Emigration and retention of <i>Palinurus elephas</i> (Fabricius, 1787) in a central western Mediterranean marine protected area

Abstract

SUMMARY: This study describes the results obtained by applying the Arnason Schwartz multistate mark-recapture model to eight years of data collected in and around a small no-fishing marine protected area (MPA; 4 km 2 ) in the central western Mediterranean. From 1997 to 2004, a total of 4044 specimens of Palinurus elephas (Fabr., 1787) were tagged and 317 recaptured. The most parsimonious model which best explained the data variability was that of a temporally constant rate of apparent survival and movement in each of the two strata. The absence of any temporal influence in the apparent survival rate inside the no-take area suggested that spillover and mortality are constant for each period of the study. The lower apparent survival rate in surrounding zones than inside the MPA (0.26 ± 0.04 (SE) vs 0.94 ± 0.03 (SE)) is presumed to be a function of fishing effort. A continuous movement of P. elephas across the boundary of the small MPA was also tested. This information on retention of lobsters in the MPA contributes to our understanding of the effect of introducing MPAs into a managed commercial fishery system.

Effectiveness of European Atlanto-Mediterranean MPAs: Do they accomplish the expected effects on populations, communities and ecosystems?

“…Analysis of recaptures of lobsters tagged and released inside the reserve indicated that the density gradient was caused by lobsters emigrating from the reserve (Goñi et al, 2006). Similar results using lobster mark-recapture data were obtained in western Sardinia (Follesa et al, 2007), and in Torre Guaceto MPA (Italy) for Diplodus spp. (Guidetti, 2006b).…”

Effects of marine reserve protection on spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas Fabr., 1787) in a central western Mediterranean area

“…The small size of our study area (4 km 2 ) seems to have ensured, even in the first years of experimentation, the movement of lobsters from the IN zone to the OUT ones, at a rate that appeared constant throughout the 8-year period (Follesa et al, 2007). The similarity in the trends for the percentage increase in biomass inside and outside the area offers further strong support for the hypothesis of constant movement of Palinurus elephas between the two areas (even in the first year of experimentation), also confirmed by applying the Cormack-Jolly-Seber (CJS) model to the specimens tagged inside the area (Follesa et al, 2007).…”

“…To date, many studies have been conducted in the Mediterranean Sea to assess the effectiveness of marine protected areas (Sanchez Lizaso et al, 2000) but few authors have assessed the response to the protection of spiny lobster populations in MPAs (Marin, 1987;Goni et al, 2001Goni et al, , 2006Follesa et al, 2007).…”

Trophic effects of fishing southern rock lobster Jasus edwardsii shown by combined fatty acid and stable isotope analyses

“…Roberts & Polunin 1991, Dahlgren & Sobel 2000, Schroeter et al 2001, Shears et al 2006. Not surprisingly, the abundance and often mean size of fished species is generally found to increase in reserves compared with adjacent fished areas (Edgar & Barrett 1997, Follesa et al 2007, Sonnenholzner et al 2009). More recently, however, the indirect effects of fishing on the trophic structure of reserve and fished communities have been considered with evidence of trophic cascades in several communities following the increase of predator densities in reserve areas (Scheffer et al 2005, Kramer & Heck 2007.…”