The spatial context of “winning” in MPA network design: Location matters

Kough, Andrew S.; Paris, Claire B.; Butler, Mark J.

doi:10.1111/conl.12455

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Lobsters make daily movements of hundreds of metres (Bertelsen & Hornbeck, 2009) as well as seasonal and ontogenic migrations towards deeper habitat (Butler, Steneck & Herrnkind, 2006), but the scale of these movements is far smaller than dispersal during their larval phase (Kough, Paris & Butler, 2013). Population genetics and biophysical modelling suggest that Bahamian lobsters are relatively isolated (Truelove et al, 2017a); thus, local management to promote spawning biomass is potentially effective, unlike much of the Caribbean that is likely dependent on exogenous recruitment (Kough, Paris & Butler, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anthropause shows differential influence of tourism and a no‐take reserve on the abundance and size of two fished species

Kough

Gutzler

Tuttle

et al. 2022

Aquatic Conservation

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Marine reserves are essential spatial conservation tools that have been shown to work alongside fishery management strategies to provide benefits to ecosystems and communities. Reserves often incentivize local tourism, which can provide the impetus for reserve creation but may have negative impacts on the ecosystem. The COVID‐19 pandemic paused global travel and provided an unprecedented opportunity to compare short‐term changes in exploited populations, during the reprieve from visitation provided by this ‘anthropause’, with the results of long‐term conservation management. Repeated surveys of Caribbean spiny lobster and Nassau grouper were conducted at popular dive and snorkel locations within a Bahamian no‐take reserve and surrounding areas during peak visitation prior to travel restrictions and immediately after restrictions were lifted. Repeated survey results were referenced against surveys over a broader area, including another Bahamian Bank, to examine the consistency of effects and how the ease of access for fishers impacted abundance. In the reserve, lobsters were encountered in significantly greater abundances, and significantly greater sizes of both lobster and grouper were observed in repeated surveys. Significantly more grouper were encountered during the repeated survey within the reserve after travel restrictions, but lobster abundances did not change significantly. Over a broader scale, lobster abundance was significantly greater further from population centres. Observed lobster abundance was affected by habitat and inferred fishing pressure, whereas observed grouper abundance was affected by survey depth, effort, and habitat. Marine reserves had clear benefits for both species and likely facilitated an increase in grouper abundance during the anthropause. Lobsters are a sustainably managed stock in The Bahamas, whereas grouper are a threatened species that appear to have benefited from an unplanned fishery restriction. Well‐managed marine reserves enhance populations long term and can have additive effects with fisheries management over short timescales.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Population genetics and biophysical modelling suggest that Bahamian lobsters are relatively isolated (Truelove et al, 2017a); thus, local management to promote spawning biomass is potentially effective, unlike much of the Caribbean that is likely dependent on exogenous recruitment (Kough, Paris & Butler, 2018).…”

Section: Abundance Beyond Tourist Destinationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropause shows differential influence of tourism and a no‐take reserve on the abundance and size of two fished species

Kough

Gutzler

Tuttle

et al. 2022

Aquatic Conservation

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“…Assessing the effect of implementing reserves for fisheries management could be useful in nations or ecoregions that are currently predicted to be non‐persistent when harvested. It is important to recognize that reserves are not a universally applicable management tool, and may not be advisable in nations or ecoregions with very low larval retention (Kough, Paris, & Butler, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population models reveal unexpected patterns of local persistence despite widespread larval dispersal in a highly exploited species

Garavelli

White

Chollett

et al. 2018

CONSERVATION LETTERS

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Nearshore marine populations are structured in metapopulations that are connected through larval dispersal across national boundaries. One of the main challenges for effective management of these metapopulations is the need for partnerships between nations that share the same resource. By coupling large-scale connectivity information to a dynamic population model, we analyzed the patterns of connectivity and population persistence for the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) metapopulation both within and across national boundaries. Although spiny lobster subpopulations are highly connected at the basin scale, several nations located in the northern Caribbean and ecoregional networks could persist independently of the larger basinwide metapopulation. Based on these results, we propose transnational neighborhoods for spiny lobster management. Our analysis suggests that the dynamics and management of those subpopulations neighborhoods are not intrinsically dependent on "upstream" connectivity even though current rates of upstream larval supply are very high. K E Y W O R D Sfisheries, larval connectivity, Panulirus argus, persistence, population models, transboundary managementThis 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.

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“…Larval recruitment and connectivity are primary drivers governing marine population and stock dynamics (Hjort, 1914; Houde, 2008), and as such are increasingly being considered in the study and conservation of marine ecosystems, and in particular in the design of MPAs networks due to the importance of location (Kough et al ., 2018; Balbar and Metaxas, 2019). In the current paper we performed a comprehensive connectivity analysis for the Eastern Mediterranean, focusing on the proposed Israeli MPAs network.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proposed network of Marine Protected Areas supports larval dispersal and connectivity in the Eastern Mediterranean

Berenshtein,

Stern,

Tagar

et al. 2024

Preprint

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The marine environment of the Eastern Mediterranean is under growing threat due to natural and anthropogenic stressors. Networks of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are effective tools in protecting marine environments and conserving their biodiversity. Currently, only 4% of the Israeli territorial waters are declared as MPAs, however six new MPAs, which will encompass more than 20% of the Israeli territorial waters, are planned. A central component in the effectiveness of MPAs is the degree to which the protected populations are connected. The purpose of our study is performing a comprehensive connectivity analysis for the proposed network of MPAs. We find that the proposed network substantially supports local and regional larval connectivity patterns for five target species in terms of the number of recruits, betweenness centrality, as well as the number of regional and local MPAs connections. Overall, the results provide strong support for the efficiency of the proposed MPAs in facilitating local and regional larval connectivity. Our findings will be useful for marine spatial planning and natural resource management and will enhance the protection and conservation of our marine environment.

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The spatial context of “winning” in MPA network design: Location matters

Cited by 4 publications

References 5 publications

Anthropause shows differential influence of tourism and a no‐take reserve on the abundance and size of two fished species

Anthropause shows differential influence of tourism and a no‐take reserve on the abundance and size of two fished species

Population models reveal unexpected patterns of local persistence despite widespread larval dispersal in a highly exploited species

Proposed network of Marine Protected Areas supports larval dispersal and connectivity in the Eastern Mediterranean

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