title: Marine protected area design patterns in the Mediterranean Sea: Implications for conservation.
abstract: Mediterranean marine protected area (MPA) design patterns regarding geographic distribution, size, spacing and shape were analysed as a proxy of the region's MPA's ecological effectiveness and a first step towards an ecologically coherent MPA network. Results for legally designated MPAs and ecologically functional MPAs accounting for overlaps are presented. Geographically, Mediterranean MPA area is very unevenly distributed, with four-fifths concentrated in just three countries of the north-western part of the basin. Average distance between functional MPAs lies within recommended ecological thresholds, which suggests adequate potential connectivity of the Mediterranean MPA system. Mediterranean designated MPAs are larger than MPAs worldwide on average, although they are generally smaller than international guidance suggests at different levels: ecoregion, country and designation category. On average, Mediterranean designated and functional MPAs have relatively high compactness, which makes them prone to spillover and adequate viability, and less vulnerable to edge effects.
authors.affiliation: University of Malaga, Andalucía Tech, European Topic Centre-University of Malaga, Campus deTeatinos s/n, 29071 Malaga, Spain; University of Malaga, Andalucía Tech, Department of Ecology, Campus deTeatinos s/n, 29071 Malaga, Spain. Electronic address: davidrr@uma.es.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: University of Malaga, Andalucía Tech, Department of Ecology, Campus deTeatinos s/n, 29071 Malaga, Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: University of Malaga, Andalucía Tech, Department of Ecology, Campus deTeatinos s/n, 29071 Malaga, Spain.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Blanco
authors.affiliation: University of Malaga, Andalucía Tech, European Topic Centre-University of Malaga, Campus deTeatinos s/n, 29071 Malaga, Spain.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Abdul Malak
mesh_terms: D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D008386:Marine Biology / Q000379:methods*; D008432:Mathematical Computing; D008522:Mediterranean Sea
keywords: Geographic distribution; Marine protected area; Mediterranean Sea; Shape; Size; Spacing