Missing native oyster (Ostrea edulis L.) beds in a European Marine Protected Area: Should there be widespread restorative management?

Fariñas‐Franco, José M.; Pearce, Bryony; Mair, James McD; Harries, Daniel; MacPherson, Rebecca; Porter, Joanne S.; Reimer, Paula J.; Sanderson, William

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2018.03.010

Cited by 52 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…The historical locations of native oyster reefs offshore in the North Sea (Fariñas-Franco et al 2018) and current invasive oyster reefs in the near-shore areas of the North Sea only show limited overlap (Smaal et al 2015), suggesting that large unoccupied areas that were previously occupied are potentially available as a habitat for the native oyster. Restoration attempts, however, are hampered partly because detailed knowledge about the habitat requirements and suitable conditions for the restoration of the native oyster in the North Sea areas are scarce (Gercken and Schmidt 2014;Smaal et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Return of the native facilitated by the invasive? Population composition, substrate preferences and epibenthic species richness of a recently discovered shellfish reef with native European flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) in the North Sea

Christianen

Lengkeek

Bergsma

et al. 2018

Marine Biology Research

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van den Wijngaard & T. M. van der Have (2018) Return of the native facilitated by the invasive? Population composition, substrate preferences and epibenthic species richness of a recently discovered shellfish reef with native European flat oysters (ABSTRACT After being ecologically extinct for almost a century, the discovery of a shellfish reef with native European flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) in the Dutch coastal area of the North Sea by the authors of this study called for an extensive survey to better understand some of the key requirements for the return of the native oyster in coastal waters. We assessed habitat conditions, its potential for increasing biodiversity, and the role of substrate provision by other bivalves such as the invasive alien Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas). Using underwater visual census, O. edulis size-frequency distributions and attachment substrate was investigated, as well as the composition of the epibenthic community and substrata types inside quadrats that were distributed across the reef. This reef was found to be composed of native European flat oysters, invasive alien Pacific oysters and blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), alternated with sandy patches. The O. edulis population (6.8 ± 0.6 oysters m −2 ) consisted of individuals of different size classes. In quadrats with native and non-native oysters the number of epibenthic species was 60% higher compared to adjacent sand patches within the reef. Notably, our results showed that the native oyster predominantly used shell (fragments) of the invasive Pacific oyster as settlement substrate (81% of individuals). Our results optimistically show that conditions for native oyster restoration can be suitable at a local scale in the coastal North Sea area and suggest that the return of native oysters may be facilitated by novel substrate provided by invasive oysters at sites where their distribution overlap. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Return of the native facilitated by the invasive? Population composition, substrate preferences and epibenthic species richness of a recently discovered shellfish reef with native European flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) in the North Sea

Christianen

Lengkeek

Bergsma

et al. 2018

Marine Biology Research

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“…Furthermore, as MPAs often focus on conserving habitats or individual species, but not on the functionality of the marine ecosystem, the true ecological efficiency of the networks has mostly remained obscure. Studies about the effectiveness and performance of MPAs have, for example, evaluated effects on coastal fish (Sundblad et al, 2011;Olsen et al, 2013;Gill et al, 2017), broad-scale habitats (Foster et al, 2017), or shellfish (Fariñas-Franco et al, 2018). Especially if MPA designation allows significant resource use, as is the case for most MPAs globally, one may be skeptical about the effectiveness of MPA status (Sala et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation, Gap Analysis, and Potential Expansion of the Finnish Marine Protected Area Network

et al. 2018

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Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are essential for safeguarding marine biodiversity. Various international and regional agreements require that nations designate sufficient marine areas under protection. Assessing the functionality and coherence of MPA networks is challenging, unless extensive data on species and habitats is available. We evaluated the efficiency of the Finnish MPA network by utilizing a unique dataset of ∼140,000 samples, recently collected by the Finnish Inventory Programme for the Underwater Marine Environment, VELMU. Using the quantitative conservation planning and the spatial prioritization method Zonation, we identified sites of high biodiversity and developed a balanced ranking of marine conservation values. Only 27% of the ecologically most valuable features were covered by the current MPA network. Based on the analyses, a set of expansion sites were identified that efficiently complement the ecological and geographical gaps in the current MPA network. Increasing protected sea area by just one percent point, would double the mean conservation cover, and specifically increase the protection levels of habitat types based on IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, key species, threatened species and fish reproduction areas. We also discovered that a large part of ecologically valuable species, such as many brown and red algae, blue mussels and eelgrass, exist in the underwater parts of rocky islands and sandy shores. These areas do not belong to the present (Finnish) interpretation of the habitats (e.g., reefs and underwater sandbanks) listed in the EU Habitats Directive. Neglecting these environments may lead to lack of protection of functionally important biodiversity. We emphasize that, in addition to establishing MPAs, also ecosystembased marine spatial planning is needed to safeguard the integrity of marine biodiversity in the northern Baltic Sea. The spatial prioritization maps produced in this study are essentially environmental value maps which can also be used in impact avoidance, such as siting of wind energy and aquaculture, or in avoiding overfishing in the most valuable fish areas. Our approach and analytical procedure can be replicated in the Baltic Sea or elsewhere provided that sufficient data exist.

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“…The costs of data collection can pose a barrier to indicator development, particularly for low income countries, which contain some of the world's most diverse species and habitats (Tittensor et al, 2010;Ramírez et al, 2017), but are generally poorly monitored due to economic challenges and lack of infrastructure and scientific experts (Danielsen et al, 2000). While high-income countries tend to pose more threats to marine ecosystems (Beck et al, 2011;Thurstan et al, 2013;Halpern et al, 2015;Fariñas-Franco et al, 2018), a lack of fundamental biodiversity research, capacity and coordination of information in low-income countries makes them highly vulnerable, particularly to climate change (Bellard et al, 2014). Many marine and coastal ecosystems are highly diverse, yet there is a lack of fundamental biodiversity research required to understand processes and species distributions in the marine environment (Griffiths et al, 2010).…”

Section: Data Requirements For Biodiversity Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Science to Evidence – How Biodiversity Indicators Can Be Used for Effective Marine Conservation Policy and Management

et al. 2019

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Indicators are effective tools for summarizing and communicating key aspects of ecosystem state and have a long record of use in marine pollution and fisheries management. The application of biodiversity indicators to assess the status of species, habitats, and functional diversity in marine conservation and policy, however, is still developing and multiple indicator roles and features are emerging. For example, some operational biodiversity indicators trigger management action when a threshold is reached, while others play an interpretive, or surveillance, role in informing management. Links between biodiversity indicators and the pressures affecting them are frequently unclear as links can be obscured by environmental change, data limitations, food web dynamics, or the cumulative effects of multiple pressures. In practice, the application of biodiversity indicators to meet marine conservation policy and management demands is developing rapidly in the management realm, with a lag before academic publication detailing indicator development. Making best use of biodiversity indicators depends on sharing and synthesizing cutting-edge knowledge and experience. Using lessons learned from the application of biodiversity indicators in policy and management from around the globe, we define the concept of 'biodiversity indicators,' explore barriers to their use and potential solutions, and outline strategies for their effective communication to decision-makers.

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Missing native oyster (Ostrea edulis L.) beds in a European Marine Protected Area: Should there be widespread restorative management?

Cited by 52 publications

References 49 publications

Return of the native facilitated by the invasive? Population composition, substrate preferences and epibenthic species richness of a recently discovered shellfish reef with native European flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) in the North Sea

Return of the native facilitated by the invasive? Population composition, substrate preferences and epibenthic species richness of a recently discovered shellfish reef with native European flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) in the North Sea

Evaluation, Gap Analysis, and Potential Expansion of the Finnish Marine Protected Area Network

From Science to Evidence – How Biodiversity Indicators Can Be Used for Effective Marine Conservation Policy and Management

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