The importance of biophysical context in understanding marine protected area outcomes for coral reef fish populations

Fidler, Robert Y.; Andradi-Brown, Dominic A.; Awaludinnoer,; Pada, Defy N.; Purwanto, Purwanto; Ahmadia, Gabby N.; Harborne, Alastair R.

doi:10.1007/s00338-021-02085-y

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 91 publications

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“…Parrotfishes are also ubiquitous and diverse members of coral reef fauna across the tropical Indo-Pacific and are ecologically important because of their ability to scrape and bioerode the reef benthos via feeding on euendolithic microalgae and microbes (Clements et al 2017). Their feeding habits elicit unique population-level responses to habitat disturbances, whereby short cycles of disturbance to coral communities can generate positive responses in parrotfish numbers by creating short-term successional environments that bolster nutritional resources (Russ et al 2015;Graham et al 2020;Fidler et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decadal changes in parrotfish assemblages around reefs of Guam, Micronesia

2022

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Modern coral reefs face substantial threats that endanger their capacity to function and provide resources for human populations. Chronic human pressure through exploitation and land-based pollution has led to reef degradation and lower productivity. More recently, this pressure is compounded with successive episodes of coral bleaching across the tropical oceans. However, response trajectories of reef resources to exploitation, habitat degradation, and local management may not be straightforward, as these ecosystems are incredibly complex. We employed a comprehensive and standardized survey of parrotfish assemblages within reef systems in Guam to examine trajectories of biomass and function across a decade of change. Parrotfishes represent one of the most commercially and ecologically important coastal resources throughout Micronesia. We found that parrotfish biomass declined by nearly 30% over the course of ten years, with concomitant decreases in grazing and bioerosion rates at a similar magnitude. There was evidence of fishery exploitation playing a role, but overall patterns were not always aligned with the hypothesis of fishery-induced decline. For example, two-thirds of marine-protected area sites declined in biomass and mean body length was stable for several highly targeted species. Further, most biomass decline stemmed from small species with higher resilience to fishery exploitation, whereby three of the most vulnerable fishery target species either maintained or increased total biomass. The ultimate drivers of parrotfish assemblage trajectories in Guam are likely a complex mixture of exploitation, habitat change from multiple stressors, and responses to management measures. However, the potential future decline in fishery production and ecological function is substantial and merits continuous monitoring and proactive management.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decadal changes in parrotfish assemblages around reefs of Guam, Micronesia

2022

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“…The fish diversity and density evaluation results vary between three MPAs after they were established (Table 2). Changes in these two indicators were influenced by a combination of biophysical context, management status, and human activity (Fidler et al, 2021). Future research should establish a long-term MPA monitoring system that includes these three aspects and quantitatively analyzes their effects on biological outcomes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the effectiveness of three national marine protected areas in the Yangtze River Delta, China

et al. 2022

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China’s coastal areas face serious environmental degradation as a consequence of large-scale economic development. To balance environmental sustainability with economic development, China is currently implementing a strategy of ‘eco-civilization’, with marine protected areas (MPAs) expected to be one approach to achieving sustainable marine ecosystems. Since the 1990s, China has established over 270 MPAs, but their effectiveness remains unknown, particularly in the Yangtze River Delta. This study modified pre-existing frameworks to evaluate the effectiveness of three national MPAs in the Yangtze River Delta. The modified framework includes conservation outcomes and their potential drivers. Drivers consist of – attributes species or ecosystems within the MPA, attributes of the MPA, institutional design principles, and participation. Five scenarios were proposed based on score combinations of the four drivers: proactive, well designed, well governed, interactive, and learning. All three MPAs achieved a satisfactory level of outcomes and most of the drivers for all three MPAs achieved a satisfactory level. Two of the MPAs were categorized into the learning scenario, and the third into the well-designed scenario, indicating that there is still room to improve institutional design principles and public participation. We suggest developing cost and benefit indicators to more deeply understand proportionality among stakeholders. In addition, the role of participation should be clarified and promoted. We recommend regular environmental performance monitoring and assessment to identify problems and optimize management.

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“…For example, differing post-coral bleaching event trajectories within marine reserves benefited different fish functional groups (Graham et al, 2020). While specific recovery trajectories are difficult to predict, managers may be able to integrate a suite of climate futures and the expected changes to biogeochemical conditions into their long-term planning (Fidler et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the quantity and quality of marine protected areas in the Mariana Islands

Johnson

Villagomez²

2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Marine protected areas (MPAs) are ubiquitous in global ocean conservation and play a pivotal role in achieving local, national, and regional area-based conservation targets. Often, such targets are merely met on “paper” and lack the political or managerial resources to produce positive conservation outcomes. Here, we apply the MPA Guide – a framework for assessing the quantity and quality of marine protected areas – to Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), two U.S. territories in the Western Pacific. We reviewed the enabling legislation and applicable management documents for all MPAs (n=18). We found that all but three (3) MPAs in the Mariana Islands are actively managed, and these areas are either fully or highly protected – the highest tier of the MPA Guide. Lightly protected areas are associated with high use/high-density tourism activities. Total area protected varies at the jurisdictional scale: 0.83% of Guam’s territorial waters (out to 12 nm) and 23.73% of EEZ under some spatial management; CNMI has 20.39% of territorial waters and 25.91% of EEZ in MPAs. These results emphasize the importance of quality, quantity, and scale when determining effective conservation, especially in overlapping and contested jurisdictional authority areas.

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The importance of biophysical context in understanding marine protected area outcomes for coral reef fish populations

Cited by 12 publications

References 91 publications

Decadal changes in parrotfish assemblages around reefs of Guam, Micronesia

Decadal changes in parrotfish assemblages around reefs of Guam, Micronesia

Evaluating the effectiveness of three national marine protected areas in the Yangtze River Delta, China

Assessing the quantity and quality of marine protected areas in the Mariana Islands

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