Marine protected areas in a changing ocean: Adaptive management can mitigate the synergistic effects of local and climate change impacts

Zentner, Yanis; Rovira, Graciel·la; Margarit, Núria; Ortega, Júlia; Casals, David; Medrano, Alba; Pagès‐Escolà, Marta; Aspillaga, Eneko; Capdevila, Pol; Figuerola-Ferrando, Laura; Riera, Joan Lluís; Hereu, Bernat; Garrabou, Joaquim; Linares, Cristina

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110048

Cited by 16 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…These results are in line with previous studies (Cerrano et al, 2005; Linares et al, 2005). However, the recent increase in MHWs frequency and intensity (Garrabou et al, 2022b), characterized as one of the main impacts on gorgonian populations, coupled with other global and local stressors (e.g., Zentner et al, 2023), could cause changes in these relationships, increasing the percentage of recent injuries to the affected gorgonian populations (Estaque et al, 2023).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, identifying areas or species with worsened population health status. In this context, the impact category assessment can support the regulation to reduce the impact of other local stressors to enhance the long‐term viability of populations, such as high diver frequentation in MPAs, where there is synergic positive interaction between local and marine heatwave impacts (Zentner et al, 2023).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A rapid assessment method to monitor the health status of habitat‐forming species in coastal benthic ecosystems

Figuerola‐Ferrando,

Garrabou,

Linares

2024

Aquatic Conservation

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Marine habitat‐forming (MHF) species in the Mediterranean are among the most threatened coastal species by human activities. In recent decades, different stressors (e.g., warming‐induced marine heatwaves and algal blooms) have caused mass mortality events in these key species. Overall, a common method to assess their health status at the Mediterranean Sea scale is lacking. To fill this gap, the aim of this work is to present and validate a cost‐effective method, the Mortality Rapid Assessment Method, that is able to assess the health status of key MHF species, even through Citizen Science. The Mortality Rapid Assessment Method is based on determining the impact of mortality on MHF species derived from the metric percentage of affected colonies or individuals. To validate the ability of the proposed method to assess the health status, it was compared to a more commonly used but time‐consuming and expert‐required metric based on the injured surface percentage of the colonies or individuals. For the validation, one of the most extensive (>47,500 colonies) demographic datasets of the octocoral Paramuricea clavata was used to conduct a comprehensive metric comparison. The results showed a highly significant correlation between metrics from both methods (ρ = 0.86), confirming that the percentage of affected colonies provides a reliable assessment of the health status of gorgonian populations over broad spatial and temporal scales. Bearing in mind that this metric can be applied to different MHF species, such as sponges, bryozoans and calcareous algae, and by non‐scientific personnel (managers and trained volunteers), its implementation can contribute to inform and enhance the effectiveness of the conservation and management plans for key MHF species at the scale of the Mediterranean Sea.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A rapid assessment method to monitor the health status of habitat‐forming species in coastal benthic ecosystems

Figuerola‐Ferrando,

Garrabou,

Linares

2024

Aquatic Conservation

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“…In each population, we installed a permanent plot of 3 m long and 1 m wide and fixed at the shallowest distribution range of each studied P. clavata patch (15–22 m). Permanent plots were divided into twelve 50×50 cm quadrats, to map the colonies within the transect and to identify new colonies (recruits) (Zentner et al, 2023). In Port-Cros National Park we studied two populations, during two periods from 1999 to 2003, and from 2005 to 2008 (Figure S1).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While we could not include these other MHWs dimensions in our modelling approach, they will likely influence the resilience and viability of octocoral populations. Not only that, we did not simulate the effects of other stressors that can impact these populations, such as diving pressure, storms, or global warming (Hughes et al, 2017;Zentner et al, 2023). In many cases, these multiple stressors interact synergistically (stronger impacts than the sum of their individual effects), 30 further accelerating population declines and resilience loss (Capdevila, Noviello, et al, 2022;Zentner et al, 2023).…”

Section: Impacts Of Increasing the Recurrence Of Mhws On Population V...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine heatwaves favour resistant Mediterranean octocoral populations at the expense of their speed of recovery

Capdevila,

Zentner,

Rovira

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Abstract1. The effects of climate change are now more pervasive than ever. Marine ecosystems have been particularly impacted by climate change, with Marine Heat Waves (MHWs) being a strong driver of mass mortality events. Even in the most optimistic greenhouse gas emission scenarios, MHWs will continue to increase in frequency, intensity, and duration. For this reason, understanding the resilience of marine species to the increase of MHWs is crucial to predicting their viability under future climatic conditions.2. In this study, we explored the consequences of Marine Heatwaves (MHWs) on the resilience of a Mediterranean key octocoral species,Paramuricea clavata, to further disturbances to their population structure. To quantifyP. clavata’s capacity to resist and recover from future disturbances, we used demographic information collected from 1999 to 2022, from two different sites in the NW Mediterranean Sea.3. Our results showed that the differences in the dynamics of populations exposed and those not exposed to MHWs were driven mostly by differences in mean survivorship and growth. We also showed that after MHWsP. clavatapopulations had slower rates of recovery but did not experience changes in resistance. Populations exposed to MHWs had lower resistance elasticity to progression but higher stasis compared to unexposed populations. In contrast, the only demographic process showing some differences when comparing the speed of recovery elasticity values between populations exposed and unexposed to MHWs was stasis. Finally, under scenarios of increasing frequency of MHWs, the extinction ofP. clavatapopulations will accelerate and their capacity to recover after further disturbances will be hampered.4. Overall, these findings confirm that future climatic conditions will make octocoral populations even more vulnerable to further disturbances. These results highlight the importance of limiting local impacts on marine ecosystems to dampen the consequences of climate change.

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“…It is worth noting, however, that with its distance from the mainland, particular hydrographic conditions, and the topographic features of the rocky reef on which it dwells, in addition to the management measures implemented in the CPIHMR, the gorgonian population under study is less exposed than off-reserve populations to other stressors, such as pollution, overfishing, and habitat destruction, that can compromise the corals and make them more vulnerable to heatwave-induced mortality (Coma et al, 2000;Garrabou et al, 2009;Cebrian, Uriz & Garrabou, 2011). In effect, MPAs, although not immune to climate impacts, provide areas of reduced stress to ecosystems and species, enabling the restoration and maintenance of natural processes that alleviate climate impacts and provide ecosystem services (Roberts et al, 2017;Zentner et al, 2023), although it is increasingly obvious that MPAs by themselves will not prevent the deleterious effects of climate change on biodiversity (Bruno et al, 2018;Bruno, Côté & Toth, 2019). Future the ecological responses to human disturbance, and documenting and providing baselines against which changes or extremes can be evaluated (Lindenmayer & Likens, 2010).…”

Section: The Effects Of Concatenated Disruptions On the Conservation ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Recurrent marine heatwaves threaten the resilience and viability of a key Mediterranean octocoral species

Orenes‐Salazar,

Navarro‐Martínez,

Ruíz

et al. 2023

Aquatic Conservation

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Long‐term ecological studies are essential for understanding the resilience of temperate reefs to ocean warming and the response of their habitat‐forming species to recurrent marine heatwaves (MHWs). This study evaluated the long‐term response (2005–2021) of the habitat‐forming octocoral Eunicella singularis (Esper, 1791) to recurrent MHWs in a Mediterranean marine protected area established more than 25 years ago, where restrictions on fishing and diving activities are well enforced. During the study period, there were two mass‐mortality events (MMEs), in 2007 and 2018, that dramatically disrupted the local gorgonian population. The MMEs were triggered by different temperature dynamics, which ultimately led to differential patterns in mortality rates. The record‐breaking MHW in 2018 prompted one of the largest MMEs ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea, which affected 75% of the individuals in the gorgonian population and killed 12.5% of colonies. Furthermore, MHWs were detected in all years from 2014 to 2021, preventing injured tissues from fully recovering, leading to significant accumulated damage at the end of the study period (30 times higher than the levels prior to the first MME), and a marked decrease in resilience that threatens the population viability of this long‐lived species. The octocoral studied is one of the most important structural and biomass contributors to one of the most diverse Mediterranean communities. These results underscore the great risk that annual MHWs pose to the long‐term integrity of the circalittoral rocky bottoms of the Mediterranean coasts. In the face of climate change, MPAs must provide areas of reduced anthropic stress for gorgonian populations, enabling the restoration and maintenance of natural processes. Additionally, MPAs should serve as sentinel areas to test the effectiveness of coral restoration actions, which can help managers and scientists to estimate the usefulness of these techniques.

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Marine protected areas in a changing ocean: Adaptive management can mitigate the synergistic effects of local and climate change impacts

Cited by 16 publications

References 42 publications

A rapid assessment method to monitor the health status of habitat‐forming species in coastal benthic ecosystems

A rapid assessment method to monitor the health status of habitat‐forming species in coastal benthic ecosystems

Marine heatwaves favour resistant Mediterranean octocoral populations at the expense of their speed of recovery

Recurrent marine heatwaves threaten the resilience and viability of a key Mediterranean octocoral species

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