Shifting seas, shifting boundaries: Dynamic marine protected area designs for a changing climate.

ABSTRACT: Marine protected areas (MPAs) are valuable tools for marine conservation that aim to limit human impacts on marine systems and protect valuable species or habitats. However, as species distributions shift due to ocean warming, acidification, and oxygen depletion from climate change, the areas originally designated under MPAs may bear little resemblance to their past state. Different approaches have been suggested for coping with species on the move in conservation. Here, we test the effectiveness of different MPA designs, including dynamic, network, and different directional orientations on protecting shifting species under climate change through ecosystem modeling in a theoretical ecosystem. Our findings suggest that dynamic MPAs may benefit some species (e.g., whiting and anchovy) and fi

SUBMITTER: Cashion T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7654810 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature