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Increased connectivity and depth improve the effectiveness of marine reserves
Author(s) -
Goetze Jordan S.,
Wilson Shaun,
Radford Ben,
Fisher Rebecca,
Langlois Tim J.,
Monk Jacquomo,
Knott Nathan A.,
Malcolm Hamish,
CurreyRandall Leanne M.,
Ierodiaconou Daniel,
Harasti David,
Barrett Neville,
Babcock Russell C.,
Bosch Nestor E.,
Brock Danny,
Claudet Joachim,
Clough Jock,
Fairclough David V.,
Heupel Michelle R.,
Holmes Thomas H.,
Huveneers Charlie,
Jordan Alan R.,
McLean Dianne,
Meekan Mark,
Miller David,
Newman Stephen J.,
Rees Matthew J.,
Roberts Kelsey E.,
Saunders Benjamin J.,
Speed Conrad W.,
Travers Michael J.,
Treml Eric,
Whitmarsh Sasha K.,
Wakefield Corey B.,
Harvey Euan S.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
global change biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.146
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1365-2486
pISSN - 1354-1013
DOI - 10.1111/gcb.15635
Subject(s) - marine reserve , marine protected area , fishing , marine conservation , biodiversity , nature reserve , environmental science , biomass (ecology) , fishery , environmental resource management , habitat , abundance (ecology) , ecology , biology
Abstract Marine reserves are a key tool for the conservation of marine biodiversity, yet only ~2.5% of the world's oceans are protected. The integration of marine reserves into connected networks representing all habitats has been encouraged by international agreements, yet the benefits of this design has not been tested empirically. Australia has one of the largest systems of marine reserves, providing a rare opportunity to assess how connectivity influences conservation success. An Australia‐wide dataset was collected using baited remote underwater video systems deployed across a depth range from 0 to 100 m to assess the effectiveness of marine reserves for protecting teleosts subject to commercial and recreational fishing. A meta‐analytical comparison of 73 fished species within 91 marine reserves found that, on average, marine reserves had 28% greater abundance and 53% greater biomass of fished species compared to adjacent areas open to fishing. However, benefits of protection were not observed across all reserves (heterogeneity), so full subsets generalized additive modelling was used to consider factors that influence marine reserve effectiveness, including distance‐based and ecological metrics of connectivity among reserves. Our results suggest that increased connectivity and depth improve the aforementioned marine reserve benefits and that these factors should be considered to optimize such benefits over time. We provide important guidance on factors to consider when implementing marine reserves for the purpose of increasing the abundance and size of fished species, given the expected increase in coverage globally. We show that marine reserves that are highly protected (no‐take) and designed to optimize connectivity, size and depth range can provide an effective conservation strategy for fished species in temperate and tropical waters within an overarching marine biodiversity conservation framework.