Monitoring the resilience of a no-take marine reserve to a range extending species using benthic imagery.

ABSTRACT: Global climate change is driving the redistribution of marine species and thereby potentially restructuring endemic communities. Understanding how localised conservation measures such as protection from additional human pressures can confer resilience to ecosystems is therefore an important area of research. Here, we examine the resilience of a no-take marine reserve (NTR) to the establishment of urchin barrens habitat. The barrens habitat is created through overgrazing of kelp by an invading urchin species that is expanding its range within a hotspot of rapid climate change. In our study region, a multi-year monitoring program provides a unique time-series of benthic imagery collected by an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) within an NTR and nearby reference areas. We use a Bayesian hie

SUBMITTER: Perkins NR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7423107 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature