Evaluating the Effects of a Deep-Water Marine Protected Area a Decade After Closure: A Multifaceted Approach Reveals Equivocal Benefits to Reef Fish Populations

Abstract

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are increasingly used to rebuild fish populations. In 2009, eight MPAs were designated off the southeast United States with the goal of rebuilding populations of long-lived deep-water reef fishes. We tested whether reef fish within the largest of these MPAs, the Snowy Wreck Marine Protected Area (SWMPA), have increased in size and abundance relative to a nearby control area and compared to pre-closure. Hurdle models fitted through Bayesian inference on echosounder data collected in 2007–2009 and 2018–2020 yielded no evidence of an MPA effect. Comparisons of catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) of all reef fishes yielded similar null results. However, CPUE of reef species with formal stock assessments increased 47% in the SWMPA and decreased 50% in the control area. We found significant increases in mean length of red porgy (Pagrus pagrus) inside the SWMPA but not in the control area. We also found community composition changes, including shifts away from groupers (Serranidae; Epinephelinae) and toward snappers (Lutjanidae) and tilefish (Malacanthidae) in both areas, though we did not detect an MPA effect with this analysis. Our equivocal results indicate that more time and stricter enforcement may be necessary before more biological effects of the SWMPA can be detected.

Fish Species Diversity From Someșul Cald River: 50Years After Cascade Dam Constructions

“…Sørensen's coefficient was used to determine beta diversity to assess the similarities or dissimilarities among neighboring sampling stations (Sørensen, 1948). Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) were used to compare fish species composition and differences in resemblances among groups of sampled sites (Runde et al, 2021). The contribution of fish species to the dissimilarity of the two river sections was determined by similarity percentage analysis (SIMPER) based on Bray-Curtis similarity (Medeiros-Leal et al, 2021).…”

The environmental impacts of a major mine tailings spill on coastal and marine environments: lessons and recommendations for ex post impact assessment

“…One frequently-used approach to test hypotheses with experimental data is BACI -Before-After/Control-Impact. This technique measures the variables of interest at two types of places: those which are subject to specific alterations or impacts and those which are not (Runde et al, 2021).…”

Impactos ambientais da dispersão de rejeitos de mineração em ambientes costeiros e marinhos: lições e recomendações para avaliação de impactos ex post

“…Uma abordagem frequentemente empregada para testar hipóteses com dados experimentais é a BACI -Before-After/ Control-Impact (Antes-Depois/Controle-Impacto). A técnica mede as variáveis de interesse em dois tipos de local: o que está sujeito a alterações ou impactos específicos e aquele que não está (Runde et al, 2021).…”