  Oceanic dispersal and connectivity have been identified as crucial factors
for structuring marine populations and designing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
Focusing on larval dispersal by ocean currents, we propose an approach coupling
Lagrangian transport and new tools from Network Theory to characterize marine
connectivity in the Mediterranean basin. Larvae of different pelagic durations
and seasons are modeled as passive tracers advected in a simulated oceanic
surface flow from which a network of connected areas is constructed.
Hydrodynamical provinces extracted from this network are delimited by frontiers
which match multi-scale oceanographic features. By examining the repeated
occurrence of such boundaries, we identify the spatial scales and geographic
structures that would control larval dispersal across the entire seascape.
Based on these hydrodynamical units, we study novel connectivity metrics for
existing reserves. Our results are discussed in the context of ocean
biogeography and MPAs design, having ecological and managerial implications.
