Protected areas preserve natural behaviour of a targeted fish species on coral reefs
| Autor: | David H. Williamson, Ashley J. Frisch, Garry R. Russ, Brock J. Bergseth |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
education.field_of_study geography geography.geographical_feature_category biology Ecology Coral reef fish 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology Fishing Population Marine reserve Coral reef biology.organism_classification 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Fishery Marine protected area 14. Life underwater Fisheries management education Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Nature and Landscape Conservation Coral trout |
| Zdroj: | Biological Conservation. 198:202-209 |
| ISSN: | 0006-3207 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.biocon.2016.04.011 |
| Popis: | Marine protected areas are increasingly being implemented to attain a variety of conservation and fisheries management objectives. Although rarely considered, protection of targeted species within these areas may also conserve behaviours (e.g. boldness) that are often the first removed by human exploitation. Here we examine fish behaviour in fished, no-take, and no-entry management zones for a highly targeted reef fish species (coral trout; Plectropomus leopardus) on coral reefs in two regions of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia. Using three behavioural metrics (flight-initiation distance, pre-flight behaviour, and escape trajectories), we demonstrate how protected areas, particularly no-entry zones, can effectively conserve naive or bold behavioural traits in fish populations. Flight-initiation distance was consistently highest in fished zones, but the effects of protection afforded by no-take and no-entry zones varied by study region. Flight-initiation distance was consistently higher for fish above the minimum legal retention size limit, except in no-entry zones of the southern region. This indicates that no-entry zones may be maintaining near-natural, pre-exploitation behaviour, which could have considerable implications for the genetic and social structures of a highly valuable commercial species. Conservation and fisheries management would therefore benefit from an increased understanding of how fish behaviour can influence population structures, and how these populations may be influenced by fishing and other human interactions. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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