An ecological correction to marine reserves boundaries in the US Virgin Islands

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are important tools for management of marine ecosystems. While desired, ecological and biological criteria are not always feasible to consider when establishing protected areas. In 2001, the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICR) in St. John, US Virgin Islands was established by Executive Order. VICR boundaries were based on administrative determination of Territorial Sea boundaries and land ownership at the time of the Territorial Submerged Lands Act of 1974. VICR prohibits almost all fishing and other extractive uses. Surveys of habitat and fishes inside and outside of VICR were conducted in 2002-07. Based on these surveys, areas outside VICR had significantly more hard corals; greater habitat complexity; and greater richness, abundance and biomass of reef fishes than areas within VICR, further supporting results from 2002-2004 (Monaco et al., 2007). The administrative (political) process used to establish VICR did not allow a robust ecological characterization of the area to determine the boundaries of the MPA. Efforts are underway to increase amounts of complex reef habitat within VICR by swapping a part of VICR that has little coral reef habitat for a Territorially-owned area within VICR that contains a coral reef with higher coral cover.

Palmyra Atoll coral reef habitat mapping completion report

The United States Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) was established in 1998 by Presidential Executive Order 13089 to lead U.S. efforts to preserve and protect coral reef ecosystems. Current, accurate, and consistent maps greatly enhance efforts to preserve and manage coral reef ecosystems. With comprehensive maps and habitat assessments, coral reef managers can be more effective in designing and implementing a variety of conservation measures, including: • Long-term monitoring programs with accurate baselines from which to track changes; • Place-based conservation measures such as marine protected areas (MPAs); and • Targeted research to better understand the oceanographic and ecological processes affecting coral reef ecosystem health. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Ocean Service (NOS) is tasked with leading the coral ecosystem mapping element of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (CRTF) under the authority of the Presidential Executive Order 13089 to map and manage the coral reefs of the United States.

A point for comparison: the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

A reoccurring goal listed during the creation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is to return the region to a former state. However, limited data is available that describes or characterizes this former condition. Data collected from ecosystems with comparatively limited anthropogenic impacts, can provide invaluable information in suggesting what former states may have looked like. One example is the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary which is located 180 kilometers off the coast of Texas. These relatively isolated and pristine banks are capped by substantial scleractinian coral communities, forming excellent habitat for over 200 species of fish. While fishing is permitted, it is limited by difficulty of access. In 2006, NOAA’s Biogeography Branch, in collaboration with the Sanctuary, initiated the first quantitative assessment of fish resources throughout the diveable portions of the Sanctuary. The sampling design and methodologies employed were identical to those that the Branch has utilized in other more impacted regions of the US Caribbean. Initial analyses reveal that fish density and species richness at the Sanctuary were almost two times greater than that found within the US Caribbean and biomass was approximately six times higher. This was due in large part to the presence of sizeable piscivores of the genera Mycteroperca and Dermatolepis. The Sanctuary is one of few minimally impacted locations remaining within the Tropical Western Atlantic. As such, these findings should be considered when attempting to establish a former state or evaluate effectiveness of an MPA in meeting its management goals.

The effects of size-selective fisheries on the stock dynamics of and sperm limitation in sex-changing fish

Fisheries models have traditionally focused on patterns of growth, fecundity, and survival of fish. However, reproductive rates are the outcome of a variety of interconnected factors such as life-history strategies, mating patterns, population sex ratio, social interactions, and individual fecundity and fertility. Behaviorally appropriate models are necessary to understand stock dynamics and predict the success of management strategies. Protogynous sex-changing fish present a challenge for management because size-selective fisheries can drastically reduce reproductive rates. We present a general framework using an individual-based simulation model to determine the effect of life-history pattern, sperm production, mating system, and management strategy on stock dynamics. We apply this general approach to the specific question of how size-selective fisheries that remove mainly males will impact the stock dynamics of a protogynous population with fixed sex change compared to an otherwise identical dioecious population. In this dioecious population, we kept all aspects of the stock constant except for the pattern of sex determination (i.e. whether the species changes sex or is dioecious). Protogynous stocks with fixed sex change are predicted to be very sensitive to the size-selective fishing pattern. If all male size classes are fished, protogynous populations are predicted to crash even at relatively low fishing mortality. When some male size classes escape fishing, we predict that the mean population size of sex-changing stocks will decrease proportionally less than the mean population size of dioecious species experiencing the same fishing mortality. For protogynous species, spawning-per-recruit measures that ignore fertilization rates are not good indicators of the impact of fishing on the population. Decreased mating aggregation size is predicted to lead to an increased effect of sperm limitation at constant fishing mortality and effort. Marine protected areas have the potential to mitigate some effects of fishing on sperm limitation in sex-changing populations.

Review on hard coral recruitment (Cnidaria: Scleractinia) in Colombia

Recruitment, defined and measured as the incorporation of new individuals (i.e. coral juveniles) into a population, is a fundamental process for ecologists, evolutionists and conservationists due to its direct effect on population structure and function. Because most coral populations are self-feeding, a breakdown in recruitment would lead to local extinction. Recruitment indirectly affects both renewal and maintenance of existing and future coral communities, coral reef biodiversity (bottom-up effect) and therefore coral reef resilience. This process has been used as an indirect measure of individual reproductive success (fitness) and is the final stage of larval dispersal leading to population connectivity. As a result, recruitment has been proposed as an indicator of coral-reef health in marine protected areas, as well as a central aspect of the decision-making process concerning management and conservation. The creation of management plans to promote impact mitigation,rehabilitation and conservation of the Colombian coral reefs is a necessity that requires firstly, a review and integration of existing literature on scleractinian coral recruitment in Colombia and secondly, larger scale field studies. This motivated us to summarize and analyze all existing information on coral recruitment to determine the state of knowledge, isolate patterns, identify gaps, and suggest future lines of research.

Game Vertebrate Densities in Hunted and Nonhunted Forest Sites in Manu National Park, Peru

Manu National Park of southern Peru is one of the most renowned protected areas in the world, yet large-bodied vertebrate surveys conducted to date have been restricted to Cocha Cashu Biological Station, a research station covering <0.06 percent of the 1.7Mha park. Manu Park is occupied by >460 settled Matsigenka Amerindians, 300-400 isolated Matsigenka, and several, little-known groups of isolated hunter-gatherers, yet the impact of these native Amazonians on game vertebrate populations within the park remains poorly understood. On the basis of 1495 km of standardized line-transect censuses, we present density and biomass estimates for 23 mammal, bird, and reptile species for seven lowland and upland forest sites in Manu Park, including Cocha Cashu. We compare these estimates between hunted and nonhunted sites within Manu Park, and with other Neotropical forest sites. Manu Park safeguards some of the most species-rich and highest biomass assemblages of arboreal and terrestrial mammals ever recorded in Neotropical forests, most likely because of its direct Andean influence and high levels of soil fertility. Relative to Barro Colorado Island, seed predators and arboreal folivores in Manu are rare, and generalist frugivores specializing on mature fruit pulp are abundant. The impact of such a qualitative shift in the vertebrate community on the dynamics of plant regeneration, and therefore, on our understanding of tropical plant ecology, must be profound. Despite a number of external threats, Manu Park continues to serve as a baseline against which other Neotropical forests can be gauged.

Performance in managing marine resources in the Bay of Bengal

The eight member countries were assessed as to their sustainable use of resources within their Exclusive Economic Zones(EEZs). Indicators included; investment in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), impact of trawling, mariculture sustainability, protection of seabirds and marine mammals,ecosystem impacts, economic health and levels of reporting and compliance.

Report of the Regional ICM Workshop, Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, 5-7 December, 2011

Recommendations form the workshop included:establishment of "Pilot Sites"; trans-boundary ecosystem resource sharing;establishment of Marine Protected Areas(MPAs); joint research;promotion of co-management principles; preparation of a regional "coastal atlas" and development of a communications strategy

Monitoring and evaluation of management effectiveness for adaptive management of MPAs in Indonesia's BOBLME area

Subcomponent 3.2 Marine Protected Areas in the conservation of regional fish stocks "Provision of Services Relating to the Assessment and Planning of Effective Management of two MPAs in Sumatra Coast, Indonesia". Assessments of management effectiveness of two Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Pulau Pieh National Park and Sabang District, Sumatra, were conducted through two separate workshops. Recommendations were made and future needs identified.

The NIPAS Act of 1992

Republic Act 7586 (Philippines) provides for the establishment and management of a National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS).

How Locally Designed Access and Use Controls Can Prevent the Tragedy of the Commons in a Mexican Small-Scale Fishing Community

The Seri people, a self-governed community of small-scale fishermen in the Gulf of California, Mexico, have ownership rights to fishing grounds where they harvest highly valuable commercial species of bivalves. Outsiders are eager to gain access, and the community has devised a set of rules to allow them in. Because Seri government officials keep all the economic benefits generated from granting this access for themselves, community members create alternative entry mechanisms to divert those benefits to themselves. Under Hardin’s model of the tragedy of the commons, this situation would eventually lead to the overexploitation of the fishery. The Seri people, however, are able to simultaneously maintain access and use controls for the continuing sustainability of their fishing grounds. Using insights from common- pool resources theory, I discuss how Seri community characteristics help mediate the conflict between collective action dilemmas and access and use controls.

Structuring the Calibration of Qualitative Data as Sets for Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)

Most studies that apply qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) rely on macro-level data, but an increasing number of studies focus on units of analysis at the micro or meso level (i.e., households, firms, protected areas, communities, or local governments). For such studies, qualitative interview data are often the primary source of information. Yet, so far no procedure is available describing how to calibrate qualitative data as fuzzy sets. The authors propose a technique to do so and illustrate it using examples from a study of Guatemalan local governments. By spelling out the details of this important analytic step, the authors aim at contributing to the growing literature on best practice in QCA. © The Author(s) 2012.

Integrating simultaneous prosocial and antisocial behavior into theories of collective action.

Trust and cooperation constitute cornerstones of common-pool resource theory, showing that "prosocial" strategies among resource users can overcome collective action problems and lead to sustainable resource governance. Yet, antisocial behavior and especially the coexistence of prosocial and antisocial behaviors have received less attention. We broaden the analysis to include the effects of both "prosocial" and "antisocial" interactions. We do so in the context of marine protected areas (MPAs), the most prominent form of biodiversity conservation intervention worldwide. Our multimethod approach relied on lab-in-the-field economic experiments (n = 127) in two MPA and two non-MPA communities in Baja California, Mexico. In addition, we deployed a standardized fishers' survey (n = 544) to verify the external validity of our findings and expert informant interviews (n = 77) to develop potential explanatory mechanisms. In MPA sites, prosocial and antisocial behavior is significantly higher, and the presence of antisocial behavior does not seem to have a negative effect on prosocial behavior. We suggest that market integration, economic diversification, and strengthened group identity in MPAs are the main potential mechanisms for the simultaneity of prosocial and antisocial behavior we observed. This study constitutes a first step in better understanding the interaction between prosociality and antisociality as related to natural resources governance and conservation science, integrating literatures from social psychology, evolutionary anthropology, behavioral economics, and ecology.

Interactions spatiales et auto-organisation des végétations semi-arides

Les recherches récapitulées dans cette thèse de doctorat ont porté sur les causes de l’organisation spatiale des végétations périodiques. Ces structures paysagères aux motifs réguliers, tachetés, tigrés ou labyrinthiques, d’échelle décamétrique à hectométrique, couvrant des étendues considérables sur au moins trois continents, constituent un cas d’école dans l’étude des processus endogènes présidant à l’hétérogénéité du couvert végétal. Ces structures prennent place sur un substrat homogène, mis à part la rétroaction du couvert lui-même, et sont marquées par des écotones abrupts et la persistance d’une proportion considérable de sol nu. Plusieurs modèles ont mis en avant l’existence possible d’un phénomène d’auto-organisation du couvert, qui verrait une structure d’ensemble émerger des interactions locales entre individus. Ces modèles se basent sur le jeu simultané de la consommation de la ressource (compétition) et de l’amélioration de l’un ou l’autre des éléments du bilan de la même ressource par le couvert (facilitation). La condition à l’existence d’une structure d’ensemble spatialement périodique et stable réside dans une différence entre la portée de la compétition (plus grande) et celle de la facilitation. L’apparition de ces structures est modulée par le taux de croissance biologique, qui est le reflet des contraintes extérieures telles que l’aridité, le pâturage ou la coupe de bois. Le modus operandi des interactions spatiales supposées entre individus reste largement à préciser.

Nos recherches ont été menées au sud-ouest de la République du Niger, à l’intérieur et dans les environs du parc Régional du W. Trois axes ont été explorés :(i) Une étude de la dépendance spatiale entre la structure de la végétation (biovolumes cartographiés) et les paramètres du milieu abiotique (relief, sol), sur base d’analyses spectrales et cross-spectrales par transformée de Fourier (1D et 2D). (ii) Une étude diachronique (1956, 1975 et 1996) à large échelle (3000 km²) de l’influence de l’aridité et des pressions d’origine anthropique sur l’auto-organisation des végétations périodiques, basée sur la caractérisation de la structure spatiale des paysages sur photos aériennes via la transformée de Fourier en 2D. (iii) Trois études portant sur les interactions spatiales entre individus :En premier lieu, via l’excavation des systèmes racinaires (air pulsé) ;Ensuite, par un suivi spatio-temporel du bilan hydrique du sol (blocs de gypse) ;Enfin, via le marquage de la ressource par du deutérium.

Nous avons ainsi pu établir que les végétations périodiques constituent bien un mode d’auto-organisation pouvant survenir sur substrat homogène et modulé par les contraintes climatiques et anthropiques. Un ajustement rapide entre l’organisation des végétations périodiques et le climat a pu être montrée en zone protégée. La superficie et l’organisation des végétations périodiques y ont tour à tour progressé et régressé en fonction d’épisodes secs ou humides. Par contre, en dehors de l’aire protégée, la possibilité d’une restauration du couvert semble fortement liée au taux d’exploitation des ressources végétales. Ces résultats ont d’importantes implications quant à la compréhension des interactions entre climat et écosystèmes et à l’évaluation de leurs capacités de charge. La caractérisation de la structure spatiale des végétations arides, notamment par la transformée de Fourier d’images HR, devrait être généralisée comme outil de monitoring de l’état de ces écosystèmes. Nos études portant sur les modes d’interactions spatiales ont permis de confirmer l’existence d’une facilitation à courte portée du couvert végétal sur la ressource. Cependant, cette facilitation ne semble pas s’exercer sur le terme du bilan hydrique traditionnellement avancé, à savoir l’infiltration, mais plutôt sur le taux d’évaporation (deux fois moindre à l’ombre des canopées). Ce mécanisme exclut l’existence de transferts diffusifs souterrains entre sols nu et fourrés. Des transferts inverses semblent d’ailleurs montrés par le marquage isotopique. L’étude du bilan hydrique et la cartographie du micro-relief, ainsi que la profondeur fortement réduite de la zone d’exploitation racinaire, jettent de sérieux doutes quant au rôle communément admis des transferts d’eau par ruissellement/diffusion de surface en tant que processus clé dans la compétition à distance entre les plantes. L’alternative réside dans l’existence d’une compétition racinaire de portée supérieure aux canopées. Cette hypothèse trouve une confirmation tant par les rhizosphères excavées, superficielles et étendues, que dans le marquage isotopique, montrant des contaminations d’arbustes situés à plus de 15 m de la zone d’apport. De même, l’étude du bilan hydrique met en évidence les influences simultanées et contradictoires (facilitation/compétition) des ligneux sur l’évapotranspiration.

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This PhD thesis gathers results of a research dealing with the causes of the spatial organisation of periodic vegetations. These landscape structures, featuring regular spotted, labyrinthine or banded patterns of decametric to hectometric scale, and extending over considerable areas on at least three continents, constitute a perfect study case to approach endogenous processes leading to vegetation heterogeneities. These patterns occur over homogeneous substratum, except for vegetation’s own feedbacks, and are marked by sharp ecotones and the persistence of a considerable amount of bare soil. A number of models suggested a possible case of self-organized patterning, in which the general structure would emerge from local interactions between individuals. Those models rest on the interplay of competitive and facilitative effects, relating to soil water consumption and to soil water budget enhancement by vegetation. A general necessary condition for pattern formation to occur is that negative interactions (competition) have a larger range than positive interactions (facilitation). Moreover, all models agree with the idea that patterning occurs when vegetation growth decreases, for instance as a result of reduced water availability, domestic grazing or wood cutting, therefore viewing patterns as a self-organised response to environmental constraints. However the modus operandi of the spatial interactions between individual plants remains largely to be specified.

We carried out a field research in South-West Niger, within and around the W Regional Park. Three research lines were explored: (i) The study of the spatial dependency between the vegetation pattern (mapped biovolumes) and the factors of the abiotic environment (soil, relief), on the basis of spectral and cross-spectral analyses with Fourier transform (1D and 2D). (ii) A broad scale diachronic study (1956, 1975, 1996) of the influence of aridity and human induced pressures on the vegetation self-patterning, based on the characterisation of patterns on high resolution remote sensing data via 2D Fourier transform. (iii) Three different approaches of the spatial interactions between individuals: via root systems excavation with pulsed air; via the monitoring in space and time of the soil water budget (gypsum blocks method); and via water resource labelling with deuterated water.

We could establish that periodic vegetations are indeed the result of a self-organisation process, occurring in homogeneous substratum conditions and modulated by climate and human constraints. A rapid adjustment between vegetation patterning and climate could be observed in protected zones. The area and patterning of the periodic vegetations successively progressed and regressed, following drier or wetter climate conditions. On the other hand, outside protected areas, the restoration ability of vegetation appeared to depend on the degree of vegetation resource exploitation. These results have important implications regarding the study of vegetation-climate interactions and the evaluation of ecosystems’ carrying capacities. Spatial pattern characterisation in arid vegetations using Fourier transform of HR remote sensing data should be generalised for the monitoring of those ecosystems. Our studies dealing with spatial interaction mechanisms confirmed the existence of a short range facilitation of the cover on water resource. However, this facilitation does not seem to act through the commonly accepted infiltration component, but rather on the evaporative rate (twice less within thickets). This mechanism excludes underground diffusive transfers between bare ground and vegetation. Inverse transfers were even shown by deuterium labelling. Water budget study and micro-elevation mapping, along with consistent soil shallowness, together cast serious doubts on the traditional mechanism of run-off/diffusion of surface water as a key process of the long range competition between plants. An alternative explanation lies in long range root competition. This hypothesis find support as well in the excavated root systems, shallow and wide, as in isotopic labelling, showing contaminations of shrubs located up to 15 m of the irrigated area. Water budget study also evidenced simultaneous contradictory effects (facilitation/competition) of shrubs on evapotranspiration.

Sustainability and local tourism branding in England's South Downs

This paper reports on a stakeholder consultation exercise that examined the tourism industry's perception of developing a local tourism branding scheme within the South Downs' protected areas in south-east England. The research shows that such schemes could offer potential benefits that are recognisable by the tourism industry, while helping to meet the statutory aims of the protected area. The paper records the perceptions of small tourism businesses, their fears, awareness of tourism impacts, perceptions of sustainable tourism and of local branding, and key criteria connected to the future organisation of a local tourism branding scheme. The conclusion lists the recommendations for the implementation of a local branding scheme, including grassroots stakeholder consultation that encourages ownership and participation, institutional frameworks that support capacity-building and the importance of developing core values within a local brand.