to survive transoceanic kelp-rafting journeys in this region. Our analyses indicate that regular gene flow occurs among populations of all three species between all of the islands, especially those on either side of the subtropical front oceanographic boundary. Notwithstanding its perceived sporadic nature, long-distance kelp-rafting appears to enable significant gene flow among island populations separated by hundreds of kilometres of open ocean.     

A heat wave and dispersal cause dominance shift and decrease biomass in experimental metacommunities

In experimental metacommunities with marine benthic microalgae, we tested whether heat stress changes effects of connectivity and habitat heterogeneity on metacommunity structure and functioning, by manipulating a simulated heat wave, dispersal frequency and a light intensity gradient. We found that all measures of mean local and regional diversity and community biomass significantly declined after the heat wave and showed no sign of recovery. Additionally, dispersal decreased diversity and increased dominance in both the heat stressed and control communities. Together the heat wave and high dispersal frequency induced a dominance shift by spreading a temperature tolerant but low yielding species from its source patches with low light intensity across the metacommunity, an effect that increased with time. Although different species became dominant at high dispersal frequency with and without the heat wave, the shift towards a temperature tolerant species was not sufficient to maintain total community biomass. Thus, short‐term disturbance may cause longer‐term loss of ecosystem function due to dominance shifts in the composition of communities. This study illustrates the importance of employing multispecies approaches when attempting to predict responses of communities to environmental changes.     

Signatures of seaway closures and founder dispersal in the phylogeny of a circumglobally distributed seahorse lineage

Background  

The importance of vicariance events on the establishment of phylogeographic patterns in the marine environment is well documented, and generally accepted as an important cause of cladogenesis. Founder dispersal (i.e. long-distance dispersal followed by founder effect speciation) is also frequently invoked as a cause of genetic divergence among lineages, but its role has long been challenged by vicariance biogeographers. Founder dispersal is likely to be common in species that colonize remote habitats by means of rafting (e.g. seahorses), as long-distance dispersal events are likely to be rare and subsequent additional recruitment from the source habitat is unlikely. In the present study, the relative importance of vicariance and founder dispersal as causes of cladogenesis in a circumglobally distributed seahorse lineage was investigated using molecular dating. A phylogeny was reconstructed using sequence data from mitochondrial and nuclear markers, and the well-documented closure of the Central American seaway was used as a primary calibration point to test whether other bifurcations in the phylogeny could also have been the result of vicariance events. The feasibility of three other vicariance events was explored: a) the closure of the Indonesian Seaway, resulting in sister lineages associated with the Indian Ocean and West Pacific, respectively; b) the closure of the Tethyan Seaway, resulting in sister lineages associated with the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, respectively, and c) continental break-up during the Mesozoic followed by spreading of the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in pairs of lineages with amphi-Atlantic distribution patterns.     

Coalescent and biophysical models of stepping‐stone gene flow in neritid snails

Marine species in the Indo‐Pacific have ranges that can span thousands of kilometres, yet studies increasingly suggest that mean larval dispersal distances are less than historically assumed. Gene flow across these ranges must therefore rely to some extent on larval dispersal among intermediate ‘stepping‐stone’ populations in combination with long‐distance dispersal far beyond the mean of the dispersal kernel. We evaluate the strength of stepping‐stone dynamics by employing a spatially explicit biophysical model of larval dispersal in the tropical Pacific to construct hypotheses for dispersal pathways. We evaluate these hypotheses with coalescent models of gene flow among high‐island archipelagos in four neritid gastropod species. Two of the species live in the marine intertidal, while the other two are amphidromous, living in fresh water but retaining pelagic dispersal. Dispersal pathways predicted by the biophysical model were strongly favoured in 16 of 18 tests against alternate hypotheses. In regions where connectivity among high‐island archipelagos was predicted as direct, there was no difference in gene flow between marine and amphidromous species. In regions where connectivity was predicted through stepping‐stone atolls only accessible to marine species, gene flow estimates between high‐island archipelagos were significantly higher in marine species. Moreover, one of the marine species showed a significant pattern of isolation by distance consistent with stepping‐stone dynamics. While our results support stepping‐stone dynamics in Indo‐Pacific species, we also see evidence for nonequilibrium processes such as range expansions or rare long‐distance dispersal events. This study couples population genetic and biophysical models to help to shed light on larval dispersal pathways.