Coral Reefs and the Global Network of Marine Protected Areas

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ID: 266153
2006
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Abstract
C oral reefs worldwide are suffering massive declines in their diversity in response to human activities ([1][1], [2][2]). The accelerating decay of this and other marine and terrestrial ecosystems has motivated multinational efforts to reduce biodiversity loss such as the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development ([3][3]) and the 2003 World Parks Congress ([4][4]). The latter recommends that 20 to 30% of all major ecosystems should lie within strictly protected reserves by 2012 ([4][4]). Protected reserves should reduce pressure from harvesting and other human activities, which should in turn facilitate the ability of species to cope with natural disturbances ([5][5]–[7][6]). Although much discussion has surrounded the success of protected areas at small spatial scales ([7][6]), little evaluation has been done at the global scale ([5][5], [8][7]). Here we provide a global assessment on the extent, effectiveness, and gaps in the coverage of coral reefs by Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). A major challenge to quantifying the extent of coverage of any ecosystem by a network of MPAs is the dynamic nature of the network itself and of information about it. To address this problem, we built a database of coral reef MPAs for every country ([9][8]), contacted local managers and researchers, and used recent published reports ([2][2], [10][9], [11][10]) to ensure that verification was available for each country. This process resulted in the deletion of 521 MPAs from a previous standard list, and the addition of 157 further MPAs. The final verified database contains 980 MPAs and covers 98,650 km2 (18.7%) of the world's coral reef habitats. We will provide general conclusions in the text; detailed methodology and data can be found in the supporting online material. Protected areas are managed for different purposes, and, therefore, this protection can have varied effects on particular taxa. Growing evidence for coral reefs suggests that their resilience is strongly dependent on the presence of a range of functional groups, including large herbivorous and predatory fishes ([1][1]). Consequently, those areas used for harvesting may be of limited benefit ([1][1], [7][6]). Of the world's roughly 527,072 km2 of coral reefs, 5.3% lie inside extractive MPAs, 12% inside multipurpose MPAs, and 1.4% inside no-take MPAs (see [figure][11], this page). Regional coverage of coral reefs by multipurpose and no-take MPAs ranges from 69% in Australia, to 7% in the central Pacific and western Indian Ocean, to ∼2% in the central Indian Ocean (fig. S1A, table S1). Each year over the past 10 years, about 40 new MPAs have been created worldwide that include coral reefs (fig. S2A). Unfortunately, the establishment of MPAs is rarely followed by good management and enforcement ([10][9], [11][10]), which means that the numbers of MPAs and their coverage can be misleading indicators of effective conservation. Using levels of poaching as an indirect measurement of management performance ([9][8]), we found that only 88 coral reef MPAs (fig. S1B), covering 1.6% of the world's coral reefs (table S1), are managed in such a way as to prevent such activities. Less than 0.1% of the world's coral reefs are within MPAs classified as no take with no poaching (see [figure][11], this page). Management performance varies worldwide but, troublingly, it is particularly low in areas of high coral diversity such as the Indo-Pacific and the Caribbean (fig. S1B, table S1) ([10][9], [11][10]). MPAs are specifically intended to limit human activities at particular locations. However, many coral reefs still remain vulnerable to risks that arise from beyond their boundaries, such as sedimentation, pollution, coastal development, and overfishing ([7][6], [12][12]). Using a risk index of these threats ([9][8]), we found that 147 coral reef MPAs (fig. S1C), covering almost 10.8% of the world's corals (table S1) are at low risk from such threats. Less than 0.01% of the world's corals are within MPAs defined as no take with no poaching and at low risk (see [figure][11], below). ![Figure][13] Effectiveness of the global network of coral reef MPAs. The area of coral reefs covered by the network of MPAs (18.7% of the world total) was classified by their regulations on extraction as either no take, take, or multipurpose. Multipurpose MPAs were divided into those that prohibit commercial harvesting (category A) and those that do not (category B). The subdivision of reefs on each of those MPA categories was then analyzed according to attributes of poaching and risk (according to the combined threat risk index described above). Sizes of circles indicate percentage of world coral reef area; in a few cases, numbers are shown within the circles to indicate sizes and method of subdivision. Asterisks indicate percentages smaller than 0.01. One of the main impacts of effective MPAs on marine organisms is the prevention of harvesting, which reduces mortality and which, in turn, should generate larger body sizes, increases in abundance, and greater fecundity ([6][14], [7][6]). However, populations can also be influenced by the movement of their individuals ([6][14]). Extensive movement can expose juvenile and adult individuals to harvesting outside the boundaries of the MPAs ([6][14], [7][6], [13][15]), whereas the arrival of new recruits can be favored if source populations are protected ([6][14], [14][16]). Therefore, the scales of adult movement and propagule dispersal can be critical to the effectiveness of an MPA network ([6][14], [7][6]). Data on species' home ranges is improving, particularly for coral reef fishes ([13][15]). Although, for most species, home ranges are small (
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mora2006sciencecoral Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Camilo Mora;Serge Andrèfouët;Mark J. Costello;Christine Kranenburg;Audrey Rollo;John Veron;Kevin J. Gaston;Ransom A. Myers;Camilo Mora;Serge Andrèfouët;Mark J. Costello;Christine Kranenburg;Audrey Rollo;John Veron;Kevin J. Gaston;Ransom A. Myers;
Journal Science
Year 2006
DOI
10.1126/science.1125295
URL
https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.1125295
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