Protection Enhances Community and Habitat Stability: Evidence from a Mediterranean Marine Protected Area

Abstract

Rare evidences support that Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) enhance the stability of marine habitats and assemblages. Based on nine years of observation (2001–2009) inside and outside a well managed MPA, we assessed the potential of conservation and management actions to modify patterns of spatial and/or temporal variability of Posidonia oceanica meadows, the lower midlittoral and the shallow infralittoral rock assemblages. Significant differences in both temporal variations and spatial patterns were observed between protected and unprotected locations. A lower temporal variability in the protected vs. unprotected assemblages was found in the shallow infralittoral, demonstrating that, at least at local scale, protection can enhance community stability. Macrobenthos with long-lived and relatively slow-growing invertebrates and structurally complex algal forms were homogeneously distributed in space and went through little fluctuations in time. In contrast, a mosaic of disturbed patches featured unprotected locations, with small-scale shifts from macroalgal stands to barrens, and harsh temporal variations between the two states. Opposite patterns of spatial and temporal variability were found for the midlittoral assemblages. Despite an overall clear pattern of seagrass regression through time, protected meadows showed a significantly higher shoot density than unprotected ones, suggesting a higher resistance to local human activities. Our results support the assumption that the exclusion/management of human activities within MPAs enhance the stability of the structural components of protected marine systems, reverting or arresting threat-induced trajectories of change.

Long‐term comparison of structure and dynamics of the red coral metapopulation of the Portofino Promontory (Ligurian Sea): a case‐study for a Marine Protected Area in the Mediterranean Sea

“…This evidence underlines the importance of MPAs for the conservation of this species. Until now, a positive 'reserve effect' has been observed mainly for the fish community (Francour 1994;La Mesa & Vacchi 1999;Guidetti 2006;Guidetti et al 2008;La Mesa et al 2011), while controversial data have been obtained for the invertebrate benthic assemblages (Lester et al 2009;Sala et al 2012;Fraschetti et al 2013). Our data are in agreement with the predictions of Linares et al (2010Linares et al ( , 2012 about the development of undisturbed red coral populations in MPAs of the NW Mediterranean Sea.…”

Marine reserves can enhance ecological resilience

“…One reason for weaker and mixed outcomes in diversity is that not all species increase-and some decline-after reserve establishment (Micheli et al 2004b). As detailed in this section, community-level responses Variability in species diversity Decrease S: (Bates et al 2014) Variability/turnover in community assemblage/structure Lower S: (Fraschetti et al 2013, Mellin et al 2014, Wing & Jack 2013 Occurrence of nuisance species outbreaks Lower S: (McCook et al 2010) Resistance to disturbance Inconsistent or unaffected M: (Selig et al 2012, Worm et al 2006 Recovery rate Inconsistent or lower M: (Graham et al 2011, Worm et al 2006 Invasiveness Unaffected M: (Burfeind et al 2013, Guidetti et al 2014 a Increase can refer to a greater value (and decrease a smaller value) inside compared with outside reserves (more common) or after compared with before reserve establishment, depending on the study. b S, single study; M, meta-analysis, in which the response indicated is the cross-study average response, which might vary among studies.…”

Does full protection count for the maintenance of β‐diversity patterns in marine communities? Evidence from Mediterranean fish assemblages

“…Several studies have documented the role of protection in enhancing the recovery trajectories of disturbed assemblages (Bellwood, Hughes, Folke, & Nyström, ; Bevilacqua et al, ; Micheli et al, ; Mumby et al, ), or in increasing their temporal stability (Fraschetti et al, ). However, despite the recognized importance of evaluating direct and indirect effects of protection in modifying patterns of spatial heterogeneity of marine assemblages (Benedetti‐Cecchi et al, ; Charton & Ruzafa, ), very few attempts have been made in this direction (Fraschetti, Guarnieri, Bevilacqua, Terlizzi, & Boero, ; Guarnieri et al, ).…”