The effects of protection from fishing on species richness: distinguishing between alternative explanations

Vanderklift, Mathew A.; Babcock, Russell C.; Cook, Kylie

doi:10.1007/s00442-012-2408-7

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…This difference in protection could be a factor increasing β-diversity at the site scale. Species diversity tends to be higher inside marine protected areas [28,71]. Habitat differences in coral cover and complexity [72,73] as well as variation in depth [72] or wave exposure [74] could generate differentiation in species composition among sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Habitat differences in coral cover and complexity [72,73] as well as variation in depth [72] or wave exposure [74] could generate differentiation in species composition among sites. Other factors such as pollution [75], coral-reef phase shift [76] and fisheries could also affect β-diversity [28]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The direct effects of fishing could increase, decrease, or have no effect on species richness or distribution, depending on the relative impact on common versus rare species [28]. Observed distributions with and without fisheries target species were very similar in terms of proportions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The direct effects of fishing depend on the relative impact on common versus rare species [28]. In the Caribbean, the biomass of predatory fishes on coral reefs has been reduced [29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Additive Partitioning of Coral Reef Fish Diversity across Hierarchical Spatial Scales throughout the Caribbean

Francisco

Arias‐González

2013

PLoS ONE

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There is an increasing need to examine regional patterns of diversity in coral-reef systems since their biodiversity is declining globally. In this sense, additive partitioning might be useful since it quantifies the contribution of alpha and beta to total diversity across different scales. We applied this approach using an unbalanced design across four hierarchical scales (80 sites, 22 subregions, six ecoregions, and the Caribbean basin). Reef-fish species were compiled from the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) database and distributions were confirmed with published data. Permutation tests were used to compare observed values to those expected by chance. The primary objective was to identify patterns of reef-fish diversity across multiple spatial scales under different scenarios, examining factors such as fisheries and demographic connectivity. Total diversity at the Caribbean scale was attributed to β-diversity (nearly 62% of the species), with the highest β-diversity at the site scale. α¯-diversity was higher than expected by chance in all scenarios and at all studied scales. This suggests that fish assemblages are more homogenous than expected, particularly at the ecoregion scale. Within each ecoregion, diversity was mainly attributed to alpha, except for the Southern ecoregion where there was a greater difference in species among sites. β-components were lower than expected in all ecoregions, indicating that fishes within each ecoregion are a subsample of the same species pool. The scenario involving the effects of fisheries showed a shift in dominance for β-diversity from regions to subregions, with no major changes to the diversity patterns. In contrast, demographic connectivity partially explained the diversity pattern. β-components were low within connectivity regions and higher than expected by chance when comparing between them. Our results highlight the importance of ecoregions as a spatial scale to conserve local and regional coral reef-fish diversity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The direct effects of fishing depend on the relative impact on common versus rare species [28]. In the Caribbean, the biomass of predatory fishes on coral reefs has been reduced [29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Additive Partitioning of Coral Reef Fish Diversity across Hierarchical Spatial Scales throughout the Caribbean

Francisco

Arias‐González

2013

PLoS ONE

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“…These included strip-transect with divers, strip-transect with ROV video recordings and RUV recordings in fixed locations. Each technique was used to obtain estimates of the taxon density (total number of taxa; see Vanderklift et al 2012), and the relative frequency and absolute abundance of each taxon in the area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-term performance of three underwater sampling techniques for assessing differences in the absolute abundances and in the inventories of the coastal fish communities of the Northeast Atlantic Ocean

Pita¹,

Fernández-Márquez²,

Freire³

2014

Mar. Freshwater Res.

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Comparative works on sampling techniques allow selecting the best methods to study each target fish community. We analysed the structure of a coastal fish community in Galicia (north-western Spain) by comparing the following three techniques: diver-based underwater visual census (UVC), remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and remote underwater video (RUV). All techniques detected abundant and frequent taxa, but divers obtained more precise and complete inventories (80% of identified taxa) than did ROV (60%) and RUV (47%), were faster (only 1.4 days to achieve the estimated taxa list) than were ROV (2.0 days) and RUV (475.7 days), and were more reliable in estimating the abundances of highly mobile, less abundant, less frequent, cryptic and smaller fish. Conversely, RUV obtained the poorest estimates of abundances, and even though it obtained more replicates (136), there were more zeros (98%) than with divers (16 replicates, 64% zeros) and ROV (11 replicates, 75% zeros). Furthermore, the economic cost of the video system was triple the cost of the diving gear; consequently, we recommend using divers to study the coastal fish communities in the shallow waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. However, further research is necessary to explore the full capabilities of video techniques in long-term studies, in greater depths and in adverse weather conditions. Additional keywords: rocky reef fish, ROV, scuba diving, underwater video, underwater visual census.

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The Influence of Boundary Habitat Continuity on Spillover from a Mediterranean Marine Protected Area

Pinillos

Riera

2022

Thalassas

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The effectiveness of marine protected areas (MPAs) to restore populations of exploited species, both within and outside of their boundaries through net movement of individuals (“spillover”), can potentially be affected by continuity of habitats across the boundaries. Sandy seabeds may reduce movement of reef-associated species across MPA boundaries, thereby increasing the ‘reserve effect’ while decreasing spillover. Underwater visual censuses were undertaken inside the Cerbère-Banyuls Marine Reserve (CBMR) (France) and adjacent non-protected areas to assess the influence of habitat on spillover. Total fish biomass and mean fish size were significantly higher within the MPA, but rapidly declined across the reserve boundary. Nevertheless, there was no indication of a sharper decline in biomass at the northern boundary where a habitat discontinuity was present relative to the southern boundary with continuous habitat. This result may reflect a number of complicating factors that make assessment of spillover potential difficult, and which may also lead to the uncertainty about which situations and how much spillover may contribute to fished populations outside reserves. In particular, the home range area of the key exploited species relative to the scale of the habitat mosaic, and potentially different levels of fishing pressure at each boundary likely contribute to variability. While the CBMR appeared particularly well-suited to investigating this question, resolving these issues and identifying general principles for where and how much spillover occurs will likely be difficult without a series of specially designed MPAs. This highlights a conundrum facing MPA establishment in the face of pressures to be successful for both biodiversity conservation and to offer fisheries benefits—the latter are clearly not ubiquitous, but a shortage of suitable MPAs that can be used as scientific tools for better understanding how and when these benefits may occur is precluded by a general lack of MPAs designed and managed for this purpose. The results of this study do, however, clearly highlight the biodiversity conservation benefits of the CBMR.

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The effects of protection from fishing on species richness: distinguishing between alternative explanations

Cited by 6 publications

References 23 publications

Additive Partitioning of Coral Reef Fish Diversity across Hierarchical Spatial Scales throughout the Caribbean

Additive Partitioning of Coral Reef Fish Diversity across Hierarchical Spatial Scales throughout the Caribbean

Short-term performance of three underwater sampling techniques for assessing differences in the absolute abundances and in the inventories of the coastal fish communities of the Northeast Atlantic Ocean

The Influence of Boundary Habitat Continuity on Spillover from a Mediterranean Marine Protected Area

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