Abstract
Abundance and length of the highly-targeted snapper Chysophrys auratus were compared between sites in 'no take' areas (Sanctuary Zones: SZ), partial protected areas which are fished (Habitat Protection Zones: HPZ), and areas outside (Outside) the Solitary Islands Marine Park (SIMP), Australia. Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) sampling on shallow rocky reef (15 - 25 m) was conducted annually from 2002 until 2014 in the Austral-winter, covering the decade after these marine park zones were established (2002). Additional deeper sites (25 - 40 m) were sampled in 2010-2011 to assess if findings were more-broadly applicable. Lengths were measured using stereo-BRUVs from 2011-2014. Snapper were significantly more abundant in SZ overall and in most years compared with the other two management types, which did not significantly differ. Snapper rapidly increased after 2 - 3 years protection in all management types, especially SZ. Snapper were present on more SZ deployments than HPZ and Outside after the same period. The positive SZ response in snapper abundance on shallower reef was also found at a broader spatial scale on deeper sites. Again the two fished management types did not show significant differences among each other. There was considerable variation in snapper abundance between years, with strong peaks in 2005, 2009 and 2014 especially in SZ. Abundances remained higher in SZ in the year or two following a strong peak, but decreased to similar abundances to fished areas before the next peak. Snapper length frequency distribution significantly differed between SZ and both fished management types, with more larger snapper within SZ including a higher proportion (58%) that were legal-sized (>25.7 cm FL). HPZ and Outside did not significantly differ from each other, and were dominated by individuals below legal size. Overall, SZ's have positively influenced abundance and length of snapper on these subtropical rocky reefs.
Highlights
With the implementation of marine protected areas globally, there is increasing need to assess the ecological changes resulting from such spatial management arrangements
Pairwise comparisons show Sanctuary Zones (SZ) is highly significantly different from both Habitat Protection Zones (HPZ) and Outside, which are similar to each other (Table 1, Fig 3)
Within the first three years following the establishment of sanctuary zones (SZ’s) in 2002, with a sevenfold increase in average maximum number (MaxN) from 2002 to 2005
Summary
With the implementation of marine protected areas globally, there is increasing need to assess the ecological changes resulting from such spatial management arrangements. No-take areas (marine sanctuaries) can result in increases in the density and/or biomass of target species [1,2,3], but this response can be highly variable spatially and temporally due to inherent variability in physical, environmental, ecological and social factors [4,5,6,7,8]. A significant response to protection on abundance of targeted species can occur over a range of time-scales, but often within the decadal scale [6, 7, 10], a time-scale relevant to applied and adaptive management [8, 11]. A spatial comparison around the decadal time-scale is useful for appraisal of management arrangements [12], increases of target species can occur over longer periods [13,14,15]
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