Marine conservation planning in practice: lessons learned from the Gulf of California

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Marine zoning revisited: How decades of zoning the Great Barrier Reef has evolved as an effective spatial planning approach for marine ecosystem‐based management

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The vulnerability of fish and macroinvertebrate species with bioactive potential in a Mediterranean marine protected area

1. A high percentage of marine animals produce bioactive compounds that may play a leading role in the discovery of future compounds and drugs of marine origin. However, commercial fishing and other human activities leading to sea warming and pollution may affect these marine animals, even putting them in danger of extinction.
2. To date, no comprehensive studies have evaluated the conservation status of Mediterranean species with bioactive potential, which is crucial to better understanding of how these species cope with the impacts of human activity.
3. The study reviewed the bioactive potential and vulnerability of 833 fish and macro-invertebrate species inhabiting the marine protected area of Cap de Creus and surrounding areas. The most active taxa found were Porifera (49 out of 59 species; 83.0%) and Tunicata (17 out of 27 species; 63.0%). The most vulnerable species were Chondrichthyes (eight out of nine species) and Porifera (nine out of 12 species), which together account for over 75% of species classified as such.
4. Results emphasize the need to introduce specific management measures that protect vulnerable species with bioactive potential as this is a valuable component of marine ecosystems, as well as a potential source of molecules with pharmacological properties beneficial for human health.
5. Marine protected areas can contribute to preserving marine species of medical interest and achieving their sustainable use in the marine biotechnology industry.

     

How wild is the ocean? Assessing the intensity of anthropogenic marine activities in British Columbia,Canada

• 1. The intensity of marine activities in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of British Columbia, Canada, was quantified.
• 2. Humans use the ocean for a multitude of purposes, many of which have a direct impact on marine life and habitat. Yet such uses are seldom assessed in an integrated fashion.
• 3. Using a GIS approach, spatial information for 39 marine activities was mapped, including commercial and recreational fishing areas, transportation and infrastructure uses, and terrestrial activities along the coast of British Columbia.
• 4. A relative scale was used to rank both the impact of marine activities and the extent of stressors beyond the location of occurrence. Limited information on the latter led to the application of three ranges of buffer distances to the data (0–1 km, 0–5 km, and 0–25 km).
• 5. The most conservative estimate (?1 km buffers) indicates at least 83% of the continental shelf and slope of British Columbia is currently being used by humans. The largest buffer assumption shows 98% of the continental shelf and slope being affected by stressors from anthropogenic activities.
• 6. This analysis provides a baseline for assessing future changes in the state of British Columbia's marine environment, and could assist in identifying areas of conservation potential.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Progress and challenges in freshwater conservation planning

• 1. Freshwater ecosystems and their associated biota are among the most endangered in the world. This, combined with escalating human pressure on water resources, demands that urgent measures be taken to conserve freshwater ecosystems and the services they provide. Systematic conservation planning provides a strategic and scientifically defensible framework for doing this.
• 2. Pioneered in the terrestrial realm, there has been some scepticism associated with the applicability of systematic approaches to freshwater conservation planning. Recent studies, however, indicate that it is possible to apply overarching systematic conservation planning goals to the freshwater realm although the specific methods for achieving these will differ, particularly in relation to the strong connectivity inherent to most freshwater systems.
• 3. Progress has been made in establishing surrogates that depict freshwater biodiversity and ecological integrity, developing complementarity‐based algorithms that incorporate directional connectivity, and designing freshwater conservation area networks that take cognizance of both connectivity and implementation practicalities.
• 4. Key research priorities include increased impetus on planning for non‐riverine freshwater systems; evaluating the effectiveness of freshwater biodiversity surrogates; establishing scientifically defensible conservation targets; developing complementarity‐based algorithms that simultaneously consider connectivity issues for both lentic and lotic water bodies; developing integrated conservation plans across freshwater, terrestrial and marine realms; incorporating uncertainty and dynamic threats into freshwater conservation planning; collection and collation of scale‐appropriate primary data; and building an evidence‐base to support improved implementation of freshwater conservation plans.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Promoting connectivity between priority freshwater sites for conservation in intermittent hydrological systems

1. Systematic conservation planning in freshwater ecosystems faces multiple challenges because of the dynamic nature of rivers and their multiple dimensions of connectivity. In intermittent hydrological systems connectivity is functional when water is available, allowing the exchange of aquatic individuals between isolated freshwater ecosystems. Integrating these isolated systems in their hydrological context is essential when identifying priority areas for conservation, in order to try to minimize the propagation of threats into target water bodies (management units) from the surrounding landscape.
2. Here, the use of a systematic planning approach is demonstrated to identify a set of priority management units to preserve freshwater biodiversity in an arid system of fragmented water bodies immersed in a landscape subject to a range of impacts.
3. Twenty-six water-dependent taxa from 59 mountain rock pools (gueltas) of three southern Mauritanian mountains were used as a case study. A conservation planning tool (marxan ) was used to find priority conservation areas to integrate intermittent hydrological systems in their hydrological context, promote connectivity, and minimize the downstream propagation of threats. Three types of connectivity were analysed: (i) no connectivity, (ii) connectivity between gueltas, and (iii) connectivity between gueltas and sub-catchments.
4. Considering different types of longitudinal connectivity affects the number and spatial allocation of the priority gueltas selected, and the conservation status of the gueltas and their upstream areas. Incorporating connections between gueltas and upstream locations in the modelling resulted in the selection of gueltas in areas with a low human footprint and in the increased connectivity of the solutions.
5. The results obtained revealed important locations for local biodiversity conservation, and the method presented can be used when assessing the propagation of potential waterborne threats into isolated management units. The framework developed allows connectivity to be addressed in conservation planning. It can be replicated in regions with similar isolated habitats that connect through intermittent hydrological systems and can also be applied to lateral and vertical hydrological connectivity.

     

Recasting shortfalls of marine protected areas as opportunities through adaptive management

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Marine ecosystem science and the media: Exploring ways to improve news coverage through journalist–scientist working relations

1. The ocean's remoteness, ecological complexities, lengthy ecosystem processes, and vulnerability to multiple and cumulative anthropogenic threats make marine conservation communication particularly difficult. Both scientists and journalists face unique challenges in explaining the science of these often out-of-sight ecosystems. Given the inadequacies of marine news, improvement appeared necessary. However, the experiences and views of journalists and scientists have hardly been examined within marine news contexts. Thus, this study sought the perspectives of these two professional groups to provide a discussion on ways to improve news coverage of complex ocean issues through enhanced journalist–scientist working relations.
2. Both journalists and scientists rated the quantity, breadth and quality of marine news as average and were receptive to alternative ways for reporting ecosystem complexities. Although some frustrations remain, both valued impactful news stories resulting from their working relations and preferred direct contact with each other over indirect methods such as press releases and science news platforms. Both groups generally agreed on what to include in marine news, but scientists favoured a collaborative approach to news content decision-making more strongly than journalists.
3. Journalists' and scientists' commonly shared views and goals concerning marine news identified in this study could serve as a common ground for uniting the two professions. Institutional policies that permit one-on-one journalist–scientist interactions could lead to mutual understandings about the contexts of their relationship challenges. More trustful and mutually beneficial relationships, in turn, could be a basis for a more collaborative news generation process. Compiling and making marine visuals readily accessible to journalists; training programmes that enhance journalists' and scientists' understanding of the influence of media message framing on conservation actions; media appreciation of marine ecosystem complexities' newsworthiness; and the notion of media's social responsibility in reporting marine conservation issues could contribute to more impactful coverage.

     

Identification of a spatially efficient portfolio of priority conservation sites in marine and estuarine areas of Florida

• 1. A systematic conservation planning approach using benthic habitat and imperilled species data along with the site prioritization algorithm, MARXAN, was used to identify a spatially efficient portfolio of marine and estuarine sites around Florida with high biodiversity value.
• 2. Ensuring the persistence of an adequate geographic representation of conservation targets in a particular area is a key goal of conservation. In this context, development and testing of different approaches to spatially‐explicit marine conservation planning remains an important priority.
• 3. This detailed case study serves as a test of existing approaches while also demonstrating some novel ways in which current methods can be tailored to fit the complexities of marine planning.
• 4. The paper reports on investigations of the influence of varying several algorithm inputs on resulting portfolio scenarios including the conservation targets (species observations, habitat distribution, etc.) included, conservation target goals, and socio‐economic factors.
• 5. This study concluded that engaging stakeholders in the development of a site prioritization framework is a valuable strategy for identifying broadly accepted selection criteria; universal target representation approaches are more expedient to use as algorithm inputs, but may fall short in capturing the impact of historic exploitation patterns for some conservation targets; socio‐economic factors are best considered subsequent to the identification of priority conservation sites when biodiversity value is the primary driver of site selection; and the influence of surrogate targets on portfolio selection should be thoroughly investigated to ensure unintended effects are avoided.
• 6. The priority sites identified in this analysis can be used to guide allocation of limited conservation and management resources.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ridge to reef modelling for use within land–sea planning under data‐limited conditions

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A feasibility study for the application of climate change vulnerability assessments on species in the Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area

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The high biodiversity and vulnerability of two Mediterranean bathyal seamounts support the need for creating offshore protected areas

1. Seamounts host some of the most important deep-sea ecosystems. The unique environmental characteristics of seamounts sustain rich biological hot spots, which, in recent times, have suffered the effects of intense fishing pressure.
2. Biodiversity and vulnerability data are extremely scarce for Mediterranean seamounts, and this, in addition to the complex socio-economic and juridical status of offshore sites, results in difficulty in identifying the best management strategies.
3. An extensive remotely operated vehicle (ROV) survey was used to characterize the megabenthic assemblages of the summits of two upper bathyal seamounts, Ulisse and Penelope (Ligurian Sea, north-west Mediterranean Sea). The biogeographic implications of these findings and the possible environmental factors favouring the occurrence of these communities are discussed.
4. High densities of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (mainly longlines) and a reduction in the average size of the fragile and slow-growing habitat-forming gorgonian Callogorgia verticillata indicate the occurrence of high levels of anthropogenic impacts on the summit regions, which are fishing grounds for artisanal and recreational fishers.
5. The recovery of fishing data describing the first catches in the 1970s proved to be useful in inferring the short- and long-term effects of fishing practices in these previously unexploited offshore areas. In particular, the local extinction of demersal top predators, subjected to exceptional catches nearly 50 years ago, highlights the slow recovery rate of such species.
6. Criteria defining vulnerability are discussed for the two study areas, and specific conservation actions, including the creation of regulated protected areas, are proposed.

     

Developing a marine protected area network with multiple objectives in China

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Cetacean rapid assessment: An approach to fill knowledge gaps and target conservation across large data deficient areas

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Integrating fine‐scale seafloor mapping and spatial pattern metrics into marine conservation prioritization

1. Marine protected area (MPA) planning often relies on scientific principles that help ensure that an area selected for conservation will effectively protect biodiversity. Capturing ecological processes in MPA network planning has received increased attention in recent years. High‐resolution seafloor maps, which show patterns in seafloor bio‐physical characteristics, can support our understanding of ecological processes.
2. In part, owing to a global lack of high‐resolution seafloor maps, studies that aim to integrate seascape spatial pattern and conservation prioritization often focus on shallow biogenic habitats with less attention paid to deeper benthic seascapes (benthoscapes) mapped using acoustic techniques. Acoustic seafloor mapping strategies yield the spatial information required to extend conservation prioritization research into these environments, making incorporating seafloor ecological processes into conservation prioritization increasingly achievable.
3. Here, a new method is proposed and tested that combines benthoscape mapping, landscape ecology metrics and a conservation decision support tool to prioritize areas with structural and potential connectivity value in MPA placement. Using a case study in eastern Canada, benthoscape composition and configuration were quantified using spatial pattern metrics and integrated into Marxan.
4. Results illustrate how large patches of seafloor habitat in close proximity to neighbouring patches can be preferentially selected when benthoscape configuration is considered. The flexibility of the method for including relevant spatial pattern metrics or species‐specific movement data is discussed to illustrate how benthic habitat maps can improve existing conservation planning methods and complement existing and future work to support marine biodiversity conservation.

     

Understanding marine park opposition: the relationship between social impacts,environmental knowledge and motivation to fish

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Incorporating early life stages of fishes into estuarine spatial conservation planning

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Atlantic salmon in a rapidly changing environment—Facing the challenges of reduced marine survival and climate change

1. Atlantic salmon populations have declined in recent decades. Many of the threats to the species during its freshwater and coastal residency periods are known, and management approaches are available to mitigate them. The global scale of climate change and altered ocean ecosystems make these threats more difficult to address.
2. Managers need to be aware that promoting strong, healthy, and resilient wild populations migrating from rivers is the optimal approach currently to reduce the impacts of changing ecosystems and low marine survival. We argue that a fundamental strategy should be to ensure that the highest number of wild smolts in the best condition leave from rivers and coastal areas to the ocean. There is great scope for water quality, river regulation, migration barriers, and physical river habitat improvements.
3. Maintenance of genetic integrity and diversity of wild populations by eliminating interbreeding with escaped farmed salmon, eliminating poorly planned stocking, and reducing impacts that reduce population sizes to dangerously low levels will support the ability of Atlantic salmon to adapt to changing environments. Reducing the impacts from aquaculture and other human activities in coastal areas can greatly increase marine survival in affected areas.
4. As most of the threats to wild salmon are the result of human activities, a focus on human dimensions and improved communication, from scientific and management perspectives, needs to be increasingly emphasized. When political and social will are coupled with adequate resources, managers often have the tools to mitigate many of the threats to wild salmon.

     

UK deep‐sea conservation: Progress,lessons learned,and actions for the future

1. Despite a relatively long history of scientific interest fuelled by exploratory research cruises, the UK deep sea has only recently emerged as the subject of targeted and proactive conservation. Enabling legislation over the past 10 years has resulted in the designation of marine protected areas and the implementation of fisheries management areas as spatial conservation tools. This paper reflects on progress and lessons learned, recommending actions for the future.
2. Increased investment has been made to improve the evidence base for deep‐sea conservation, including collaborative research surveys and use of emerging technologies. New open data portals and developments in marine habitat classification systems have been two notable steps to furthering understanding of deep‐sea biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in support of conservation action.
3. There are still extensive gaps in fundamental knowledge of deep‐sea ecosystems and of cause and effect. Costs of new technologies and a limited ability to share data in a timely and efficient manner across sectors are barriers to furthering understanding. In addition, whilst the concepts of natural capital and ecosystem services are considered a useful tool to support the achievement of conservation goals, practical application is challenging.
4. Continued collaborative research efforts and engagement with industry to share knowledge and resources could offer cost‐effective solutions to some of these barriers. Further elaboration of the concepts of natural capital and ecosystem services will aid understanding of the costs and benefits associated with human–environment interactions and support informed decision‐making in conserving the deep sea.
5. Whilst multiple challenges arise for deep‐sea conservation, it is critical to continue ongoing conservation efforts, including exploration and collaboration, and to adopt new conservation strategies that are implemented in a systematic and holistic way and to ensure that these are adaptive to growing economic interest in this marine area.

     

Adapting a multi‐species tool for single‐species impact assessments: Managing fishes at risk in Canada

1. To assess the impacts of human activity on fishes and fish habitat, impact assessment tools use single‐ and multi‐species approaches depending on the ecological and socio‐economic objectives. In Canadian aquatic ecosystems, single‐ and multi‐species impact assessments are guided by the Species at Risk Act and Fisheries Act, respectively. Yet, for species protected under the Species at Risk Act, the sparse data often require alternative approaches to risk assessment.
2. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether a database‐derived multi‐species tool – the Habitat Ecosystem Assessment Tool (HEAT) – can be used for single‐species impact assessments. Using an empirical example of proposed drain maintenance in a tributary of Lake St. Clair, the net loss of suitable habitat was evaluated across six conservation targets, ranging from single species, such as the pugnose shiner (Notropis anogenus) and the yellow perch (Perca flavescens), to the entire fish assemblage. Model outcomes were compared across various habitat suitability indices, spatial resolutions, and environmental habitat layers.
3. The net loss of suitable habitat varied widely across conservation targets and was greatest for the rare specialist species (pugnose shiner). Single‐species conservation targets were more sensitive to variation in spatial resolution and uncertainty in model input parameters. The results of this study emphasize that single‐ and multi‐species conservation targets should not be considered equal, especially when species differ in abundance and niche breadth.
4. This study demonstrates the flexibility of HEAT for evaluating potential impacts of human disturbance on fishes and their habitat. Future development of this tool should expand beyond physical habitat, to include other factors relevant to species distribution and survival (e.g. biotic interactions).