Marine reserves lag behind wilderness in the conservation of key functional roles
| Type | Article | ||||||||||||
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| Date | 2016-06 | ||||||||||||
| Language | English | ||||||||||||
| Author(s) | D'Agata Stephanie1, 2, 3, Mouillot David1, Wantiez Laurent4, Friedlander Alan M.5, 6, Kulbicki Michel7, Vigliola Laurent2 | ||||||||||||
| Affiliation(s) | 1 : Univ Montpellier, MARBEC, UMR IRD CNRS UM IFREMER 9190, F-34095 Montpellier, France. 2 : Inst Rech Dev, ENTROPIE, UMR IRD UR CNRS 9220, Lab Excellence LABEX CORAIL, BP A5, Noumea 98848, New Caledonia. 3 : Global Marine Program, Wildlife Conservat Soc, Bronx, NY 10460 USA. 4 : Univ Nouvelle Caledonie, Lab LIVE EA4243, BP R4, Noumea 98851, New Caledonia. 5 : Univ Hawaii, Fisheries Ecol Res Lab, 2538 McCarthy Mall, Honolulu, HI 96822 USA. 6 : Pristine Seas Natl Geog Soc, Washington, DC 20036 USA. 7 : Univ Perpignan, ENTROPIE, UMR IRD UR CNRS 9220, Lab Excellence LABEX CORAIL,Inst Rech Dev, F-66860 Perpignan 9, France. |
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| Source | Nature Communications (2041-1723) (Nature Publishing Group), 2016-06 , Vol. 7 , N. 12000 , P. 1-10 | ||||||||||||
| DOI | 10.1038/ncomms12000 | ||||||||||||
| WOS© Times Cited | 68 | ||||||||||||
| Abstract | Although marine reserves represent one of the most effective management responses to human impacts, their capacity to sustain the same diversity of species, functional roles and biomass of reef fishes as wilderness areas remains questionable, in particular in regions with deep and long-lasting human footprints. Here we show that fish functional diversity and biomass of top predators are significantly higher on coral reefs located at more than 20 h travel time from the main market compared with even the oldest (38 years old), largest (17,500 ha) and most restrictive (no entry) marine reserve in New Caledonia (South-Western Pacific). We further demonstrate that wilderness areas support unique ecological values with no equivalency as one gets closer to humans, even in large and well-managed marine reserves. Wilderness areas may therefore serve as benchmarks for management effectiveness and act as the last refuges for the most vulnerable functional roles. | ||||||||||||
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