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Marine partially protected areas: drivers of ecological effectiveness
Author(s) -
Zupan Mirta,
Fragkopoulou Eliza,
Claudet Joachim,
Erzini Karim,
Horta e Costa Bárbara,
Gonçalves Emanuel J
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
frontiers in ecology and the environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.918
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1540-9309
pISSN - 1540-9295
DOI - 10.1002/fee.1934
Subject(s) - biomass (ecology) , abundance (ecology) , marine protected area , protected area , ecology , fish <actinopterygii> , environmental resource management , environmental science , fishery , geography , biology , habitat
The number of marine protected areas ( MPA s) has grown exponentially worldwide over the past decade in order to meet international targets. Most of these protected areas allow extraction of resources and are therefore designated as “partially protected areas” ( PPA s). However, the effectiveness of PPA s remains unclear due to the high variability of use types permitted. Here, we carried out what we believe to be the first global meta‐analysis of PPA s using a regulation‐based classification system for MPA s to assess their ecological effectiveness. This novel classification allows for unambiguous differentiation between areas according to allowed use, which is the key feature determining PPA performance. Highly and moderately regulated areas exhibited higher biomass and abundance of commercial fish species, whereas fish abundance and biomass in weakly regulated areas differed little from unprotected areas. Notably, the effectiveness of moderately regulated areas can be enhanced by the presence of an adjacent fully protected area. We concluded that limited and well‐regulated uses in PPA s and the presence of an adjacent fully protected area confer ecological benefits, from which socioeconomic advantages are derived.