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Spatial population dynamics and the design of marine reserves
Author(s) -
Per Lundberg,
Niclas Jonzén
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1461-0248.1999.00064.x
Subject(s) - marine reserve , nature reserve , set aside , ecology , population , habitat , spillover effect , biodiversity , ideal free distribution , population size , geography , fishery , biology , economics , demography , sociology , microeconomics
The failure of many fisheries world‐wide, and the concern about marine biodiversity, has sparked a growing interest in the spatial aspects of harvested populations. If a population conforms to the Ideal Free Distribution and that one of the habitats is set aside as a reserve free from harvesting, the design of reserves may be problematic. If a substantial proportion of the unharvested population is to be preserved, then the reserve area must be unrealistically large, or have a much higher expected fitness than the unprotected area. Interestingly, the optimal harvest rate will be unaffected by both the size of the reserve and the quality of it relative to the harvested area. Even if the Ideal Free Distribution model is extended to include simple age‐structure and “spillover” of recruits from the reserve, these conclusions largely remain intact. In a model that also includes spillover, the habitat quality of the reserve may also affect the catch.