An interdisciplinary assessment finds limited connectivity between marine protected areas for oyster larvae, suggesting further investigation is needed.
• 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
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Sell et al. (2026) studied this question.
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