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Temperature‐driven coral decline: the role of marine protected areas
Author(s) -
Selig Elizabeth R.,
Casey Kenneth S.,
Bruno John F.
Publication year - 2012
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/j.1365-2486.2012.02658.x
Subject(s) - resilience of coral reefs , coral reef , coral , environmental science , reef , climate change , coral bleaching , marine ecosystem , resilience (materials science) , ecosystem , oceanography , effects of global warming on oceans , marine protected area , ocean acidification , resistance (ecology) , global warming , ecology , geology , habitat , biology , physics , thermodynamics
Warming ocean temperatures are considered to be an important cause of the degradation of the world's coral reefs. Marine protected areas ( MPA s) have been proposed as one tool to increase coral reef ecosystem resistance and resilience (i.e. recovery) to the negative effects of climate change, yet few studies have evaluated their efficacy in achieving these goals. We used a high resolution 4 km global temperature anomaly database from 1985–2005 and 8040 live coral cover surveys on protected and unprotected reefs to determine whether or not MPA s have been effective in mitigating temperature‐driven coral loss. Generally, protection in MPA s did not reduce the effect of warm temperature anomalies on coral cover declines. Shortcomings in MPA design, including size and placement, may have contributed to the lack of an MPA effect. Empirical studies suggest that corals that have been previously exposed to moderate levels of thermal stress have greater adaptive capacity and resistance to future thermal stress events. Existing MPA s protect relatively fewer reefs with moderate anomaly frequencies, potentially reducing their effectiveness. However, our results also suggest that the benefits from MPA s may not be great enough to offset the magnitude of losses from acute thermal stress events. Although MPA s are important conservation tools, their limitations in mitigating coral loss from acute thermal stress events suggest that they need to be complemented with policies aimed at reducing the activities responsible for climate change.