Preview

PDF 142916 - Reserv...pdf | Download (715kB) | Preview

Abstract

Marine reserves are a commonly applied conservation tool, but their size isoften chosen based on considerations of socioeconomic rather than ecologicalimpact. Here, we use a simple individual-based model together with the latestempirical information on home ranges, densities and schooling behaviour in66 coral reef fishes to quantify the conservation effectiveness of various reservesizes. We find that standard reserves with a diameter of 1–2 km can achievepartial protection (50% of the maximum number of individuals) of 56% ofall simulated species. Partial protection of the most important fishery species,and of species with diverse functional roles, required 2–10 km wide reserves.Full protection of nearly all simulated species required 100 km wide reserves.Linear regressions based on the mean home range and density, and even justthe maximum length, of fish species approximated these results reliably, andcan therefore be used to support locally effective decision making.

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Krueck, NC and Legrand, C and Ahmadia, GN and Estradivari, E and Green, A and Jones, GP and Riginos, C and Treml, EA and Mumby, PJ
Keywords:	conservation, coral reefs, fisheries management, home range, marine reserve network, marine protected areas, MPAs
Journal or Publication Title:	Conservation Letters
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
ISSN:	1755-263X
DOI / ID Number:	https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12415
Copyright Information:	Copyright 2017 the authors. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Item Statistics:	View statistics for this item

Actions (login required)

Item Control Page