No-take areas as an effective tool to restore urchin barrens on subtropical rocky reefs

Sangil, Carlos; Clemente, Sabrina; Martín-García, Laura; Hernández, José Carlos

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2012.07.025

Cited by 34 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…low trophic level) species. Owing to the protection against fishing, an increment of predators of the barren-ground founder sea urchin Diadema africana (Rodríguez et al, 2013) have been observed; subsequent depletion of the latter and further recovery of erect algae together with herbivorous fish species represents an already well-studied trophic cascade effect (Sangil et al, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farming-up coastal fish assemblages through a massive aquaculture escape event

Toledo-Guedes

Sánchez-Jérez

Benjumea

et al. 2014

Marine Environmental Research

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1 2We investigated the changes on the mean trophic level of fish assemblages across 3 different spatiotemporal scales, before and after a massive escape event occurred off La 4 Palma (Canary Islands), which resulted in the release of 1.5 million fish (mostly 5Dicentrarchus labrax) into the wild. The presence of escaped fish altered significantly 6 the mean trophic level of fish assemblages in shallow coastal waters. This alteration was 7 exacerbated by the massive escape. A nearby marine protected area buffered the 8 changes in mean trophic level but exhibited the same temporal patterns as highly fished 9 areas. Moreover, escaped fish exploited natural resources according to their total length 10 and possibly, time since escapement. New concerns arise as a "farming up" process is 11 detected in shallow coastal fish assemblages where marine aquaculture is established. 12 13

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farming-up coastal fish assemblages through a massive aquaculture escape event

Toledo-Guedes

Sánchez-Jérez

Benjumea

et al. 2014

Marine Environmental Research

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“…trophic cascades). However, not much evidence supports NTZs as effective enough to restore degraded ecosystems (Huntington et al ; Sangil et al ; Toth et al ; Cox et al ). The natural variability on species dynamics and ecological interactions limit recovery benefits only after long‐term periods (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several control measures to reduce sea urchin abundance such as eradication have been also described to actively restore the sea urchin barren grounds (Leighton et al ; Watanuki et al ; Sangil et al ; Piazzi & Ceccherelli ). Despite these efforts, attempts to recover macroalgal beds from sea urchin barren grounds remain challenging due to the high hysteresis of stable barren state and the difficulty of reestablishing populations of natural predators and consequent trophic cascades (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From marine deserts to algal beds: Treptacantha elegans revegetation to reverse stable degraded ecosystems inside and outside a No‐Take marine reserve

Medrano

Hereu

Cleminson

et al. 2020

Restoration Ecology

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Canopy-forming algae play a key role in temperate coastal ecosystems sustaining complex habitats that provide food and refuge for rich associated biotic communities. These macroalgae are in decline in many coastal areas, where overgrazing by herbivores can lead to the loss of these highly structured and diverse habitats toward less complex sea urchin barren grounds. Once established, low productive barren grounds are considered stable states maintained by several positive feedback mechanisms that prevent the recovery of marine forests. To revert this global decline, restoration efforts and measures are being encouraged by EU regulations and local actions. Here, we tested the success of active revegetation techniques as a tool to promote functional and productive Treptacantha elegans forests in sea urchin barren grounds under different restoration strategies (active, and combined active with passive strategies). Active revegetation was performed in 6 barren grounds, 3 located inside a Mediterranean No-Take marine reserve (active and passive strategy) and 3 outside (active strategy alone), following a three-step protocol: (1) sea urchin population eradication, (2) seeding with Treptacantha elegans, and (3) enhancement of T. elegans recruitment. Revegetation success was assessed 1 year later in the six barren grounds, but was only achieved after combining active with passive restoration strategies. Our results encourage revegetation of barren grounds to shift from less productive habitats to complex T. elegans forests, highlight the potential of the combined passive and active restoration strategies, as well as the important role of marine reserves not only in conservation but also in ecological restoration.

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“…Even where regulations already prohibit the extraction of fishes and mollusks, insufficient regulation enforcement needs to be considered of paramount importance; particularly in isolated sites with limited possibilities of receiving exogenous recruitment. The extraction of seaurchin predators by shallow-water netting has been correlated in other Macaronesian archipelagos with the spreading of sea-urchin populations and the formation of encrusting algae facies ("blanquizales") (e.g., Sangil et al, 2012;Tuya et al, 2004). This type of assemblage has already been detected in the infralittoral area of the Formigas Bank alongside with a general reduction of the previously lush Cystoseira coverage in the upper infralittoral down to 20 m depth (F. Tempera, own observations).…”

Section: Regulatory Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%