Key biodiversity areas as globally significant target sites for the conservation of marine biological diversity

Edgar, Graham J.; Langhammer, Penny F.; Allen, Gerry R.; Brooks, Thomas M.; Brodie, Juliet; Crosse, William E. M.; Silva, Naamal De; Fishpool, Lincoln; Foster, Matthew N.; Knox, David; McCosker, John E.; Mcmanus, Roger; Millar, Alan J. K.; Mugo, Robinson

doi:10.1002/aqc.902

Cited by 85 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Red List Status might be improving for some species (Balazs and Chaloupka, 2004;Dutton et al, 2005;Simpfendorfer and Dulvy, 2017), highlighting that improved knowledge can lead to better management and conservation outcomes. Nonetheless, threats are highest where species aggregate such as to breed or forage (Edgar et al, 2008;Hays et al, 2010) and where species and humans frequently overlap; for marine species this is often in coastal zones . Quantifying specific threats can be difficult due to limited data, largely because of the feasibility of collection, but quantitative data is necessary to undertake comprehensive assessments and quantify impacts on marine vertebrates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Informing Marine Protected Area Designation and Management for Nesting Olive Ridley Sea Turtles Using Satellite Tracking

Dawson

Formia²,

Agamboué³

et al. 2017

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Understanding the horizontal and vertical habitat of olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), a threatened species, is critical for determining regions for protection and relevant gear modifications that may effectively reduce bycatch, the largest threat to this species. Satellite transmitters were used to determine the movement and dive behavior of 21 female olive ridley turtles tagged in Pongara National Park, Gabon during the 2012, 2013, and 2015 nesting seasons. A switching state-space model was used to filter the tracking data and categorize the internesting and post-nesting movements. Gridded utilization distribution (UD) home range analysis of tracking data revealed that the entire core habitat occurred in the Komo Estuary during the internesting period. Within the Komo Estuary, 58% of this core UD occurred in shipping lanes. Dive data from the 2015 tagging season revealed that during the internesting period, turtles spent the majority of their time resting on the estuary seabed. Approximately 20% of all dive time was spent on the bottom and all maximum dive depths corresponded to the depth of the seabed, indicating that bottom set gear during the internesting period may pose the greatest potential for fisheries interactions. National parks currently protect many of the nesting sites and the Gabon Bleu initiative has formally designated 10 new marine parks and a network of community and industrial fishing zones; this data was a layer used in determining the park and zone boundaries. Shared use of the estuary by fisheries, shipping, and olive ridley turtles creates a need for management measures to reduce interactions. Thus, the results from this study can further provide detailed information that can be used to support the development of evidence-based management plans.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Informing Marine Protected Area Designation and Management for Nesting Olive Ridley Sea Turtles Using Satellite Tracking

Dawson

Formia²,

Agamboué³

et al. 2017

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…Scientifically sound approaches to identify priority areas for conservation based solely on species distribution have been proposed and executed (Edgar et al 2008 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Scientifically sound approaches to identify priority areas for conservation based solely on species distribution have been proposed and executed (Edgar et al 2008 Table 6. PERMANOVA results for differences between cluster identities which underlying processes facilitate variation in diversity and subsequently focussing on protecting these, is less common (Roberts et al 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is based on descriptive research, which includes assessing the variation in abundance of one or many species (Edgar et al 2008). Marine conservation based on research on the interaction of processes facilitating diversity is less common (Roff & Evans 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As habitat types can be determined at a sub-reef scale, candidate areas for management can be determined at a spatial scale smaller than whole reefs. The method allows not only the location of particular types of habitat, but also the identification of high-capacity habitat based on defensible ecological criteria, and it discloses what properties high-capacity habitats have.Scientifically sound approaches to identify priority areas for conservation based solely on species distribution have been proposed and executed (Edgar et al 2008 …”

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confidence: 99%

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Identification of discrete and ecologically relevant types of ichthyo-habitat at two spatial scales for process-based marine planning

Jung

Swearer²

2011

Aquat. Biol.

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One objective of marine planning is the protection of biodiversity. The majority of planning strategies are based on descriptive methodologies, i.e. detecting and managing diversity hotspots. The disadvantage of such approaches is the lack of explanatory power in elucidating what facilitates the variation in diversity. The present study proposes an alternative approach: planning based on ecological processes. Correlations between 24 variables of the biophysical habitat and 4 ecological indices of fish assemblage composition were established. Variables strongly correlated to at least 1 index (adjusted r 2 > 0.6) were regarded as likely drivers of variation and used as a basis for cluster analyses to classify discrete, ecologically relevant habitat types. Variables were quantified at 2 spatial scales: individual transects (at scales of 10s of meters) and whole reefs (at scales of 100s of meters to kilometers). Habitat variables at the reef scale were not strongly correlated to ecological indices as often as variables at the transect scale. Aspects of vegetation and habitat complexity correlated strongly to most indices. In all approaches, high capacity habitat, i.e. habitat containing high values of habitat variables positively correlated to diversity indices, was defined by high abundance of Phaeophyta and high structural complexity of the reef itself. High capacity habitat was spatially confined. All cluster analyses yielded similar spatial patterns of habitat types. The statistical methodology used in the present study -identifying distinct and ecologically relevant habitat types and habitat with high capacity to support high diversity -be a useful approach for identifying candidate areas for protection in marine conservation planning. KEY WORDS: Process-based management · Diversity · Fishes · Rocky reefs · HabitatResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher Aquat Biol 12: 187-196, 2011 (Anderson & Millar 2004). Habitat variables operate at different spatial scales or grain sizes (Wiens 1989, Arias-Gonzalez et al. 2008, and it can be difficult to detect their respective effect when such variables are assessed at an inappropriate grain size (Underwood & Chapman 1998). The grain size for some habitat variables is the reef itself. Such variables include the size of the reef (MacNeil et al. 2009), effects of the surrounding matrix, e.g. distance to other reefs or other distinct habitats, or the reef perimeter, potentially facilitating edge effects (Dorenbosch et al. 2005). These habitat variables can affect fish assemblages at spatial scales of kilometres (Dorenbosch et al. 2006).Other habitat variables can be analysed at smaller grain sizes, i.e. 'patch' or 'transect' scales. Such variables, e.g. measures of structural complexity of the reef matrix (Steele 1999) or aspects of the vegetation (Bergman et al. 2001), vary substantially, on the order of metres (Flynn & Ritz 1999), and can affect abundance of fishes at similar spatial scales. Variables operating at smaller...

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Biogeographical and ecological context for managing threats to coral and rocky reef communities in the Lord Howe Island Marine Park, south‐western Pacific

Edgar

Davey²,

Kelly³

et al. 2009

Aquatic Conservation

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ABSTRACT1. Quantitative subtidal surveys of fishes, macro-invertebrates and sessile organisms at 33 sites within the Lord Howe Island Marine Park revealed a rich fauna and flora, including 164 fishes, 40 mobile invertebrate taxa, 53 coral and other sessile invertebrate taxa, 32 algal taxa, and two seagrasses. The biota in this newly-zoned marine park was overwhelmingly tropical when species lists were tabulated; however, species with distributions centred on temperate coasts of eastern Australia and New Zealand occurred in disproportionately high densities compared with the tropical species.2. Lord Howe Island reefs were generally in good condition. Virtually no bleached coral was observed (0.2% of the reef surface; 0.8% of total hard coral cover). Living scleractinian coral comprised the predominant group of organisms growing on reef surfaces, with 25.5% cover overall. Other major taxa observed were brown algae (18.8% cover) and red algae (16.9% cover).3. Three distinctive community types were identified within the marine park-coral reefs, macroalgal beds and an offshore/open coast community. The distribution of these community types was strongly related to wave exposure, as indicated by an extremely high correlation with the first principal coordinates axis for biotic data (R 2 5 0.80). 4. The close (o3 km) proximity of tropical coral and temperate macroalgal community types off Lord Howe Island is highly unusual, with localized patterns of nutrient enrichment suggested as the primary cause. The macroalgal community type is only known from a small area off the south-western coast that is not protected from fishing. This community is considered highly susceptible to threats because of potential impacts of global warming and the possibility of expansion of sea urchin barrens. Coral bleaching and ocean acidification associated with global climate change also threaten the coral reef community, which includes relatively high numbers of endemic and near endemic fish species.

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Key biodiversity areas as globally significant target sites for the conservation of marine biological diversity

Cited by 85 publications

References 51 publications

Informing Marine Protected Area Designation and Management for Nesting Olive Ridley Sea Turtles Using Satellite Tracking

Informing Marine Protected Area Designation and Management for Nesting Olive Ridley Sea Turtles Using Satellite Tracking

Identification of discrete and ecologically relevant types of ichthyo-habitat at two spatial scales for process-based marine planning

Biogeographical and ecological context for managing threats to coral and rocky reef communities in the Lord Howe Island Marine Park, south‐western Pacific

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