The Animal Forest and Its Socio-ecological Connections to Land and Coastal Ecosystems

Arias‐González, Jesús Ernesto; Rivera-Sosa, Andrea; Zaldívar-Rae, Jaime; Alva-Basurto, Christian; Cortés-Useche, Camilo

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-17001-5_33-1

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…However, development for tourism might affect the populations and habitats in Cabo Catoche and Chacmochuch over the next decade in the absence of habitat protection. Encroachment of possible historical spawning beaches in the Nichupté Lagoon System (adjacent to Chacmochuch) by the Cancún hotel zone began in the 1970s (Torres & Momsen, 2005; SEMARNAT‐Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, 2014; Arias‐González et al, 2016). Horseshoe crab sightings in this lagoon system are rare and a recent survey (January, 2020) showed that there is only a small spawning beach left in it (Zaldívar‐Rae, personal observations), indicating that a subpopulation in a large coastal lagoon can decline from functional to present within ~50 years where there is a high human pressure and little conservation.…”

Section: Assessment Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of recovery potential for the American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus): An application of the IUCN green status process

Smith

Brockmann

Carmichael

et al. 2023

Aquatic Conservation

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According to an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessment (RLA), the American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), an iconic coastal species, is at risk of extirpation in some regions within its range where small and vulnerable populations occur. However, the RLA does not consider future status beyond viability and does not attempt to identify the conservation necessary to effectively mitigate threats and recover the species to full ecological functionality. To aid in conservation planning for vulnerable species, the IUCN developed the Green Status of Species assessment (GSA) process to complement the RLA. This paper describes the application of the GSA process to assess the recovery potential of the American horseshoe crab. First, specific Limulus populations within spatial units for conservation were delineated, and their statuses were defined based on viability and ecological functionality. Then conservation actions were identified that would promote recovery and affect their near‐ and long‐term population status under different conservation scenarios. Horseshoe crab conservation has relied on, and will continue to depend on, effective harvest regulation. However, as currently conceived, conservation is not expected to mitigate habitat loss at the scale required to restore range‐wide ecological functionality, primarily because habitat loss is widespread and affected by climate change. Thus, the GSA results, while indicating that there is potential for near‐term recovery gains, reveal that long‐term recovery is in doubt owing to expected loss of habitat. To conserve critical habitats for spawning and early life stages and achieve ecological functionality, it is imperative to identify and develop conservation plans at appropriate spatial scales. Unfortunately, such plans do not currently exist and need to be established. The GSA Green Score can then serve as a metric for monitoring recovery and gauging the effectiveness of conservation implementation.

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Section: Assessment Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of recovery potential for the American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus): An application of the IUCN green status process

Smith

Brockmann

Carmichael

et al. 2023

Aquatic Conservation

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“…This method tested here can be set up for a variety of fish species and seems to be a feasible restoration tool, to increase the benefits of management through the effective implementation that includes long-term ecological and economic synergies (Lirman and Schopmeyer, 2016;Cortés-Useche et al, 2019). Key aspects, such as fisheries policy and water quality treatment in the context of climate change and managing the connectivity of the tropical coastal reefscapes should be considered (Arias-González et al, 2016;Hein et al, 2020;Schmidt-Roach et al, 2020;Cortés-Useche et al, 2021). paper, and approved the final draft.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Capture, Culture and Release of Postlarvae Fishes: Proof-of-Concept as a Tool Approach to Support Reef Management

et al. 2021

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The changing world presents negative impacts on marine ecosystems and has led to the development of diversified tools to support reef restoration. Harnessing restoration to achieve success needs innovative techniques that also address the restoration of reef fish assemblages, contributing to the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem functions and also tackle the cost-effectiveness through impact-driven solutions. Here, we propose a proof-of-concept for enhancing fish populations on reefs using: (1) postlarvae capture, (2) aquarium culture, and (3) release to reef sites. We conducted field studies in the Mexican Caribbean to analyze for the first time, the possibility of using the capture and aquarium culture of postlarvae fish species and release of juveniles as a tool for the potential recovery of reef biodiversity resilience. We tested the potential of postlarvae capture using two distinct night light traps (BOX and collect by artificial reef ecofriendly traps, C.A.R.E.) in three sampling sites with different distances from shoreline and depth. We collected 748 postlarvae reef fishes from eight orders, 20 families, and 40 species. Acanthuridae, Pomacentridae, Monacanthidae, and Tetraodontidae comprised the highest species number of postlarvae families. We also set up a pilot release experiment with Stegastes partitus using two trials (32 and 1 day after capture) and propose analysis to determine appropriate reef sites to release the cultured juveniles and to aid ecological planning. We present the results of the pilot release experiment with S. partitus, showing that there is a positive effect in survivorship during the capture (80%) and release (76–100%) procedures into suitable habitat and good chance that more studies will bring novelty to the field. Although trials carried out with more species relevant to restoration will be needed. The use of these techniques can be a great opportunity to improve the research of restoration efforts in the Caribbean region with fish-depleted coral reefs with vulnerable food webs, especially at local scales and supporting other management strategies.

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“…These datasets being accumulated, may, in the future, be used to explain appropriate effects of land-based runoff and facilitate the ability to track these changes. Long-term water quality surveys have shown explanatory variables for reef condition and therefore, would be important to continue broadening the spatio-temporal water quality sampling, and incorporate additional significantly important nutrients (Nitrogen and Phosphorus) or dissolved organic carbon (DOC) ( Arias-González et al, 2016 ). Taking into account the importance of water quality in regulating the cycling of nutrients ( Woodhead et al, 2019 ), maintaining and/or recovering water quality might be a potential key driver for coral recovery for Caribbean reefs ( Pawlik, Burkepile & Thurber, 2016 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation actions and ecological context: optimizing coral reef local management in the Dominican Republic

Cortés-Useche

Hernández-Delgado

Calle-Triviño

et al. 2021

PeerJ

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Over the past few decades, coral reef ecosystems have been lost at accelerated rates as a result of global climate change and local stressors. Local management schemes can help improve the condition of coral reefs by enhancing their ecosystem recovery capacity. Caribbean conservation efforts include mitigation of local anthropogenic stressors, and integrating social participation. Here, we analyzed the case of the Bayahibe reefs in the Southeastern (SE) Dominican Republic to identify conservation actions and illustrate a conceptual example of local seascape management. We assessed reef health indicators from 2011 to 2016. Overall, our results show increases in total fish biomass, in both commercial and herbivorous fishes. Mean live coral cover was 31% and fleshy macroalgae was 23% after multiple disturbances such as Hurricanes Sandy and Isaac (2012), Mathew (2016) and heat stress presented in the study area in 2015. We also described actions taken by stakeholders and government institutions, including the implementation of a policy declaring an area of 869,000 ha as a marine protected area (MPA), enhanced water quality treatment, local restrictions to vessel traffic, enforcement of fishing regulations, and the removal of invasive lionfish (Pterois spp.). In addition, a restoration program for the threatened staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) was established in 2011, and currently has eight coral nurseries and six outplanting sites. Considering the biology and ecology of these reefs, we observed good results for these indicators (live coral cover, fish biomass, and water quality) in contrast with severely degraded Caribbean reefs, suggesting that optimizing local management may be a useful example for improving reef condition. Our results provide an overview of trends in reef condition in the SE Dominican Republic and could support current strategies to better protect reefs in the region. Given that Caribbean coral reefs face extreme challenges from global climate change, management measures may improve reef conditions across the region but stronger policy processes and increased scientific knowledge are needed for the successful management of coral reefs.

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The Animal Forest and Its Socio-ecological Connections to Land and Coastal Ecosystems

Cited by 5 publications

References 70 publications

Assessment of recovery potential for the American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus): An application of the IUCN green status process

Assessment of recovery potential for the American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus): An application of the IUCN green status process

Capture, Culture and Release of Postlarvae Fishes: Proof-of-Concept as a Tool Approach to Support Reef Management

Conservation actions and ecological context: optimizing coral reef local management in the Dominican Republic

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