The area–heterogeneity tradeoff applied to spatial protection of rockfish (Sebastes spp.) species richness

Abstract

The "area-heterogeneity tradeoff" hypothesis predicts unimodal effects of habitat heterogeneity on species richness, implying that habitats with intermediate heterogeneity may be priority for spatial protection. Alternatively, if heterogeneity effects are positive, then protecting the most heterogeneous habitats may take precedence. We tested for unimodal effects of habitat heterogeneity on the species density (area-corrected richness) of rockfishes (Sebastes spp.): long-lived, benthic fishes vulnerable to overexploitation. Inconsistent with predictions, topographic structural complexity had a strong linear effect on species density; other heterogeneity measures had weaker, positive effects and the only unimodal effect (depth range) was weak. The clear implication is that, to protect the highest density of rockfish species, marine protected areas should include the most topographically complex substrates. Our results can also help refine and test species distribution models needed to inform spatial planning where in situ surveys are lacking. The area-heterogeneity tradeoff generates useful predictions for which support may be context-dependent. K E Y W O R D Sarea-heterogeneity tradeoff, biogenic structural complexity, cold water corals, glass sponges, marine protected area network, Northern Shelf Bioregion, Sebastes, spatial protection, species richness, topographic structural complexityThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Growth parameter k and location affect body size responses to spatial protection by exploited rockfishes

“…A tradeoff is that size estimates that may have spanned 2-3 cm (had fish been sized individually) were collapsed into a single measurement inflating peaks in the frequency of that measurement (see Analyses). For further details on dive surveys, see Frid et al (2018).…”

“…Canada is among the countries where Indigenous people are using their traditional knowledge and science to improve marine conservation (Jones, Rigg & Lee, 2010;Ban et al, 2018;Ban, Wilson & Neasloss, 2020). Since 2013, the Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance (CCIRA)-comprised of the Wuikinuxv, Nuxalk, Heiltsuk and Kitasoo/Xai'xais First Nations-has been surveying rockfish populations and their habitats (Frid et al, 2018) inside and outside RCAs of British Columbia's Central Coast ( Fig. 1; Appendix S2).…”

Hotspots for rockfishes, structural corals, and large-bodied sponges along the central coast of Pacific Canada

“…1) and are among the Indigenous governance partners for the MPA network. Collaborating under the umbrella of the Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance (CCIRA), since 2013 they have been using fishery-independent methods (dive and towed video transects, hook and line sampling) to survey biodiversity features in their territories [30][31][32] . The surveys encompass oceanic and inland waters at depths of 5 m to 200 m. Additionally, research in 2018 included a collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO: the federal aquatic ecosystem and resource management agency)-which contributed technical capacity and infrastructure (large vessel, crew, and the towed video camera described by Gale et al 33 ) to sample depths of 200 m to 500 m.…”

“…The surveys have targeted locations where fish of cultural significance, such as rockfish (Sebastes spp. ), are expected on the basis of local Indigenous knowledge, yet have also documented foundation species, such as structural corals (i.e., taxa that are erect and branching, including the orders Antipatharia, Alcyonacea, and Anthoathecata) and large-bodied sponges (taxa that are erect and vase-or mound-shaped, including the classes Hexactinellidae and Demospongiae) 30 . The data span three distinct oceanographic areas, known as Upper Ocean Subregions (UOS) 34 (Fig.…”

Peer Review #1 of "Growth parameter k and location affect body size responses to spatial protection by exploited rockfishes (v0.1)"

“…Canada is among the countries where Indigenous people are using their traditional knowledge and science to improve marine conservation (Jones, Rigg & Lee, 2010;Ban et al, 2018;Ban, Wilson & Neasloss, 2020). Since 2013, the Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance (CCIRA)-comprised of the Wuikinuxv, Nuxalk, Heiltsuk and Kitasoo/Xai'xais First Nations-has been surveying rockfish populations and their habitats (Frid et al, 2018) inside and outside RCAs of British Columbia's Central Coast ( Fig. 1; Appendix S2).…”