May 22, 2021 10:53 PM
https://academictimes.com/protected-area...hed-areas/
INTRO: By collecting and analyzing DNA floating in the water, researchers working in the Mediterranean found that more species of fish live outside government-protected areas than within them, highlighting a "biodiversity conservation paradox" in marine nature reserves. The study, published April 28 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, contributes to a growing debate about the efficacy of marine protected areas.
With less than 6% of the world's oceans under protection, skeptics question whether marine protected areas are enough to ensure species survival. Proponents of marine protected areas maintain that they provide a safe space for marine species. Research has also demonstrated that if protected areas are strategically selected, they can help combat climate change and global loss of biodiversity and other environmental problems.
"[Our results] definitely don't mean that marine protected areas are not working, because when you look at the abundance of certain species and the biomass inside [these areas], many studies have shown that we have higher abundances and higher densities inside protected areas," said first author Emilie Boulanger, a Ph.D. candidate studying marine conservation at the University of Montpellier.
However, the findings do indicate that the effect of marine protection on biodiversity is more complicated than previously thought. To Boulanger, the findings suggest that species richness, the overall number of species in an area without consideration of their populations, "maybe is not the best indicator" of the success of these areas... (MORE)
INTRO: By collecting and analyzing DNA floating in the water, researchers working in the Mediterranean found that more species of fish live outside government-protected areas than within them, highlighting a "biodiversity conservation paradox" in marine nature reserves. The study, published April 28 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, contributes to a growing debate about the efficacy of marine protected areas.
With less than 6% of the world's oceans under protection, skeptics question whether marine protected areas are enough to ensure species survival. Proponents of marine protected areas maintain that they provide a safe space for marine species. Research has also demonstrated that if protected areas are strategically selected, they can help combat climate change and global loss of biodiversity and other environmental problems.
"[Our results] definitely don't mean that marine protected areas are not working, because when you look at the abundance of certain species and the biomass inside [these areas], many studies have shown that we have higher abundances and higher densities inside protected areas," said first author Emilie Boulanger, a Ph.D. candidate studying marine conservation at the University of Montpellier.
However, the findings do indicate that the effect of marine protection on biodiversity is more complicated than previously thought. To Boulanger, the findings suggest that species richness, the overall number of species in an area without consideration of their populations, "maybe is not the best indicator" of the success of these areas... (MORE)