• European legislation requires that marine protected areas (MPAs) be established in a network in such a way that their effects reinforce each other • We have developed an interdisciplinary method for evaluating such functional connectivity and tested it using the example of the European flat oyster Ostrea edulis in the North Sea • Combining genetic evidence of presence with biophysical modelling revealed that oyster larvae from the MPA Borkum Reef Ground only reach the MPA Sylt Outer Reef under extremely favourable wind conditions
Sell et al. (Thu,) studied this question.