title: How accessible are coral reefs to people? A global assessment based on travel time.
abstract: The depletion of natural resources has become a major issue in many parts of the world, with the most accessible resources being most at risk. In the terrestrial realm, resource depletion has classically been related to accessibility through road networks. In contrast, in the marine realm, the impact on living resources is often framed into the Malthusian theory of human density around ecosystems. Here, we develop a new framework to estimate the accessibility of global coral reefs using potential travel time from the nearest human settlement or market. We show that 58% of coral reefs are located < 30 min from the nearest human settlement. We use a case study from New Caledonia to demonstrate that travel time from the market is a strong predictor of fish biomass on coral reefs. We also highlight a relative deficit of protection on coral reef areas near people, with disproportional protection on reefs far from people. This suggests that conservation efforts are targeting low-conflict reefs or places that may already be receiving de facto protection due to their isolation. Our global assessment of accessibility in the marine realm is a critical step to better understand the interplay between humans and resources.
authors.affiliation: MARBEC, UMR IRD-CNRS-UM-IFREMER 9190, Université Montpellier, 34095, Montpellier Cedex, France.|Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Maire
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cinner
authors.affiliation: MARBEC, UMR IRD-CNRS-UM-IFREMER 9190, Université Montpellier, 34095, Montpellier Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Laure
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Velez
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huchery
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, University of Hawaii at Mãnoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822, USA.
authors.forename: Camilo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mora
authors.affiliation: MARBEC, UMR IRD-CNRS-UM-IFREMER 9190, Université Montpellier, 34095, Montpellier Cedex, France.|ENTROPIE, UMR IRD-UR-CNRS 9220, Laboratoire d'Excellence LABEX CORAIL, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, BP A5, 98848, Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia.|Wildlife Conservation Society, Marine Programs, 2300, Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY, 10460, USA.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dagata
authors.affiliation: ENTROPIE, UMR IRD-UR-CNRS 9220, Laboratoire d'Excellence LABEX CORAIL, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, BP A5, 98848, Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vigliola
authors.affiliation: EA4243 LIVE, University of New Caledonia, Noumea, 98851, New Caledonia.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wantiez
authors.affiliation: ENTROPIE, UMR IRD-UR-CNRS 9220, Laboratoire d'Excellence LABEX CORAIL, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, BP A5, 98848, Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kulbicki
authors.affiliation: MARBEC, UMR IRD-CNRS-UM-IFREMER 9190, Université Montpellier, 34095, Montpellier Cedex, France.|Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0200-9514
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mouillot
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D057894:Coral Reefs; D006801:Humans; D013997:Time Factors; D014195:Travel
keywords: Accessibility; coral reefs; marine protected areas; social-ecological; travel time