Abstract
The use of marine spatial planning for zoning multi-use areas is growing in both developed and developing countries. Comprehensive maps of marine resources, including those important for local fisheries management and biodiversity conservation, provide a crucial foundation of information for the planning process. Using a combination of field and high spatial resolution satellite data, we use an empirical procedure to create a bathymetric map (RMSE 1.76 m) and object-based image analysis to produce accurate maps of geomorphic and benthic coral reef classes (Kappa values of 0.80 and 0.63; 9 and 33 classes, respectively) covering a large (>260 km2) traditional fisheries management area in Fiji. From these maps, we derive per-pixel information on habitat richness, structural complexity, coral cover and the distance from land, and use these variables as input in models to predict fish species richness, diversity and biomass. We show that random forest models outperform five other model types, and that all three fish community variables can be satisfactorily predicted from the high spatial resolution satellite data. We also show geomorphic zone to be the most important predictor on average, with secondary contributions from a range of other variables including benthic class, depth, distance from land, and live coral cover mapped at coarse spatial scales, suggesting that data with lower spatial resolution and lower cost may be sufficient for spatial predictions of the three fish community variables.
Highlights
Many of the half a billion people worldwide who live within 100 km of a coral reef depend on small scale reef fisheries to sustain their livelihoods [1,2]
The accuracy of the derived variables could not be assessed as no reference data exist at corresponding spatial scales
The work described in this paper has demonstrated the feasibility of producing spatially explicit predictions of fish species richness, biomass and diversity, at the spatial extent of the fisheries management area in Kubulau, Fiji
Summary
Many of the half a billion people worldwide who live within 100 km of a coral reef depend on small scale reef fisheries to sustain their livelihoods [1,2]. Tools that have long been promoted by fisheries scientists for managing single species fisheries (e.g., maximum sustainable yield) do not capture the ecosystem complexities of multispecies coral reef fisheries [3]. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have emerged as an alternative, widespread tool for coral reef fisheries management that have resulted in increases in abundance and biomass of targeted species where successfully implemented and enforced [5]. To optimally design networks or individual MPAs, coral reef managers could greatly benefit from comprehensive fish resource maps. In the absence of accurate information on single-species distributions, maps of species richness and diversity can be used to ensure coverage of local biodiversity hotspots
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