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Canty SWJ, Nowakowski AJ, Cox CE, Valdivia A, Holstein DM, Limer B, Lefcheck JS, Craig N, Drysdale I, Giro A, Soto M, McField M. Interplay of management and environmental drivers shifts size structure of reef fish communities. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17257. [PMID: 38572701 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Countries are expanding marine protected area (MPA) networks to mitigate fisheries declines and support marine biodiversity. However, MPA impact evaluations typically assess total fish biomass. Here, we examine how fish biomass disaggregated by adult and juvenile life stages responds to environmental drivers, including sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies and human footprint, and multiple management types at 139 reef sites in the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) region. We found that total fish biomass generally appears stable across the region from 2006 to 2018, with limited rebuilding of fish stocks in MPAs. However, the metric of total fish biomass masked changes in fish community structure, with lower adult than juvenile fish biomass at northern sites, and adult:juvenile ratios closer to 1:1 at southern sites. These shifts were associated with different responses of juvenile and adult fish to environmental drivers and management. Juvenile fish biomass increased at sites with high larval connectivity and coral cover, whereas adult fish biomass decreased at sites with greater human footprint and SST anomalies. Adult fish biomass decreased primarily in Honduran general use zones, which suggests insufficient protection for adult fish in the southern MAR. There was a north-south gradient in management and environmental drivers, with lower coverage of fully protected areas and higher SST anomalies and coastal development in the south that together may undermine the maintenance of adult fish biomass in the southern MAR. Accounting for the interplay between environmental drivers and management in the design of MPAs is critical for increasing fish biomass across life history stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven W J Canty
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, Maryland, USA
| | - A Justin Nowakowski
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, Maryland, USA
- Moore Center for Science, Conservation International, Arlington, Virginia, USA
| | | | - Abel Valdivia
- World Wildlife Fund, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Daniel M Holstein
- Department of Oceanography and Coastal Studies, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
| | - Benjamin Limer
- Department of Oceanography and Coastal Studies, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
| | - Jonathan S Lefcheck
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, Maryland, USA
- University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge, Maryland, USA
| | - Nicole Craig
- Healthy Reefs Initiative, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
| | - Ian Drysdale
- Healthy Reefs Initiative, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
| | - Ana Giro
- Healthy Reefs Initiative, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
| | - Mélina Soto
- Healthy Reefs Initiative, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
| | - Melanie McField
- Healthy Reefs Initiative, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
- Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, Florida, USA
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Iacarella JC, Burke L, Clyde G, Wicks A, Clavelle T, Dunham A, Rubidge E, Woods P. Monitoring temporal and spatial trends of illegal and legal fishing in marine conservation areas across Canada's three oceans. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.12919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Josephine C. Iacarella
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Cultus Lake Labs Cultus Lake British Columbia V2R 5B6 Canada
| | - Lily Burke
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada Institute of Ocean Sciences Sidney British Columbia V8L 4B2 Canada
| | - Georgia Clyde
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada Institute of Ocean Sciences Sidney British Columbia V8L 4B2 Canada
| | - Adam Wicks
- Ebb and Flow Analytics 199 Petworth Drive Victoria British Columbia V9E 1J4 Canada
| | - Tyler Clavelle
- Global Fishing Watch 1025 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite 200 Washington DC 20036 USA
| | - Anya Dunham
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada Pacific Biological Station Nanaimo British Columbia V9T 6N7 Canada
| | - Emily Rubidge
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada Institute of Ocean Sciences Sidney British Columbia V8L 4B2 Canada
| | - Paul Woods
- Global Fishing Watch 1025 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite 200 Washington DC 20036 USA
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Iacarella JC, Burke L, Clyde G, Wicks A, Clavelle T, Dunham A, Rubidge E, Woods P. Application of AIS‐ and flyover‐based methods to monitor illegal and legal fishing in Canada's Pacific marine conservation areas. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.12926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Josephine C. Iacarella
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Cultus Lake Labs Cultus Lake British Columbia V2R 5B6 Canada
| | - Lily Burke
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Institute of Ocean Sciences Sidney British Columbia V8L 5T5 Canada
| | - Georgia Clyde
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Institute of Ocean Sciences Sidney British Columbia V8L 5T5 Canada
| | - Adam Wicks
- Ebb and Flow Analytics 199 Petworth Dr Victoria British Columbia V9E 1J4 Canada
| | - Tyler Clavelle
- Global Fishing Watch 1025 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 200 Washington District of Columbia 20036 USA
| | - Anya Dunham
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Biological Station Nanaimo British Columbia V9T 6N7 Canada
| | - Emily Rubidge
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Institute of Ocean Sciences Sidney British Columbia V8L 5T5 Canada
| | - Paul Woods
- Global Fishing Watch 1025 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 200 Washington District of Columbia 20036 USA
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Plastic ingestion by carnivore fish in a neotropical floodplain: seasonal and interspecific variations. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2023; 30:40712-40723. [PMID: 36622599 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-25135-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Some studies have shown that freshwater ecosystems are polluted in a similar proportion to marine ecosystems; however, there are many gaps to be filled in this topic. Here, we investigated whether plastics were consumed by carnivore fishes in a Neotropical floodplain and whether it was connected to seasonality (dry and wet seasons). We also evaluated the association between each type of plastic and the fish species. We analyzed the gastrointestinal contents of 23 species and assessed the occurrence and number of plastic particles. Plastics were obtained through chemical digestion and the spectrum of each sample, using a FT-IR imaging microscope. We performed a correspondence analysis (CA) with plastic data to assess the relationship between each type of plastic and the fish species. We also performed linear regression models to assess the relationships of occurrence and number of plastics ingested with seasonality. Nine species had plastics in their gastrointestinal contents, and they were identified as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyamide (PA), polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), and polypropylene (PP). The number of plastics had a positive relationship with the wet season, while the occurrence did not show a significant relationship with any season. These results are particularly important when considering the socioeconomic relevance and the ecological importance of this trophic guild.
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Ferreira HM, Magris RA, Floeter SR, Ferreira CEL. Drivers of ecological effectiveness of marine protected areas: A meta-analytic approach from the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean (Brazil). JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 301:113889. [PMID: 34610560 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
With the rapid global increase in the number and extent of marine protected areas (MPAs), there is a need for methods that enable an assessment of their actual contribution to biodiversity conservation. In Brazil, where MPAs have been designated to replenish biodiversity, there is a lack of regional-scale analysis of MPA impacts and the factors related to positive ecological change. This study aims to quantify the magnitude of the ecological effects of Brazilian MPAs and test whether some study and MPA characteristics (e.g., taxonomic group studied, exploitation level of species, MPA area, protection time, management effectiveness, level of connectedness, etc.) were underlying factors associated with their performance. We conducted a structured search in a database of scientific articles, selecting comparative studies of direct biodiversity metrics inside and outside MPAs offering different protection levels (i.e., fully- or partially-protected MPAs) or within MPAs with distinct zones. We then carried out a meta-analysis based on 424 observations found in 18 articles. Averaged across all studies, we found that MPAs had a 17% increase in the abundance of species, length of individuals, and community diversity. When compared to open-access areas, fully-protected MPAs increased biodiversity by 45%. However, MPAs offering partial protection had variable effects, ranging from significant positive to significant negative effects. MPA effects depended on the taxonomic group and exploitation level of species, with the strongest positive effects seen on exploited fish species and benthic invertebrates. Partially-protected MPAs that reported strong positive effects required long time of protection (>15years) and high level of connectivity. Conversely, fully-protected MPAs (i.e., no-take ones) could be effective even when small, under intense fishing pressure in their surroundings, and regardless of their level of connectivity. We used the Brazilian MPAs as a case study, but these results can contribute to a more comprehensive assessment of the association between ecological impacts of MPAs and drivers of conservation success, and offer key information to consolidate MPA networks that sustain biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harildon M Ferreira
- Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, Ministry of Environment, Brasilia, Brazil.
| | - Rafael A Magris
- Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, Ministry of Environment, Brasilia, Brazil
| | - Sergio R Floeter
- Marine Macroecology and Biogeography Laboratory, Department of Ecology and Zoology, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil
| | - Carlos E L Ferreira
- Reef Systems Ecology and Conservation Lab, Departamento de Biologia Marinha, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Rojo I, Anadón JD, García-Charton JA. Exceptionally high but still growing predatory reef fish biomass after 23 years of protection in a Marine Protected Area. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0246335. [PMID: 33556064 PMCID: PMC7870052 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) help replenish fish assemblages, though different trophic levels may show diverse recovery patterns. Long-term protection is required to achieve total recovery but poaching events may prevent the achievement of full carrying capacity. Here, we have analysed the effect of long-term protection on the entire reef fish community and the different trophic levels in the Cabo de Palos-Islas Hormigas MPA (SE Spain; SW Mediterranean Sea) in order to assess their recovery patterns after 23 years of protection. We compared the values for carrying capacity obtained with the maximum values achieved at regional scale, and we assessed the effect of a reduction in the surveillance over a few years, during which poaching events increased, on the recovery patterns. We found that, overall, biomass of fishes increased with time while density diminished. In particular, piscivorous and macro-invertivore fish increased while the other trophic groups remained constant or declined, suggesting top-down processes. For the entire study period, those trophic groups were approaching carrying capacity; however, when accounting only for the period in which enforcement was high and constant, they grew exponentially, indicating that full carrying capacity may have not been achieved yet. When compared to other Mediterranean MPAs, the Cabo de Palos-Islas Hormigas MPA showed values for biomass that were disproportionately higher, suggesting that local factors, such as habitat structure and associated oceanographic processes, may be responsible for the dynamics found. Our results help to understand the potential trajectories of fish assemblages over a consolidated MPA and highlight empirically how the reduction of surveillance in a period may change the recovery patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Rojo
- Departamento de Ecología e Hidrología, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - José Daniel Anadón
- Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Zaragoza, Spain
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