Current marine protected areas (MPAs) move out nearly three-quarters of ecologically too functionally of import species unprotected, concludes a novel surgical operation assessment of the Finnish MPA network.
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| Credit: Thinkstock |
Marine ecosystems are facing an unprecedented loss of biodiversity from habitat destruction, changing marine environments too increasing extraction of marine resources.
"This way now, to a greater extent than than ever, protected areas are crucial for sustaining marine ecosystems", says Elina Virtanen, atomic number 82 writer of the written report from the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Finland.
Marine Protected Areas -- which tin covert estuaries, seas too oceans -- safeguard these natural resources from human activities. In Europe, European Union fellow member states utilization the European Union Habitats Directive to designate protected areas based on a listing of habitats too species deemed of import for conservation.
In Finland, which has i of the most complex marine environments worldwide, only about 10% of seas are currently protected. But the assessment of Finnish MPA efficiency reveals this has notwithstanding left of import parts of the ecosystem completely unprotected -- amongst an average of entirely 27% of marine biodiversity currently protected.
So how has this happened?
"Establishment of these protected sites has relied on sure enough of import habitats, such every bit lagoons, shallow bays too reefs, or the presence of seals or of import aeroplane areas, rather than noesis of underwater species acquaint or the ecological value of those areas," explains Virtanen.
While the electrical flow Marine Protected Areas serve to protect many of import habitats, they hand also lilliputian consideration to underwater nature, peculiarly functionally of import species. But because extensive protective coverage has already been implemented inwards Finnish seas, clear evidence is required for whatsoever changes to last made to existing MPAs.
"It was hence of import to signal the areas that are the most of import hotspots for marine biodiversity," says Virtanen.
The researchers had access to nearly 140,000 lately collected samples of information on species too habitat distribution, every bit good every bit information on human pressures too the marine environment. These information were input into ecological distribution models to larn a comprehensive sentiment of the electrical flow marine environment.
These distribution models were so applied to a spatial prioritization technique called Zonation, which grades areas based on their ecological importance. This tin last used to position areas of high conservation value.
"We constitute that increasing the protected expanse from only 10% to 11% inwards the most biodiverse areas would double conservation of the most ecologically of import species," says Virtanen. "This way increased protection of rare too threatened species, functionally of import species too fish reproduction areas."
However, the researchers emphasize that increasing protected areas is non the entirely way for safeguarding the integrity of the marine ecosystem. Human activities threatening biodiversity tin also last reallocated to areas of depression biodiversity too conservation value using ecosystem-based marine spatial planning.
"We felt it is also of import to highlight where sea usage tin last allowed, such every bit the extraction of seabed materials, aquaculture, or air current energy," says Virtanen.
This way a large win for marine protection, every bit good every bit a cost-effective MPA designation method that tin snuff it along policy-makers happy.
Provided sufficient information exist, the approach tin last used globally to demonstrate that modest but targeted changes tin convey massive effects on the efficiency of protected areas -- too a major boost for sustainable utilization of the sea.
"There is a require to reassess electrical flow MPA boundaries to ensure they focus conservation efforts to the most valuable areas, too an increased emphasis on ecological efficiency is essential when designating or expanding MPAs," says Virtanen. "This way nosotros tin ensure that Marine Protected Areas attain global conservation objectives meaningfully too efficiently."
Source: Frontiers [November 08, 2018]
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