Large-scale assessment of benthic communities across multiple marine protected areas using an autonomous underwater vehicle

Abstract

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are designed to reduce threats to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning from anthropogenic activities. Assessment of MPAs effectiveness requires synchronous sampling of protected and non-protected areas at multiple spatial and temporal scales. We used an autonomous underwater vehicle to map benthic communities in replicate ‘no-take’ and ‘general-use’ (fishing allowed) zones within three MPAs along 7o of latitude. We recorded 92 taxa and 38 morpho-groups across three large MPAs. We found that important habitat-forming biota (e.g. massive sponges) were more prevalent and abundant in no-take zones, while short ephemeral algae were more abundant in general-use zones, suggesting potential short-term effects of zoning (5–10 years). Yet, short-term effects of zoning were not detected at the community level (community structure or composition), while community structure varied significantly among MPAs. We conclude that by allowing rapid, simultaneous assessments at multiple spatial scales, autonomous underwater vehicles are useful to document changes in marine communities and identify adequate scales to manage them. This study advanced knowledge of marine benthic communities and their conservation in three ways. First, we quantified benthic biodiversity and abundance, generating the first baseline of these benthic communities against which the effectiveness of three large MPAs can be assessed. Second, we identified the taxonomic resolution necessary to assess both short and long-term effects of MPAs, concluding that coarse taxonomic resolution is sufficient given that analyses of community structure at different taxonomic levels were generally consistent. Yet, observed differences were taxa-specific and may have not been evident using our broader taxonomic classifications, a classification of mid to high taxonomic resolution may be necessary to determine zoning effects on key taxa. Third, we provide an example of statistical analyses and sampling design that once temporal sampling is incorporated will be useful to detect changes of marine benthic communities across multiple spatial and temporal scales.

Impact of marine protected areas on temporal stability of fish species diversity

“…This study was conducted on replicated and spatially interspersed sites varying in protection related to fishing, harvesting of marine organisms, and other activities in Batemans Marine Park (BMP), New South Wales (NSW), Australia (35.76°S, 150.32°E). The BMP protects 850 km 2 of diverse ecosystems, including rocky reefs, kelp beds, seagrass beds, mangrove forests, and sponge gardens, from impacts, including foreshore development, fishing, anchoring, and mooring disturbances (Kelaher et al., 2014; Ferrari et al., 2018). The marine park was established in mid‐2007, and we commenced sampling soon after (January 2008).…”

The Aichi Biodiversity Targets: achievements for marine conservation and priorities beyond 2020

“…The development and increasingly widespread use of innovative technologies and informatics has allowed for non-invasive and low-cost methods for long-term, continuous measurements of biodiversity. These technologies include automated monitoring systems such as passive and active acoustic monitoring ( Buscaino et al, 2016 ; McWilliam et al, 2017 ; Monczak et al, 2017 ; Egerton et al, 2018 ), autonomous underwater vehicles ( Griffin et al, 2017 ; Ferrari et al, 2016 , 2018 ), and high-resolution models of critical habitats for biodiversity (e.g., Allen Coral Atlas , structure-from-motion and benthic imagery models) ( Asaad et al, 2019 ; Friedman et al, 2012 ; Burns et al, 2015 ; Ismail, Huvenne & Masson, 2015 ; González-Rivero et al, 2017 ).…”

Peer Review #3 of "The Aichi Biodiversity Targets: achievements for marine conservation and priorities beyond 2020 (v0.1)"

“…The development and increasingly widespread use of innovative technologies and informatics has allowed for non-invasive and low-cost methods for long-term, continuous measurements of biodiversity. These technologies include automated monitoring systems such as passive and active acoustic monitoring (Buscaino et al, 2016;McWilliam et al, 2017;Monczak et al, 2017;Egerton et al, 2018), autonomous underwater vehicles (Griffin et al, 2017;Ferrari et al, 2016;Ferrari et al, 2018), and highresolution models of critical habitats for biodiversity (e.g., Allen Coral Atlas https://allencoralatlas.org/, structure-from-motion and benthic imagery models) (Asaad et al, 2019;Friedman et al, 2012;Burns et al, 2015;Ismail et al, 2015;González-Rivero et al, 2017).…”