Marine Conservation Planning Research Articles

Assessing the quality of data required to identify effective marine protected areas

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of currently available substrate data to designate marine reserves to meet conservation objectives. The case study site is Lyme Bay (approx. 2460km2), in the western English Channel. An area of 240km2 in Lyme Bay was designated ‘closed to bottom dredging’ in July 2008 with the aim of protecting reefs which are an important habitat for Eunicella verrucosa (pink sea fan). The effects of using different substrate data resolution on the selection of sites to protect a range of biotopes using the Marxan package are determined. The effect of including a closed area on the efficiency of a marine reserve network is also investigated. Findings suggest that substrate data did not capture the biodiversity of the area and that using no data at all was equally effective. If low resolution data are all that are available then other options, such as expert opinion, or other data, such as activity use information could be used instead. Including a predefined closed area into the analysis led to an increase in area required to meet conservation goals using high resolution biotope data. It also increased the area of the reserve using the three substrate layers with no increase in protection for biotopes. This suggests that when designing networks of marine protected area sites, including current protected areas may be inefficient, resulting in larger areas being protected with no increased conservation of marine biodiversity. Policy makers must be prepared to adapt management in light of these findings and be aware of the shortcomings of the data available for use in marine conservation planning.

Incorporating Socioeconomic and Political Drivers of International Collaboration into Marine Conservation Planning

International collaboration can be crucial in determining the outcomes of conservation actions. Here, we propose a framework for incorporating demographic, socioeconomic, and political data into conservation prioritization in complex regions shared by multiple countries. As a case study, we quantitatively apply this approach to one of the world's most complex and threatened biodiversity hotspots: the Mediterranean Basin. Our analysis of 22 countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea showed that the strongest economic, trade, tourism, and political ties are clearly among the three northwestern countries of Italy, France, and Spain. Although economic activity between countries is often seen as a threat, it may also serve as an indicator of the potential of collaboration in conservation. Using data for threatened marine vertebrate species, we show how areas prioritized for conservation shift spatially when economic factors are used as a surrogate to favor areas where collaborative potential in conservation is more likely.

Effectiveness of habitat classes as surrogates for biodiversity in marine reserve planning

AbstractSurrogates are used in marine conservation planning when there is limited information on the distribution of biodiversity, and representation of species and assemblage diversity are conservation goals. With prior confirmation of their relationship to spatial variation in biodiversity, habitat classification schemes are a potentially useful surrogate.Polychaetes can comprise over one‐third of species of benthic infaunal assemblages, they are the most frequent and abundant marine metazoans in benthic environments, and they are a reliable surrogate for other macrobenthic taxa.It was tested whether polychaete biodiversity differed among six estuarine habitat classes defined for conservation planning in the Port Stephens–Great Lakes Marine Park, New South Wales, Australia: subtidal sand, mud, muddy sand, and seagrass beds comprisingPosidonia australis,Zostera capricorniand mixedPosidonia/Zostera. Polychaetes were sampled from replicate sites in each habitat and differences among habitat classes in species richness, abundance, and assemblage structure were examined. Several environmental variables, known to be important determinants of polychaete distribution, were also quantified at each site.Ninety‐five species of polychaetes (belonging to 35 families) were identified. Species richness and abundance did not differ among the habitat classes. Polychaete assemblages of subtidal sand differed from assemblages in both mud and muddy sand, however, assemblages in all other habitats were not different. A combination of some of the measured environmental variables (distance to the estuary entrance, depth, sediment grain size) was a more important determinant of assemblage variation than the habitat classes.Using these predictors, an alternative habitat classification scheme to the scheme currently utilized in marine park planning is proposed.This study demonstrates the critical importance of testing assumptions about surrogacy and an approach for refining surrogates.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mapping Coral Reef Resilience Indicators Using Field and Remotely Sensed Data

In the face of increasing climate-related impacts on coral reefs, the integration of ecosystem resilience into marine conservation planning has become a priority. One strategy, including resilient areas in marine protected area (MPA) networks, relies on information on the spatial distribution of resilience. We assess the ability to model and map six indicators of coral reef resilience—stress-tolerant coral taxa, coral generic diversity, fish herbivore biomass, fish herbivore functional group richness, density of juvenile corals and the cover of live coral and crustose coralline algae. We use high spatial resolution satellite data to derive environmental predictors and use these in random forest models, with field observations, to predict resilience indicator values at unsampled locations. Predictions are compared with those obtained from universal kriging and from a baseline model. Prediction errors are estimated using cross-validation, and the ability to map each resilience indicator is quantified as the percentage reduction in prediction error compared to the baseline model. Results are most promising (percentage reduction = 18.3%) for mapping the cover of live coral and crustose coralline algae and least promising (percentage reduction = 0%) for coral diversity. Our study has demonstrated one approach to map indicators of coral reef resilience. In the context of MPA network planning, the potential to consider reef resilience in addition to habitat and feature representation in decision-support software now exists, allowing planners to integrate aspects of reef resilience in MPA network development.

Marine conservation planning in practice: lessons learned from the Gulf of California

ABSTRACTOverfishing, pollution, coastal development and climate change threaten marine biodiversity globally and compromise the services that marine ecosystems provide. Systematic conservation planning (SCP) provides a framework to identify areas where actions can be effective in addressing these threats, while minimizing the costs of interventions. This study investigated the application of SCP in the Gulf of California, a marine hotspot where seven prioritization exercises have been undertaken.The review of planning exercises showed that the use of SCP methods has progressed slowly (gaps include planning for land–sea connections and ecosystem services) and highlighted benefits and difficulties of applying SCP principles and tools.Despite some convergence, important spatial differences were found in priorities between plans. Convergence was evident in well‐studied shallow and benthic marine ecosystems. There were also important differences related to the planning approach, methods and extent. Divergence between methodological and spatial similarities between plans suggests that additional factors (e.g. manually delineating priority areas, incorporating updated datasets, random error), in addition to data and objectives, play an important role in defining the distribution of conservation priorities.According to expert opinion, the implementation of new marine protected areas (MPAs) in the region has been influenced by some of the planning exercises. However, uptake of planning outputs has progressed slowly for many reasons (e.g. conflicting mandates and interests between organizations, limited technical capacities and resources, insufficient political commitment). Other benefits of planning included: developing institutional skills and knowledge; improving collaboration and coordination between organizations (including agencies, and local, regional and national NGOs); converging on the need to assess priorities for marine conservation in regional context; and building trust among organizations.The existence of multiple marine conservation plans in the Gulf of California also highlighted some of the complexities and benefits of having multiple sets of priorities.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Limitations of habitats as biodiversity surrogates for conservation planning in estuaries

Increasing pressures on global biodiversity and lack of data on the number and abundance of species have motivated conservation planners and researchers to use more readily available information as proxies or surrogates for biodiversity. "Habitat" is one of the most frequently used surrogates but its assumed value in marine conservation planning is not often tested. The present study developed and tested three alternative habitat classification schemes of increasing complexity for a large estuary in south-east Australia and tested their effectiveness in predicting spatial variation in macroinvertebrate biodiversity and selecting estuarine protected areas to represent species. The three habitat classification schemes were: (1) broad-scale habitats (e.g., mangroves and seagrass), (2) subdivision of each broad-scale habitat by a suite of environmental variables that varied significantly throughout the estuary, and (3) subdivision of each broad-scale habitat by the subset of environmental variables that best explained spatial variation in macroinvertebrate biodiversity. Macroinvertebrate assemblages differed significantly among the habitats in each classification scheme. For each classification scheme, habitat richness was significantly correlated with species richness, total density of macroinvertebrates, assemblage dissimilarity, and summed irreplaceability. However, in a reserve selection process designed to represent examples of each habitat, no habitat classification scheme represented species significantly better than a random selection of sites. Habitat classification schemes may represent variation in estuarine biodiversity; however, the results of this study suggest they are inefficient in designing representative networks of estuarine protected areas.

Advancing marine conservation planning in the Mediterranean Sea

Twenty leading scientists in the field of marine conservation planning attended the first international workshop on conservation planning in the Mediterranean Sea. This globally significant biodiversity hotspot has been subjected to human exploitation and degradation for 1,000s of years. Recently, several initiatives have tried to identify priority areas for conservation across the Mediterranean Sea. However, none of these efforts have led to large-scale actions yet. The aim of the workshop was to establish a network of scientists who are involved in large-scale conservation planning initiatives throughout the Mediterranean basin to promote collaboration and reduce redundancy in conservation initiatives. The three focus groups of the workshop build on existing efforts and intend to deliver: (1) a roadmap for setting conservation priorities, (2) a methodological framework for linking threats, actions and costs to improve the prioritization process, and (3) a systematic conservation planning process tailored to complex environments such as the Mediterranean Sea. Joining forces and involving more scientists (especially from the South-eastern part of the region) in following meetings, the participants endeavour to provide guidelines on how to bridge the science-policy gap and hence aid decision-makers to take efficient conservation actions.

A method for incorporating climate change modelling into marine conservation planning: An Indo-west Pacific example

Marine protected areas (MPA) are rapidly being established to minimize the impact of anthropogenic disturbances, yet, while climate change is acknowledged as a growing threat, very limited research exists about how to directly incorporate climate-related disturbances into MPA design. Using the conservation planning software Marxan and the Indo-west Pacific as a study region, an illustrative approach is developed here that incorporates climate change projections into the process of identifying priority areas for marine conservation. Conservation targets were set at 10% and 30% of areas that continually held sea-surface temperatures less than 1 °C above maximum non-extreme historic temperatures (derived from satellite imagery from 1984–2009). This approach allowed for continuity in conservation objectives across both space and time by identifying the geographic extent of thermal stress in the region and illustrating how conditions would change in future years. Achievement of targets was found to be flexible, but some areas were more important than others for achieving these targets. Interannual trend analyses were carried out for three climate models under two climate change scenarios to examine spatial and temporal patterns of thermal stress. Spatial patterns of thermal stress varied throughout the region. Results of the conservation approach were compared to the trend results to see whether the trends might be a simpler approach for accounting for climate change impacts in conservation planning (i.e., one feature could be used instead of more than 1000). The interannual analyses had a low overlap with the Marxan results, and hence are not a suitable substitute for the approach shown here. This study showed that inclusion of climate-related disturbances in marine conservation planning is feasible and should become common practice, together with targets for biodiversity.

Peace parks and transboundary initiatives: implications for marine conservation and spatial planning

AbstractIncreasing use of the marine environment makes the development of spatial planning desirable. However, ambiguity and connectivity in the marine system has the potential to create conflict between neighboring States, particularly in contested border regions with overlapping ecosystems and migratory species. Interest in the concept of transboundary conservation is expanding in the marine system. Increasingly, there is a strategic move toward attempting to combine conservation issues with resolving conflicts between States by promoting these initiatives as peace parks. Although this strategy has the potential to provide solutions there are risks involved. A review of nine marine transboundary initiatives provides insights into hazards and best practices that may inform future conservation and spatial planning in this system. Results suggest that, like most conservation, long‐term sustainability of projects is based on transparency, the availability of appropriate funding, and governmental will. While the branding of marine transboundary conservation initiatives as peace parks may help to provide initial political impetus to projects, maintaining governmental interest is a significant long‐term issue. This review aims to stimulate the debate on strategies for developing marine transboundary conservation for the future, bearing in mind the potential for conflict in these regions.

Comparison of five modelling techniques to predict the spatial distribution and abundance of seabirds

Knowledge about the spatial distribution of seabirds at sea is important for conservation. During marine conservation planning, logistical constraints preclude seabird surveys covering the complete area of interest and spatial distribution of seabirds is frequently inferred from predictive statistical models. Increasingly complex models are available to relate the distribution and abundance of pelagic seabirds to environmental variables, but a comparison of their usefulness for delineating protected areas for seabirds is lacking. Here we compare the performance of five modelling techniques (generalised linear models, generalised additive models, Random Forest, boosted regression trees, and maximum entropy) to predict the distribution of Balearic Shearwaters (Puffinus mauretanicus) along the coast of the western Iberian Peninsula. We used ship transect data from 2004 to 2009 and 13 environmental variables to predict occurrence and density, and evaluated predictive performance of all models using spatially segregated test data. Predicted distribution varied among the different models, although predictive performance varied little. An ensemble prediction that combined results from all five techniques was robust and confirmed the existence of marine important bird areas for Balearic Shearwaters in Portugal and Spain. Our predictions suggested additional areas that would be of high priority for conservation and could be proposed as protected areas. Abundance data were extremely difficult to predict, and none of five modelling techniques provided a reliable prediction of spatial patterns. We advocate the use of ensemble modelling that combines the output of several methods to predict the spatial distribution of seabirds, and use these predictions to target separate surveys assessing the abundance of seabirds in areas of regular use.

Quantifying the Spatial Ecology of Wide-Ranging Marine Species in the Gulf of California: Implications for Marine Conservation Planning

There is growing interest in systematic establishment of marine protected area (MPA) networks and representative conservation sites. This movement toward networks of no-take zones requires that reserves are deliberately and adequately spaced for connectivity. Here, we test the network functionality of an ecoregional assessment configuration of marine conservation areas by evaluating the habitat protection and connectivity offered to wide-ranging fauna in the Gulf of California (GOC, Mexico). We first use expert opinion to identify representative species of wide-ranging fauna of the GOC. These include leopard grouper, hammerhead sharks, California brown pelicans and green sea turtles. Analyzing habitat models with both structural and functional connectivity indexes, our results indicate that the configuration includes large proportions of biologically important habitat for the four species considered (25–40%), particularly, the best quality habitats (46–57%). Our results also show that connectivity levels offered by the conservation area design for these four species may be similar to connectivity levels offered by the entire Gulf of California, thus indicating that connectivity offered by the areas may resemble natural connectivity. The selected focal species comprise different life histories among marine or marine-related vertebrates and are associated with those habitats holding the most biodiversity values (i.e. coastal habitats); our results thus suggest that the proposed configuration may function as a network for connectivity and may adequately represent the marine megafauna in the GOC, including the potential connectivity among habitat patches. This work highlights the range of approaches that can be used to quantify habitat protection and connectivity for wide-ranging marine species in marine reserve networks.

Effects of ship traffic on seabirds in offshore waters: implications for marine conservation and spatial planning

Most anthropogenic influences on marine ecosystems, except for river- or terrestrial-borne pollution, involve some sort of vessel activity. Increasing anthropogenic activities mean that many countries are being forced to develop spatial planning schemes, while at the same time implementing conservation sites for sensitive species at sea. The effects of ship traffic on seabirds sensitive to human disturbance are currently too poorly understood to allow for the development of proper planning and conservation guidelines. We therefore used aerial surveys and experimental disturbance to elucidate the effects of passing ships on the distribution patterns, habitat loss, and species-specific flight reactions of birds, as well as the potential for habituation. Loons (Gavia spp.) showed clear avoidance of areas with high shipping intensity. Flush distances of four sea duck species differed significantly, with the longest distances recorded for Common Scoters (Melanitta nigra) and the shortest for Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima). Flush distance was positively related to flock size. Among all the sea duck species studied, the duration of temporary habitat loss was longest for Common Scoters. We found indications of habituation in sea ducks within areas of channeled traffic. However, it is questionable if habituation to free-ranging ships is likely to occur, because of their unpredictable nature. We therefore recommend that spatial planning should aim to channel ship traffic wherever possible to avoid further habitat fragmentation and to allow for habituation, at least in some species. Information on the effects of shipping on other seabird species and during different periods of the year is urgently needed, together with information on the effects of different types of boats, including recreational and fishing vessels.

Sliding baselines and shuffling species: implications of climate change for marine conservation

AbstractThe concept of shifting or sliding baselines refers to the way that significant changes to an ecological system are mistakenly measured against a previous baseline, which may be significantly different from the original state of the system. The concept assumes an ‘original state’ exists and that a return to that state might be possible, if it could be determined and there was sufficient control of human interference. The concept has been important in both marine conservation planning and fisheries management. However, long periods of exploitation, observed and projected climate change, and the disappearance of some environments, suggest that a return to an original state is unlikely to be achievable in many systems. In addition, protection based on static marine protected areas is unlikely to meet common conservation objectives, as species and habitats are moving and species assemblages shuffling with the changing climate. An alternative to modeling single species distribution changes is to examine change in environmental proxies, such as sea surface temperature (SST). Here, projected changes in SST for the period 2063–2065 from a downscaled ocean model are used to illustrate the similarity to, and movements of, present pelagic environments within conservation planning areas off Eastern Australia. The future environment of small planning areas differs from their present environment and static protected areas might not protect range‐changing species. Climate‐aware conservation planning should consider the use of mobile protected areas to afford protection to species’ changing their distribution, and develop conservation objectives that are not underpinned by a return to historical baselines.

Identification of discrete and ecologically relevant types of ichthyo-habitat at two spatial scales for process-based marine planning

AB Aquatic Biology Contact the journal Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections AB 12:187-196 (2011) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00336 Identification of discrete and ecologically relevant types of ichthyo-habitat at two spatial scales for process-based marine planning C. A. Jung*, S. E. Swearer Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia *Email: jung@unimelb.edu.au ABSTRACT: One objective of marine planning is the protection of biodiversity. The majority of planning strategies are based on descriptive methodologies, i.e. detecting and managing diversity hotspots. The disadvantage of such approaches is the lack of explanatory power in elucidating what facilitates the variation in diversity. The present study proposes an alternative approach: planning based on ecological processes. Correlations between 24 variables of the biophysical habitat and 4 ecological indices of fish assemblage composition were established. Variables strongly correlated to at least 1 index (adjusted r2 > 0.6) were regarded as likely drivers of variation and used as a basis for cluster analyses to classify discrete, ecologically relevant habitat types. Variables were quantified at 2 spatial scales: individual transects (at scales of 10s of meters) and whole reefs (at scales of 100s of meters to kilometers). Habitat variables at the reef scale were not strongly correlated to ecological indices as often as variables at the transect scale. Aspects of vegetation and habitat complexity correlated strongly to most indices. In all approaches, high capacity habitat, i.e. habitat containing high values of habitat variables positively correlated to diversity indices, was defined by high abundance of Phaeophyta and high structural complexity of the reef itself. High capacity habitat was spatially confined. All cluster analyses yielded similar spatial patterns of habitat types. The statistical methodology used in the present study—identifying distinct and ecologically relevant habitat types and habitat with high capacity to support high diversity—be a useful approach for identifying candidate areas for ­protection in marine conservation planning. KEY WORDS: Process-based management · Diversity · Fishes · Rocky reefs · Habitat Full text in pdf format PreviousCite this article as: Jung CA, Swearer SE (2011) Identification of discrete and ecologically relevant types of ichthyo-habitat at two spatial scales for process-based marine planning. Aquat Biol 12:187-196. https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00336 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AB Vol. 12, No. 2. Online publication date: May 05, 2011 Print ISSN: 1864-7782; Online ISSN: 1864-7790 Copyright © 2011 Inter-Research.

Advancing objectives-based, integrated ocean management through marine spatial planning: current and future directions on the Scotian Shelf off Nova Scotia, Canada

The national legislative and policy context for integrated ocean management in Canada is provided by the Oceans Act (1996) and the supporting policy statement, Canada’s Oceans Strategy. Under the Oceans Act, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is the lead federal authority for ocean affairs and is charged with leading and facilitating the development and implementation of integrated management plans for all marine waters. Integrated management efforts in Canada are being undertaken through an area-based approach that enables marine planning, management and decision making to occur at appropriate spatial scales, from regional to site-specific. This article focuses on the Eastern Scotian Shelf Integrated Management (ESSIM) process, an offshore-focused effort to develop an integrated ocean management plan for a large portion of the Scotian Shelf, off Nova Scotia. The resulting Eastern Scotian Shelf Integrated Ocean Management Plan (the ESSIM plan) has been developed through a collaborative process involving all interested and affected government departments and ocean stakeholders, and provides an objectives-based approach to ocean management. The ESSIM plan contains a set of long-term, overarching goals for collaborative governance and integrated management, sustainable human use, and healthy ecosystems. These goals are supported by more specific objectives that express desired outcomes and conditions for the marine region. The objectives-based approach seeks to ensure that interrelationships among ecosystem and human use objectives are recognized and reflected in the identification of management strategies and supporting actions. This article considers the role of marine spatial planning within the context of the integrated ocean management process underway for the Scotian Shelf. The policy and management context for integrated ocean management in Canada is briefly described and a summary of the ESSIM plan is provided. The current and potential role for marine spatial planning in implementing the objectives and strategies of the ESSIM plan is highlighted using examples related to multiple ocean use and marine conservation and protected area planning. The article concludes by drawing out key lessons learned to date through the ESSIM process for marine spatial planning and looks to the future in terms of the development of tools and approaches for this integral aspect of integrated ocean management.

Accommodating Dynamic Oceanographic Processes and Pelagic Biodiversity in Marine Conservation Planning

Pelagic ecosystems support a significant and vital component of the ocean's productivity and biodiversity. They are also heavily exploited and, as a result, are the focus of numerous spatial planning initiatives. Over the past decade, there has been increasing enthusiasm for protected areas as a tool for pelagic conservation, however, few have been implemented. Here we demonstrate an approach to plan protected areas that address the physical and biological dynamics typical of the pelagic realm. Specifically, we provide an example of an approach to planning protected areas that integrates pelagic and benthic conservation in the southern Benguela and Agulhas Bank ecosystems off South Africa. Our aim was to represent species of importance to fisheries and species of conservation concern within protected areas. In addition to representation, we ensured that protected areas were designed to consider pelagic dynamics, characterized from time-series data on key oceanographic processes, together with data on the abundance of small pelagic fishes. We found that, to have the highest likelihood of reaching conservation targets, protected area selection should be based on time-specific data rather than data averaged across time. More generally, we argue that innovative methods are needed to conserve ephemeral and dynamic pelagic biodiversity.

Use of Habitats as Surrogates of Biodiversity for Efficient Coral Reef Conservation Planning in Pacific Ocean Islands

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have been highlighted as a means toward effective conservation of coral reefs. New strategies are required to more effectively select MPA locations and increase the pace of their implementation. Many criteria exist to design MPA networks, but generally, it is recommended that networks conserve a diversity of species selected for, among other attributes, their representativeness, rarity, or endemicity. Because knowledge of species' spatial distribution remains scarce, efficient surrogates are urgently needed. We used five different levels of habitat maps and six spatial scales of analysis to identify under which circumstances habitat data used to design MPA networks for Wallis Island provided better representation of species than random choice alone. Protected-area site selections were derived from a rarity-complementarity algorithm. Habitat surrogacy was tested for commercial fish species, all fish species, commercially harvested invertebrates, corals, and algae species. Efficiency of habitat surrogacy varied by species group, type of habitat map, and spatial scale of analysis. Maps with the highest habitat thematic complexity provided better surrogates than simpler maps and were more robust to changes in spatial scales. Surrogates were most efficient for commercial fishes, corals, and algae but not for commercial invertebrates. Conversely, other measurements of species-habitat associations, such as richness congruence and composition similarities provided weak results. We provide, in part, a habitat-mapping methodology for designation of MPAs for Pacific Ocean islands that are characterized by habitat zonations similar to Wallis. Given the increasing availability and affordability of space-borne imagery to map habitats, our approach could appreciably facilitate and improve current approaches to coral reef conservation and enhance MPA implementation.

Shortcuts for marine conservation planning: The effectiveness of socioeconomic data surrogates

Marine protected area (MPA) networks designed without consideration of the interests of local communities are likely to fail. However, in many regions where conservation action is needed most urgently, socioeconomic data are not available at spatial scales relevant to conservation planning. In the Philippines, the primary stakeholders relevant to conservation efforts in coastal waters are small-scale fishers. Unlike commercial fisheries, no logbook data are kept to record fishers’ spatial effort and usage patterns. We investigated the effects of including different surrogates for small-scale fishing effort in the systematic design of an MPA network for Siquijor Province. We compared a reserve selection scenario in which socioeconomic data were not considered with four different surrogates for fishing effort and with empirical data on the spatial distribution of fishing effort collected through interviews. We assumed that minimising opportunity costs to fishers would increase the likelihood that they would support and comply with MPA implementation, resulting in more effective conservation. Surrogates modelled on the number of fishers or boats in each community consistently outperformed those based on population census data. However, none of the surrogates we tested were able to accurately predict fine-scale resource use patterns. Whilst socioeconomic surrogates may be able to assist conservation planners to identify regional-scale opportunities where conservation objectives may be met more easily, they cannot act as a shortcut for comprehensive consultation with communities, which will be required to identify actual sites for MPA implementation.

Phylogeography and marine retention

AbstractA number of studies now point to the association of patterns of phylogeography with discontinuities in coastal current patterns. If such phylogeographic patterns are indicative of populations that retain local diversity, as has been predicted by recent modelling, such results may be of use in marine reserve planning. Here we show that there is a distributional correlation on the Pacific coast of North America between marine reserve placement and phylogeographic patterns. A number of factors could contribute to this correlation, but its existence suggests the utility of genetic studies in marine conservation planning.

“Lessons for marine conservation planning: A comparison of three marine protected area planning processes”

Various approaches have been used to establish marine protected areas (MPAs) in different countries. In this paper we compare and review three processes to establish MPAs within the United States and Australia. These two countries share many similarities in their cultures, but their approaches to managing marine resources differ considerably. Each of these efforts to establish or review MPAs was motivated by concern about declines of targeted marine species or habitats. However, the government actions varied because of differences in governance, planning process including public input, and the role of science. Comparing these processes highlights effective approaches for protecting marine ecosystems and gaining public support.