Larval export from marine reserves and the recruitment benefit for fish and fisheries.
Marine reserves, areas closed to all forms of fishing, continue to be advocated and implemented to supplement fisheries and conserve populations. However, although the reproductive potential of important fishery species can dramatically increase inside reserves, the extent to which larval offspring are exported and the relative contribution of reserves to recruitment in fished and protected populations are unknown. Using genetic parentage analyses, we resolve patterns of larval dispersal for two species of exploited coral reef fish within a network of marine reserves on the Great Barrier Reef. In a 1,000 km(2) study area, populations resident in three reserves exported 83% (coral trout, Plectropomus maculatus) and 55% (stripey snapper, Lutjanus carponotatus) of assigned offspring to fished reefs, with the remainder having recruited to natal reserves or other reserves in the region. We estimate that reserves, which account for just 28% of the local reef area, produced approximately half of all juvenile recruitment to both reserve and fished reefs within 30 km. Our results provide compelling evidence that adequately protected reserve networks can make a significant contribution to the replenishment of populations on both reserve and fished reefs at a scale that benefits local stakeholders.
School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia. hugo.harrison@my.jcu.edu.au
Hugo B
HB
Harrison
David H
DH
Williamson
Richard D
RD
Evans
Glenn R
GR
Almany
Simon R
SR
Thorrold
Garry R
GR
Russ
Kevin A
KA
Feldheim
Lynne
L
van Herwerden
Serge
S
Planes
Maya
M
Srinivasan
Michael L
ML
Berumen
Geoffrey P
GP
Jones
D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D005398:Fisheries; D007814:Larva; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010473:Perciformes / Q000235:genetics; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011793:Queensland