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Publication
Use of temperate reef fish community to identify priorities in the estabilishment of a marine protected area
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Few studies have dealt with biodiversity, composition and dynamics of temperate reef fish. The present
study area is a 25 km stretch of coastline (53 km2) on the west Portuguese coast that has recently been
assigned as a Marine Park (Marine Park of the ArrƔbida Nature Park), for which basic information on
composition of the marine communities is very scarce. From a biogeographical perspective, mainland
Portugal is in a transitional zone where many species of cold- and warm-water fish reach their southern and
northern limits of distribution respectively. This situation contributes strongly to a high level of biodiversity
in the Lusitanian province, and also makes it very sensitive to climatic oscillations such as those predicted as
part of global warming.
This study analysed the fish community composition in the marine park and ascribed a hierarchical
importance for the coastal sectors and the different habitats present. The results reflect the heterogeneous
nature of the substrata present and their significant differences in biodiversity values and in the occurrence
of rare species. For each species, dispersion and abundance indexes were calculated and species that require
particular attention are noted. Appropriate management measures are suggested. Procedures for the
implementation of these measures must be suited to a situation where basic biological information is scarce.
This research is included in a broader project aimed at building a long-term database of the fish communities
in this area, assessing the main factors influencing their structure and distribution patterns, and monitoring
reserve effects in the long term.
Description
Keywords
Fish communities Dispersion index Abundance index Marine reserve design Management plan
Citation
In: Beumer, J. P., Grant, A. & Smith, D. C. (Eds). Aquatic protected areas: What works best and how do we know? Proceedings of the world congress on aquatic protected areas (pp. 261-272). Cairns, Australia
Publisher
Australian Society for Fish Biology