A theory for optimal monitoring of marine reserves


Autoria(s): Gerber, L. R.; Beger, M.; McCarthy, M. A.; Possingham, H. P.
Contribuinte(s)

M. Hochberg

Data(s)

01/01/2005

Resumo

Monitoring of marine reserves has traditionally focused on the task of rejecting the null hypothesis that marine reserves have no impact on the population and community structure of harvested populations. We consider the role of monitoring of marine reserves to gain information needed for management decisions. In particular we use a decision theoretic framework to answer the question: how long should we monitor the recovery of an over-fished stock to determine the fraction of that stock to reserve? This exposes a natural tension between the cost (in terms of time and money) of additional monitoring, and the benefit of more accurately parameterizing a population model for the stock, that in turn leads to a better decision about the optimal size for the reserve with respect to harvesting. We found that the optimal monitoring time frame is rarely more than 5 years. A higher economic discount rate decreased the optimal monitoring time frame, making the expected benefit of more certainty about parameters in the system negligible compared with the expected gain from earlier exploitation.

Identificador

http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:74729

Idioma(s)

eng

Publicador

Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Palavras-Chave #Ecology #Conservation #Cost #Marine Reserve #Monitoring #Optimization #Profit #Coral-reef Fish #Fisheries Management #Protected Areas #Population #Recruitment #Attributes #Benefits #Design #Island #Parks #C1 #270702 Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology) #770403 Living resources (flora and fauna)
Tipo

Journal Article