Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA.
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, San Jose State University, Moss Landing, California, USA.
Conserv Biol. 2024 Dec;38(6):e14296. doi: 10.1111/cobi.14296. Epub 2024 May 21.
Marine protected areas (MPAs) globally serve conservation and fisheries management goals, generating positive effects in some marine ecosystems. Surf zones and sandy beaches, critical ecotones bridging land and sea, play a pivotal role in the life cycles of numerous fish species and serve as prime areas for subsistence and recreational fishing. Despite their significance, these areas remain understudied when evaluating the effects of MPAs. We compared surf zone fish assemblages inside and outside MPAs across 3 bioregions in California (USA). Using seines and baited remote underwater videos (BRUVs), we found differences in surf zone fish inside and outside MPAs in one region. Inside south region MPAs, we observed higher abundance (Tukey's honest significant difference [HSD] = 0.83, p = 0.0001) and richness (HSD = 0.22, p = 0.0001) in BRUVs and greater biomass (HSD = 0.32, p = 0.0002) in seine surveys compared with reference sites. Selected live-bearing, fished taxa were positively affected by MPAs. Elasmobranchs displayed greater abundance in BRUV surveys and higher biomass in seine surveys inside south region MPAs (HSD = 0.35, p = 0.0003 and HSD = 0.23, p = 0.008, respectively). Although we observed no overall MPA signal for Embiotocidae, abundances of juvenile and large adult barred surfperch (Amphistichus argenteus), the most abundant fished species, were higher inside MPAs (K-S test D = 0.19, p < 0.0001). Influence of habitat characteristics on MPA performance indicated surf zone width was positively associated with fish abundance and biomass but negatively associated with richness. The south region had the largest positive effect size on all MPA performance metrics. Our findings underscored the variability in species richness and composition across regions and survey methods that significantly affected differences observed inside and outside MPAs. A comprehensive assessment of MPA performance should consider specific taxa, their distribution, and the effects of habitat factors and geography.
海洋保护区（MPAs）在全球范围内服务于保护和渔业管理目标，在一些海洋生态系统中产生了积极影响。冲浪区和沙滩是连接陆地和海洋的关键生态交错带，在许多鱼类的生命周期中起着至关重要的作用，是维持生计和娱乐性捕鱼的主要区域。尽管它们很重要，但在评估 MPAs 的影响时，这些区域的研究仍然不足。我们比较了加利福尼亚州（美国）三个生物区的 MPAs 内外冲浪区鱼类群落。使用网和诱饵远程水下视频（BRUV），我们发现一个区域的冲浪区鱼类在 MPAs 内外存在差异。在南部地区的 MPAs 内，我们观察到 BRUV 中的丰度（Tukey 诚实显著差异 [HSD] = 0.83，p = 0.0001）和丰富度（HSD = 0.22，p = 0.0001）较高，以及网捕调查中的生物量（HSD = 0.32，p = 0.0002）高于参考点。选定的胎生、捕捞类群受到 MPAs 的积极影响。在南部地区的 MPAs 内，BRUV 调查中的鲨鱼目鱼类丰度较高，网捕调查中的生物量较高（HSD = 0.35，p = 0.0003 和 HSD = 0.23，p = 0.008）。尽管我们没有观察到 Embiotocidae 的总体 MPA 信号，但幼鱼和大型成年 barred surfperch（Amphistichus argenteus）的数量较多，这是最常见的捕捞物种，在 MPAs 内更高（K-S 检验 D = 0.19，p < 0.0001）。生境特征对 MPA 性能的影响表明，冲浪区宽度与鱼类丰度和生物量呈正相关，但与丰富度呈负相关。南部地区对所有 MPA 性能指标的影响最大。我们的研究结果强调了物种丰富度和组成在不同地区和调查方法之间的可变性，这些方法显著影响了 MPAs 内外的差异。对 MPA 性能的全面评估应考虑特定的分类群、它们的分布以及生境因素和地理的影响。
