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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
general
Global conservation outcomes depend on marine protected areas with five key features
Nature, Volume 506, No. 7487, Year 2014
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Description
In line with global targets agreed under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the number of marine protected areas (MPAs) is increasing rapidly, yet socio-economic benefits generated by MPAs remain difficult to predict and under debate. MPAs often fail to reach their full potential as a consequence of factors such as illegal harvesting, regulations that legally allow detrimental harvesting, or emigration of animals outside boundaries because of continuous habitat or inadequate size of reserve. Here we show that the conservation benefits of 87 MPAs investigated worldwide increase exponentially with the accumulation of five key features: no take, well enforced, old (>10 years), large (>100 km2), and isolated by deep water or sand. Using effective MPAs with four or five key features as an unfished standard, comparisons of underwater survey data from effective MPAs with predictions based on survey data from fished coasts indicate that total fish biomass has declined about two-thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing. Effective MPAs also had twice as many large (>250 mm total length) fish species per transect, five times more large fish biomass, and fourteen times more shark biomass than fished areas. Most (59%) of the MPAs studied had only one or two key features and were not ecologically distinguishable from fished sites. Our results show that global conservation targets based on area alone will not optimize protection of marine biodiversity. More emphasis is needed on better MPA design, durable management and compliance to ensure that MPAs achieve their desired conservation value. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Edgar, Graham J.
Australia, Hobart
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
Stuart-Smith, Rick D.
Australia, Hobart
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
Willis, Trevor J.
United Kingdom, Portsmouth
University of Portsmouth
Kininmonth, Stuart J.
Australia, Hobart
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
Sweden, Stockholm
Stockholms Universitet
Baker, Susan C.
Australia, Hobart
University of Tasmania
Banks, Stuart
Ecuador, Quito
Charles Darwin Foundation
Barrett, Neville Scott
Australia, Hobart
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
Becerro, Mikel A.
Spain, San Cristobal de la Laguna
Csic - Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiologia Ipna
Bernard, A. T. F.
South Africa, Grahamstown
South African Environmental Observation Network
Berkhout, Just
Australia, Hobart
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
Buxton, Colin D.
Australia, Hobart
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
Campbell, Stuart J.
Indonesia, Bogor
Wildlife Conservation Society, Bogor
Cooper, Antonia T.
Australia, Hobart
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
Davey, Marlene
Australia, Hobart
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
Edgar, Sophie C.
Unknown Affiliation
Försterra, Günter
Chile, Valparaiso
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
Galván, David E.
Argentina, Buenos Aires
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Irigoyen, Alejo J.
Argentina, Buenos Aires
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Kushner, David J.
United States, Washington, D.c.
National Park Service
Moura, Rodrigo
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Parnell, P. Ed
United States, La Jolla
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Shears, Nick T.
New Zealand, Auckland
The University of Auckland
Soler, Germán Andrés
Australia, Hobart
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
Strain, Elisabeth M.A.
Italy, Bologna
Alma Mater Studiorum Università Di Bologna
Thomson, Russell J.
Australia, Hobart
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
Statistics
Citations: 1,439
Authors: 25
Affiliations: 15
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1038/nature13022
ISSN:
00280836
e-ISSN:
14764687
Research Areas
Environmental
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Quantitative