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Goetze JS, Heithaus MR, MacNeil MA, Harvey E, Simpfendorfer CA, Heupel MR, Meekan M, Wilson S, Bond ME, Speed CW, Currey-Randall LM, Fisher R, Sherman CS, Kiszka JJ, Rees MJ, Udyawer V, Flowers KI, Clementi GM, Asher J, Beaufort O, Bernard ATF, Berumen ML, Bierwagen SL, Boslogo T, Brooks EJ, Brown JJ, Buddo D, Cáceres C, Casareto S, Charloo V, Cinner JE, Clua EEG, Cochran JEM, Cook N, D'Alberto BM, de Graaf M, Dornhege-Lazaroff MC, Fanovich L, Farabaugh NF, Fernando D, Ferreira CEL, Fields CYA, Flam AL, Floros C, Fourqurean V, Barcia LG, Garla R, Gastrich K, George L, Graham R, Hagan V, Hardenstine RS, Heck SM, Heithaus P, Henderson AC, Hertler H, Hueter RE, Johnson M, Jupiter SD, Kaimuddin M, Kasana D, Kelley M, Kessel ST, Kiilu B, Kyne F, Langlois T, Lawe J, Lédée EJI, Lindfield S, Maggs JQ, Manjaji-Matsumoto BM, Marshall A, Matich P, McCombs E, McLean D, Meggs L, Moore S, Mukherji S, Murray R, Newman SJ, O'Shea OR, Osuka KE, Papastamatiou YP, Perera N, Peterson BJ, Pina-Amargós F, Ponzo A, Prasetyo A, Quamar LMS, Quinlan JR, Razafindrakoto CF, Rolim FA, Ruiz-Abierno A, Ruiz H, Samoilys MA, Sala E, Sample WR, Schärer-Umpierre M, Schoen SN, Schlaff AM, Smith ANH, Sparks L, Stoffers T, Tanna A, Torres R, Travers MJ, Valentin-Albanese J, Warren JD, Watts AM, Wen CK, Whitman ER, Wirsing AJ, Zarza-González E, Chapman DD. Directed conservation of the world's reef sharks and rays. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:1118-1128. [PMID: 38769434 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02386-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Many shark populations are in decline around the world, with severe ecological and economic consequences. Fisheries management and marine protected areas (MPAs) have both been heralded as solutions. However, the effectiveness of MPAs alone is questionable, particularly for globally threatened sharks and rays ('elasmobranchs'), with little known about how fisheries management and MPAs interact to conserve these species. Here we use a dedicated global survey of coral reef elasmobranchs to assess 66 fully protected areas embedded within a range of fisheries management regimes across 36 countries. We show that conservation benefits were primarily for reef-associated sharks, which were twice as abundant in fully protected areas compared with areas open to fishing. Conservation benefits were greatest in large protected areas that incorporate distinct reefs. However, the same benefits were not evident for rays or wide-ranging sharks that are both economically and ecologically important while also threatened with extinction. We show that conservation benefits from fully protected areas are close to doubled when embedded within areas of effective fisheries management, highlighting the importance of a mixed management approach of both effective fisheries management and well-designed fully protected areas to conserve tropical elasmobranch assemblages globally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan S Goetze
- Marine Science Program, Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
| | - Michael R Heithaus
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | - M Aaron MacNeil
- Ocean Frontier Institute, Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Euan Harvey
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Colin A Simpfendorfer
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Michelle R Heupel
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mark Meekan
- The UWA Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Shaun Wilson
- Marine Science Program, Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- The UWA Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Mark E Bond
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | - Conrad W Speed
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | | | - Rebecca Fisher
- The UWA Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - C Samantha Sherman
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jeremy J Kiszka
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | - Matthew J Rees
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- Centre for Sustainable Ecosystems Solutions, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Vinay Udyawer
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
| | - Kathryn I Flowers
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
- Ray Biology and Conservation Program, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, USA
| | - Gina M Clementi
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | - Jacob Asher
- Department of Environmental Protection and Regeneration, Red Sea Global, AlRaidah Digital City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Anthony T F Bernard
- South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, National Research Foundation, Makhanda, South Africa
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa
| | - Michael L Berumen
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Stacy L Bierwagen
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Tracey Boslogo
- Papua New Guinea Wildlife Conservation Society, Kavieng, New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea
| | - Edward J Brooks
- Cape Eleuthera Institute, Cape Eleuthera, Eleuthera, Bahamas
| | - J Jed Brown
- Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Dayne Buddo
- Georgia Aquarium - Research and Conservation, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Camila Cáceres
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | - Sara Casareto
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | | | - Joshua E Cinner
- Thriving Oceans Research Hub, School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Eric E G Clua
- Paris Sciences Lettres, Centre de Recherche Insulaire et Observatoire de l'Environnement Opunohu Bay, Papetoai, French Polynesia
- LABEX CORAIL, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Perpignan, France
| | - Jesse E M Cochran
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Neil Cook
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- Environmental Research Institute Charlotteville, Charlotteville, Trinidad and Tobago
| | - Brooke M D'Alberto
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- Oceans and Atmosphere, CSIRO, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Martin de Graaf
- Wageningen Marine Research, Wageningen University and Research, IJmuiden, the Netherlands
| | | | - Lanya Fanovich
- Environmental Research Institute Charlotteville, Charlotteville, Trinidad and Tobago
| | - Naomi F Farabaugh
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | | | - Carlos Eduardo Leite Ferreira
- Reef Systems Ecology and Conservation Lab, Departamento de Biologia Marinha, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Candace Y A Fields
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
- Cape Eleuthera Institute, Cape Eleuthera, Eleuthera, Bahamas
| | - Anna L Flam
- Marine Megafauna Foundation, Palm Beach, CA, USA
| | - Camilla Floros
- Oceanographic Research Institute, Durban, South Africa
- TRAFFIC International, Cambridge, UK
- Science Department, Georgia Jones-Ayers Middle School, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Virginia Fourqurean
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | - Laura García Barcia
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | - Ricardo Garla
- Centro de Biociências, Departmento de Botânica e Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal-RN, Brazil
- Beacon Development Department, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Kirk Gastrich
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | - Lachlan George
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | | | - Valerie Hagan
- Sharks and Rays Conservation Program, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, USA
| | - Royale S Hardenstine
- Department of Environmental Protection and Regeneration, Red Sea Global, AlRaidah Digital City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Red Sea Research Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Stephen M Heck
- School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Patricia Heithaus
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | - Aaron C Henderson
- The School for Field Studies, Center for Marine Resource Studies, South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands
| | - Heidi Hertler
- The School for Field Studies, Center for Marine Resource Studies, South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands
| | - Robert E Hueter
- Sharks and Rays Conservation Program, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, USA
- OCEARCH, Park City, UT, USA
| | | | - Stacy D Jupiter
- Melanesia Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, Suva, Fiji
| | - Muslimin Kaimuddin
- Operation Wallacea, Spilsby, Lincolnshire, UK
- Wasage Divers, Wakatobi and Buton, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia
| | - Devanshi Kasana
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | - Megan Kelley
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | - Steven T Kessel
- Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | - Fabian Kyne
- University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica
| | - Tim Langlois
- The UWA Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Jaedon Lawe
- Yardie Environmental Conservationists Limited, Kingston, Jamaica
| | - Elodie J I Lédée
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | | | - Jade Q Maggs
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Auckland, New Zealand
| | | | - Andrea Marshall
- Marine Megafauna Foundation, West Palm, FL, USA
- Depto. Ecología e Hidrología, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | | | | | - Dianne McLean
- The UWA Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Llewelyn Meggs
- Yardie Environmental Conservationists Limited, Kingston, Jamaica
| | - Stephen Moore
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Sushmita Mukherji
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Ryan Murray
- Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines
- Met Eireann, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Stephen J Newman
- Western Australian Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Government of Western Australia, Hillarys, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Owen R O'Shea
- Cape Eleuthera Institute, Cape Eleuthera, Eleuthera, Bahamas
- Centre for Ocean Research and Education, Gregory Town, Eleuthera, Bahamas
| | - Kennedy E Osuka
- CORDIO East Africa, Mombasa, Kenya
- Department of Earth, Oceans and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Yannis P Papastamatiou
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | | | - Bradley J Peterson
- School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Fabián Pina-Amargós
- Blue Sanctuary-Avalon, Jardines de la Reina, Cuba
- Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, Universidad de La Habana, Habana, Cuba
| | - Alessandro Ponzo
- Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines
| | - Andhika Prasetyo
- Center for Fisheries Research, Ministry for Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Jakarta Utara, Indonesia
- Research Center for Conservation of Marine and Inland Water Resources, National Research and Innovation Agency, Bogor, Indonesia
| | - L M Sjamsul Quamar
- Fisheries Department, Universitas Dayanu Ikhsanuddin, Bau Bau, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia
| | - Jessica R Quinlan
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | | | - Fernanda A Rolim
- Marine Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo, Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | | | - Melita A Samoilys
- CORDIO East Africa, Mombasa, Kenya
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Enric Sala
- Pristine Seas, National Geographic Society, Washington, DC, USA
| | - William R Sample
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | | | - Sara N Schoen
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | - Audrey M Schlaff
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Adam N H Smith
- School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
| | | | - Twan Stoffers
- Aquaculture and Fisheries Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Rubén Torres
- Reef Check Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
| | - Michael J Travers
- Western Australian Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Government of Western Australia, Hillarys, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Jasmine Valentin-Albanese
- School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
- Bergen County Technical Schools, Bergen County, NJ, USA
| | - Joseph D Warren
- School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Alexandra M Watts
- Marine Megafauna Foundation, Truckee, CA, USA
- Department of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
| | - Colin K Wen
- Department of Life Science, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Elizabeth R Whitman
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | - Aaron J Wirsing
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Esteban Zarza-González
- GIBEAM Research Group, Universidad del Sinú, Cartagena, Colombia
- Corales del Rosario and San Bernardo National Natural Park, Bolivar, Colombia
| | - Demian D Chapman
- Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
- Sharks and Rays Conservation Program, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, USA
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Smith JG, Free CM, Lopazanski C, Brun J, Anderson CR, Carr MH, Claudet J, Dugan JE, Eurich JG, Francis TB, Hamilton SL, Mouillot D, Raimondi PT, Starr RM, Ziegler SL, Nickols KJ, Caselle JE. A marine protected area network does not confer community structure resilience to a marine heatwave across coastal ecosystems. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:5634-5651. [PMID: 37439293 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16862] [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: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
Marine protected areas (MPAs) have gained attention as a conservation tool for enhancing ecosystem resilience to climate change. However, empirical evidence explicitly linking MPAs to enhanced ecological resilience is limited and mixed. To better understand whether MPAs can buffer climate impacts, we tested the resistance and recovery of marine communities to the 2014-2016 Northeast Pacific heatwave in the largest scientifically designed MPA network in the world off the coast of California, United States. The network consists of 124 MPAs (48 no-take state marine reserves, and 76 partial-take or special regulation conservation areas) implemented at different times, with full implementation completed in 2012. We compared fish, benthic invertebrate, and macroalgal community structure inside and outside of 13 no-take MPAs across rocky intertidal, kelp forest, shallow reef, and deep reef nearshore habitats in California's Central Coast region from 2007 to 2020. We also explored whether MPA features, including age, size, depth, proportion rock, historic fishing pressure, habitat diversity and richness, connectivity, and fish biomass response ratios (proxy for ecological performance), conferred climate resilience for kelp forest and rocky intertidal habitats spanning 28 MPAs across the full network. Ecological communities dramatically shifted due to the marine heatwave across all four nearshore habitats, and MPAs did not facilitate habitat-wide resistance or recovery. Only in protected rocky intertidal habitats did community structure significantly resist marine heatwave impacts. Community shifts were associated with a pronounced decline in the relative proportion of cold water species and an increase in warm water species. MPA features did not explain resistance or recovery to the marine heatwave. Collectively, our findings suggest that MPAs have limited ability to mitigate the impacts of marine heatwaves on community structure. Given that mechanisms of resilience to climate perturbations are complex, there is a clear need to expand assessments of ecosystem-wide consequences resulting from acute climate-driven perturbations, and the potential role of regulatory protection in mitigating community structure changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua G Smith
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Conservation and Science Division, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, California, USA
| | - Christopher M Free
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Cori Lopazanski
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Julien Brun
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Clarissa R Anderson
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography/Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Mark H Carr
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, USA
| | - Joachim Claudet
- National Center for Scientific Research, PSL Université Paris, CRIOBE, CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, Paris, France
| | - Jenifer E Dugan
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Jacob G Eurich
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
- Environmental Defense Fund, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Tessa B Francis
- Puget Sound Institute, University of Washington, Tacoma, Washington, USA
| | - Scott L Hamilton
- Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, San Jose State University, Moss Landing, California, USA
| | - David Mouillot
- MARBEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, IFREMER, IRD, Montpellier, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
| | - Peter T Raimondi
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, USA
| | - Richard M Starr
- Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, San Jose State University, Moss Landing, California, USA
| | - Shelby L Ziegler
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Kerry J Nickols
- Department of Biology, California State University Northridge, Northridge, California, USA
| | - Jennifer E Caselle
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
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