SEMINAR: MBF 602 Seminar-Mandy Karnauskas January 29th, 2010- S/A seminar room 4pm

[Cary Rios <crios@rsmas.miami.edu>]

Preexisting spatial patterns in fish abundance influence whether a Caribbean marine reserve increases or decreases fishing mortality

 

            No-take marine reserves have been used to promote biodiversity conservation and have increasingly been implemented with the goal of rebuilding depleted fish stocks.  Yet, reserves may cause some species to decrease in abundance while others increase, in part because species are not equally impacted by the effort displaced from the reserve into surrounding fished areas.  We evaluated patterns in the abundance and distribution of reef fishes at Glover’s Atoll, Belize, where a no-take reserve was established in 1998.  Baseline data of fish abundance and benthic habitat was compared to present-day sampling of the same reef sites using identical monitoring protocols.  Differential trends in species abundance over time could not be attributed to fishing pressure or benthic habitat degradation, but were correlated with initial spatial distributions of individual species.  Results suggest that reserve implementation caused mortality rates to increase for some species, leading to declines in abundance in these populations.  This study highlights the importance of taking into account the initial distributions of fishes during reserve design.  Based on preliminary analyses of ADCP data, potential physical drivers of fish and benthic community structure include currents, variability in environmental conditions, and food availability.  I close with a discussion on how such factors may be important to incorporate in the design of future marine reserves. 

 

Mandy Karnauskas

B.S. Biology/ B.S. Animal Science, University of Massachusetts-Amherst (2001)

Entered Ph.D. Fall 2006

Advisor:  Dr. Elizabeth Babcock

Cary Rios 
Office of the Dean
University of Miami
Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science

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