The DOI matches its Crossref record; 38 of the 38 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Recovery potential of the world's coral reef fishes
Open accessAbstract
Continuing degradation of coral reef ecosystems has generated substantial interest in how management can support reef resilience. Fishing is the primary source of diminished reef function globally, leading to widespread calls for additional marine reserves to recover fish biomass and restore key ecosystem functions. Yet there are no established baselines for determining when these conservation objectives have been met or whether alternative management strategies provide similar ecosystem benefits. Here we establish empirical conservation benchmarks and fish biomass recovery timelines against which coral reefs can be assessed and managed by studying the recovery potential of more than 800 coral reefs along an exploitation gradient. We show that resident reef fish biomass in the absence of fishing (B0) averages ∼1,000 kg ha−1, and that the vast majority (83%) of fished reefs are missing more than half their expected biomass, with severe consequences for key ecosystem functions such as predation. Given protection from fishing, reef fish biomass has the potential to recover within 35 years on average and less than 60 years when heavily depleted. Notably, alternative fisheries restrictions are largely (64%) successful at maintaining biomass above 50% of B0, sustaining key functions such as herbivory. Our results demonstrate that crucial ecosystem functions can be maintained through a range of fisheries restrictions, allowing coral reef managers to develop recovery plans that meet conservation and livelihood objectives in areas where marine reserves are not socially or politically feasible solutions.
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Cites
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Self-citationGlobal conservation outcomes depend on marine protected areas with five key features
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Self-citationResponse of ocean ecosystems to climate warming
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Cited by
Relationships between structural complexity, coral traits, and reef fish assemblages
Darling, E. S., Graham, N. A. J., Januchowski-Hartley, F. A., Nash, K. L., Pratchett, M. S., & Wilson, S. K. (2017) · Coral Reefs · doi:10.1007/s00338-017-1539-z · Cited by 363
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A review of computational intelligence techniques in coral reef-related applications
Salcedo-Sanz, S., Cuadra, L., & Vermeij, M. J. A. (2016) · Ecological Informatics · doi:10.1016/j.ecoinf.2016.01.008 · Cited by 27
Metadata
- Authors
- MacNeil, M. A., Graham, N. A. J., Cinner, J. E., Wilson, S. K., Williams, I. D., Maina, J., Newman, S., Friedlander, A. M., Jupiter, S., Polunin, N. V. C., & McClanahan, T. R.
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2015-04
- Volume
- 520
- Issue
- 7547
- Pages
- 341-344
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W2019122457
- Cited by
- 375
- References
- 38
- FWCI
- 39.05
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
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- MacNeil, M. A., Graham, N. A. J., Cinner, J. E., Wilson, S. K., Williams, I. D., Maina, J., Newman, S., Friedlander, A. M., Jupiter, S., Polunin, N. V. C., & McClanahan, T. R. (2015). Recovery potential of the world's coral reef fishes. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14358
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