Assessing the current state of ecological connectivity in a large marine protected area system.

ABSTRACT: The establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) is a critical step in ensuring the continued persistence of marine biodiversity. Although the area protected in MPAs is growing, the movement of individuals (or larvae) among MPAs, termed connectivity, has only recently been included as an objective of many MPAs. As such, assessing connectivity is often neglected or oversimplified in the planning process. For promoting population persistence, it is important to ensure that protected areas in a system are functionally connected through dispersal or adult movement. We devised a multi-species model of larval dispersal for the Australian marine environment to evaluate how much local scale connectivity is protected in MPAs and determine whether the extensive system of MPAs truly functions as a

SUBMITTER: Roberts KE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8048790 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature