Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Dimitriadis, C.
• Marampouti, C.
• Calò, A.
• Di Franco, A.
• Giakoumi, S.
• Di Franco, E.
• Di Lorenzo, M.
• Gerovasileiou, V.
• Guidetti, P.
• Pey, A.
• Sini, M.
• Sourbès, L.

Titel

Evaluating the long term effectiveness of a Mediterranean marine protected area to tackle the effects of invasive and range expanding herbivorous fish on rocky reefs

Ist Teil von

• Marine environmental research, 2024-01, Vol.193, p.106293-106293, Article 106293

Ort / Verlag

England: Elsevier Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2024

Quelle

Access via ScienceDirect (Elsevier)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Here we provide evidence, along an 8-year period time-series based on multifaceted data from a Mediterranean marine protected area (MPA), whether protection can tackle invasive and range expanding herbivore fishes, and their effects on the algal resource availability, taking into account the population trends of predatory fishes, fisheries catches of herbivore fishes and sea surface temperature (SST) through time. Our findings pointed out that an ineffective in restoring top-down control process MPA may facilitate, rather than alleviate, the sudden and enduring population burst of invasive and range-expanding herbivorous fishes at tipping points of abrupt change. This subsequently results in the deterioration of rocky reef habitats and the depletion of algal resources, with the tipping points of abrupt change for algal and herbivore fish species not overlapping chronologically. As sea temperature increases, ineffective or recently established MPAs may inadvertently facilitate the proliferation of invasive and range-expanding species, posing a significant challenge to management effectiveness and conservation objectives. •MPA favors population outbreak of range expanding and invasive herbivorous fishes on the long term.•Fish herbivores and macroalgae presented time-lagged tipping points of abrupt change.•Outbreak of invasive herbivorous fish in MPAs is challenging management effectiveness and conservation outcomes.