Representing taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity: new challenges forMediterranean marine‐protected areas

François Guilhaumon,Jean‐Antoine Tomasini,Emmanuel J P Douzery,Marc Troussellier,Camille Albouy,Nicolas Mouquet,Frida Ben Rais Lasram,Joachim Claudet,Christine N Meynard,David Mouillot,Laure Velez,Miguel B Araújo

doi:10.1111/ddi.12280

Abstract

AbstractAimTo assess gaps in the representation of taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity among coastal fishes inMediterranean marine‐protected areas (MPAs).LocationMediterraneanSea.MethodsWe first assessed gaps in the taxonomic representation of the 340 coastal fish species inMediterraneanMPAs, with representation targets (the species range proportion to be covered byMPAs) set to be inversely proportional to species' range sizes. We then asked whetherMPAs favoured representation of phylogenetically and functionally more distinct species or whether there was a tendency to favour less distinctive ones. We finally evaluated the overall conservation effectiveness of theMPAs using a metric that integrates species' phylogenetic and functional relationships and targets achievement. The effectiveness of theMPAsystem at protecting biodiversity was assessed by comparison of its achievements against a null model obtained by siting currentMPAs at random over the study area.ResultsAmong the coastal fish species analysed, 16 species were not covered by anyMPA. All the remaining species only partially achieved the pre‐defined representation target. The currentMPAsystem missed fewer species than expected from sitingMPAs at random. However,c. 70% of the species did not achieve better protection in the currentMPAs than expected from sitingMPAs at random. Functional and evolutionary distinctiveness were weakly correlated with target achievement. The observed coverage of taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity was not different or lower than expected from sitingMPAs at random.Main conclusionsTheMediterraneanMPAsystem falls short in meeting conservation targets for coastal fish taxonomic diversity, phylogenetic diversity and functional diversity.MediterraneanMPAs do not encompass more biodiversity than expected by chance. This study reveals multiple ongoing challenges and calls for regional collaboration for the extension of theMediterranean system ofMPAs to meet international commitments and reduce the ongoing loss of marine biodiversity.

Highlights

The Mediterranean Sea is a remnant of the Tethys Ocean and has shown exceptional levels of marine biodiversity since the late Middle Eocene (42–39 Ma; Renema et al, 2008)
Areas of occupancy of Mediterranean coastal fishes ranged from 91.76 km2 (Didogobius schlieweni) to 484698.30 km2, with most of these being small relative to the area of the continental shelf, as shown by the median AOO (79417.62 km2) which corresponded to 15.41% of the continental shelf area
We provide the first comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of Mediterranean marine-protected areas (MPAs) to represent coastal fish taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversities

Summary

Introduction

The Mediterranean Sea is a remnant of the Tethys Ocean and has shown exceptional levels of marine biodiversity since the late Middle Eocene (42–39 Ma; Renema et al, 2008). In particular, are considered as severely affecting coastal fish populations (Guidetti et al, 2002; Coll et al, 2010, 2012; Albouy et al, 2012). To counteract these threats, marine-protected areas (MPAs) have been shown to promote sustainable fisheries (Roberts et al, 2005; Alos & Arlinghaus, 2013) and the resilience of marine organisms to climatic impacts (Micheli et al, 2012). The overall representativeness of the current Mediterranean MPA system, that is whether it captures sufficient levels of all biodiversity components, is open to question

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Conclusion