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Exploited reefs protected from fishing transform over decades into convservation features otherwise absent from seascapes
Citation
Edgar, GJ and Barrett, NS and Stuart-Smith, RD, Exploited reefs protected from fishing transform over decades into convservation features otherwise absent from seascapes, Ecological Applications, 19, (8) pp. 1967-1974. ISSN 1051-0761 (2009) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2009 Ecological Society of America
Official URL: http://www.esajournals.org
Abstract
Tasmanian reef communities within "no-take" marine protected areas (MPAs) exhibited direct and indirect ecological changes that increasingly manifested over 16 years, eventually transforming into communities not otherwise present in the regional seascape. Data from 14 temperate and subtropical Australian MPAs further demonstrated that ecological changes continue to develop in MPAs over at least two decades, probably much longer. The continent-scale study additionally showed recently established MPAs to be consistently located at sites with low resource value relative to adjacent fished reference areas. This outcome was presumably generated by sociopolitical pressures and planning processes that aim to systematically avoid locations with valuable resources, potentially compromising biodiversity conservation goals. Locations that were formerly highly fished are needed within MPA networks if the networks are to achieve conservation aims associated with (1) safeguarding all regional habitat types, (2) protecting threatened habitats and species, and (3) providing appropriate reference benchmarks for assessing impacts of fishing. Because of long time lags, the ubiquity of fishing impacts, and the relatively recent establishment of MPAs, the full impact of fishing on coastal reefs has yet to be empirically assessed.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Australia, effects of fishing, long-term monitoring, marine protected area, reef fishes, sea urchins, temperate and subtropical reefs, threatened species, trophic cascades |
| Research Division: | Environmental Sciences |
| Research Group: | Environmental management |
| Research Field: | Conservation and biodiversity |
| Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
| Objective Group: | Terrestrial systems and management |
| Objective Field: | Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems |
| UTAS Author: | Edgar, GJ (Professor Graham Edgar) |
| UTAS Author: | Barrett, NS (Associate Professor Neville Barrett) |
| UTAS Author: | Stuart-Smith, RD (Dr Rick Stuart-Smith) |
| ID Code: | 60512 |
| Year Published: | 2009 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 78 |
| Deposited By: | TAFI - Marine Research Laboratory |
| Deposited On: | 2010-02-09 |
| Last Modified: | 2015-02-05 |
| Downloads: | 4 View Download Statistics |
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