Acronym LARVALSOURCES
Category
Fisheries
Title Assessment of the ecological performance of marine protected area networks Programme National Programme
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National Coordinator Henry Queiroga Coordinator email NA
Coordinator institution
CESAM - Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (Portugal)
Institutions involved
CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (Portugal) ,
NA - University of California Davis (United States of America) ,
UNIMELB - University of Melbourne (Australia) ,
Start year 2012 End year 2015 Funding (€) € 189,739 Website https://www.cesam-la.pt/projetos/group_63385b887bd80-3/ Summary "Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are recognized by international governing bodies and legal documents (Convention on Biological Diversity, Maritime Strategy Framework Directive, OSPAR Convention) as fundamental tools for managing the marine environment, as they provide a buffer against disturbances acute and diffuse environmental issues. The establishment and management of effective MPA networks is, however, hampered by the scarcity of data available to scientists and managers on fundamental aspects of the dynamics of marine populations. This scarcity of data is due to the fact that most marine species have a two-phase life cycle, in which a small planktonic larva precedes a benthic adult. Given that small larvae are transported by marine currents in an environment with diffuse boundaries, local reproduction is decoupled from local recruitment and subpopulations of marine species are distributed over patches of habitats that differ in quality, population growth rate and connectivity. Empirical and theoretical studies indicate that the persistence of this type of populations depends on two basic mechanisms: i) self-persistence of local populations and ii) persistence that depends on connectivity between several local populations. Connectivity between marine subpopulations, mediated by larval flow, is consequently an emergent property of these systems and a key consideration in the design and location of MPAs.
How to assess population connectivity and monitor the dispersal of planktonic larvae is one of the most debated topics in contemporary marine biology. The small size of the larvae and the physical conditions under which they disperse make direct monitoring impossible in practice. Researchers have therefore been forced to use indirect estimates of dispersion. To date, there is no single methodology that can assess the demographic, genetic and evolutionary consequences of dispersal in marine populations. These circumstances have made it difficult to understand oceanic dispersal, knowledge that is crucial if we want to conserve and exploit marine biological resources in a sustainable way. In an attempt to resolve this scientific enigma, a consensus has developed on the need to use multiple tools to assess the typical routes and scales of larval dispersal in the ocean.
The central objective of the LarvalSources project is to estimate the connectivity between two Portuguese MPAs, the Berlengas Natural Reserve and the Arrábida Natural Park, and between them and the rest of the coast, in order to obtain basic information to assess the factors that affect their persistence. and ecological performance. We will use two rocky reef species with contrasting life histories (a goby and a mussel) and two complementary techniques to assess connectivity, elemental fingerprinting and biophysical modeling, which are two of the most promising techniques for investigating these problems. Trace elements from the natal environment incorporated into the fish otolith and mussel shell will be sampled using laser ablation techniques and quantified using mass spectrometry. Natal signature atlases based on these measurements will form the basis for identifying the natal populations of young recruits and constructing empirical connectivity matrices. The predicted matrices will be estimated by a circulation model based on the Regional Ocean Modeling System, to which individual-based models are coupled to simulate larval biology. If the empirical and predicted matrices are correlated, then insight into the spatial scales of connectivity, the mechanisms underlying larval dispersal, and the robustness of connectivity routes will be gained. If they are not correlated then individual-based models will be refined until a better understanding of the observed connectivity is obtained. In order to encompass the temporal variability of dispersion caused by the variability of ocean currents, this study will be conducted in two different years. As a corollary of this study, the results on connectivity will be used in a demonstrative analysis of the role of the two MPAs in the persistence and production of artisanal mussel fisheries. "
Keywords
Mollusc;
Shellfish;
MPA;
Mussel;
Bivalve;
Larval dispersion;
Stock assessment;
Fish;
Marine Region
38
Portuguese Waters (27.IXa,27.IXb)
1
Marine Region Map
