Rock lobster biology and ecology: contributions to understanding through the Leigh Marine Laboratory 1962–2012

MacDiarmid, A; Freeman, Deborah; Kelly, Shane

doi:10.1080/00288330.2013.810651

Cited by 11 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…If lobster populations within reserves continue to decline and decrease to levels found in neighboring fished areas, a number of ecological and scientific consequences may be expected. New Zealand lobster populations in fished areas have become reduced to levels where the species can be characterized as ecologically extinct (MacDiarmid, Freeman, & Kelly, 2013). In other words, lobsters no longer play an important role as predators in these systems; the expansion of urchin barrens provides evidence of this (Shears & Babcock, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small marine reserves do not provide a safeguard against overfishing

LaScala-Gruenewald

Grace

Haggitt

et al. 2021

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Marine reserves aim to protect harvested species within their boundaries and can therefore provide insurance against the effects of overfishing. To evaluate whether marine reserves are meeting this expectation, we compiled over 40 years of rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) monitoring data and examined long-term trends in three relatively small marine reserves (c.4-8 km 2) in northern New Zealand, a region that has experienced large-scale declines in the fishery over the last decade. In all three reserves, lobster density initially increased by at least a factor of three following protection. However, over the last 10 years, lobster populations have experienced large declines in all three reserves with densities now 59-80%, and spawning stock biomass (SSB) now 51-86%, below historic levels. Using peak lobster density in each reserve as an unfished reference point, current densities on fished reefs are <15% of unfished levels and SSB is currently only 3-12% of peak population biomass in reserves. These results highlight the poor state of the wider stock and declines in the reserves follow regional declines in catch-perunit-effort in the fishery, suggesting that lobster populations within these reserves are not fully protected from fishing. Adult J. edwardsii are known to undertake seasonal foraging excursions that carry them beyond the offshore boundaries of these reserves where they are susceptible to fishing-related mortality. We propose that the observed declines are likely a result of direct harvest of individuals beyond reserve boundaries and that larger reserves which encompass both a species' longshore and offshore movements are needed. K E Y W O R D S fishing the line, Jasus edwardsii, marine protected areas, marine reserve design, offshore movement, spillover 1 | INTRODUCTION Coastal marine ecosystems are critically important habitats that are under increasing pressure due to overfishing,

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small marine reserves do not provide a safeguard against overfishing

LaScala-Gruenewald

Grace

Haggitt

et al. 2021

Conservat Sci and Prac

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“…As such it encapsulates the evolution in research perspectives at the LML from local to global issues. The role of the LML in facilitating and leading research into spiny lobsters more generally is covered in detail by MacDiarmid et al (2013).…”

Section: Resource Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leigh Marine Laboratory contributions to marine conservation

Babcock¹

2013

New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research

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The Leigh Marine Laboratory (LML) has taken full advantage of its location on the shores of one of the world's first no-take marine reserves. The foresight of the founders of the laboratory has enabled the pursuit of ecological studies that have been amongst the first to demonstrate the effectiveness of reserves as a tool for conservation and restoration. The insights flowing from this work at Leigh are important, not only for targeted marine species, but also at the ecosystem level, and have proven to be highly relevant to broader resource management issues. Novel methodologies have been employed in the pursuit of these aims, helping to popularise their wider use. More recent work has focused on understanding the processes underlying the variability in response to marine conservation in marine reserves across the spectrum of coastal marine habitats in New Zealand. The LML has probably exceeded the expectations of its founders, who hoped the laboratory might generate information of interest in the fields of 'resource management, food web dynamics and natural fluctuations distinct from man-induced changes', and its contribution in the field of marine conservation has been significant both within New Zealand and internationally. This has been a 50-year journey that has gone from a focus on local effects of conservation to the broader context, from direct effects of protection to indirect effects, and from small-scale spatial conservation management to ecosystem-based management.

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“…Refinement of these techniques led to classic papers on the design of subtidal surveys (e.g. McCormick & Choat 1987), and enabled pioneering studies of reef fishes (Jones 2013) and lobsters (MacDiarmid 2013). Some of the lessons learned here have been forgotten by some subsequent workers, for example the importance of stratifying by depth when examining fishÁ habitat relationships.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%