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Accommodating dynamic oceanographic processes and pelagic biodiversity in marine conservation planning
Citation
Grantham, HS and Game, ET and Lombard, AT and Hobday, AJ and Richardson, AJ and Beckley, LE and Pressey, RL and Huggett, JA and Coetzee, JC and van der Lingen, CD and Petersen, SL and Merkle, D and Possingham, HP, Accommodating dynamic oceanographic processes and pelagic biodiversity in marine conservation planning, PLoS ONE, 6, (2) Article e16552. ISSN 1932-6203 (2011) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2011 Grantham et al. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
DOI: doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0016552
Abstract
Pelagic ecosystems support a significant and vital component of the ocean's productivity and biodiversity. They are also heavily exploited and, as a result, are the focus of numerous spatial planning initiatives. Over the past decade, there has been increasing enthusiasm for protected areas as a tool for pelagic conservation, however, few have been implemented. Here we demonstrate an approach to plan protected areas that address the physical and biological dynamics typical of the pelagic realm. Specifically, we provide an example of an approach to planning protected areas that integrates pelagic and benthic conservation in the southern Benguela and Agulhas Bank ecosystems off South Africa. Our aim was to represent species of importance to fisheries and species of conservation concern within protected areas. In addition to representation, we ensured that protected areas were designed to consider pelagic dynamics, characterized from time-series data on key oceanographic processes, together with data on the abundance of small pelagic fishes. We found that, to have the highest likelihood of reaching conservation targets, protected area selection should be based on time-specific data rather than data averaged across time. More generally, we argue that innovative methods are needed to conserve ephemeral and dynamic pelagic biodiversity.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | benthos, community dynamics, conservation biology, environmental planning |
Research Division: | Environmental Sciences |
Research Group: | Environmental management |
Research Field: | Conservation and biodiversity |
Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
Objective Group: | Other environmental management |
Objective Field: | Other environmental management not elsewhere classified |
UTAS Author: | Hobday, AJ (Dr Alistair Hobday) |
ID Code: | 119914 |
Year Published: | 2011 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 49 |
Deposited By: | Ecology and Biodiversity |
Deposited On: | 2017-08-07 |
Last Modified: | 2017-09-20 |
Downloads: | 112 View Download Statistics |
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