Novel approaches to coral reef conservation

珊瑚礁保护的新方法

• 批准号: 328224-2006
• 负责人: Côté, Isabelle
• 金额: $ 2.33万
• 依托单位: Simon Fraser University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2008-01-01 至 2009-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=398011
• 关键词: Novel; approaches; coral; reef; conservation

Coral reefs are among the most valuable ecosystems on the planet but they are also among the most threatened because of overfishing, pollution, disease and climate change.  To address the challenges of preserving coral reefs while allowing their sustainable use, we are addressing three of the most pressing issues in reef conservation using novel statistical and theoretical approaches.  Our first goal is to measure how effective marine reserves are in protecting coral habitats and what influences their effectiveness.  To achieve this, we are using meta-analyses of time-series of ecological data from over 400 reefs across the Caribbean to compare the rates of change in and out of marine reserves.  Our second goal is to understand how people who use reef resources choose which reefs to exploit.  Here, we are using a general framework borrowed from behavioural ecology theory to understand why reef fishermen fish where they do, and why divers dive where they do.  Finding general principles that govern seemingly very different activities should help managers of coral reefs, and other exploited systems, understand what controls the spatial distribution of users and how to devise low-conflict management options.  Finally, we are unraveling the complex indirect impacts of human activities on reef organisms.  We are focusing on the removal of two species, cleaner wrasse and clownfish, from the wild for the aquarium trade and tracking the effects on other species of fish and invertebrates which are not directly targeted by the trade but have close relationships with the targeted species.  Taken together, these studies will advance significantly our understanding of the impacts of humans on coral reefs and will shed light on ways to mitigate these impacts.

珊瑚礁是地球上最有价值的生态系统之一，但由于过度捕捞、污染、疾病和气候变化，它们也是最受威胁的生态系统之一。为了应对在保护珊瑚礁的同时允许其可持续利用的挑战，我们正在使用新的统计和理论方法来解决珊瑚礁保护中三个最紧迫的问题。我们的第一个目标是衡量海洋保护区的有效性。保护珊瑚栖息地以及影响其有效性的因素。为了实现这一目标，我们正在对加勒比地区400多个珊瑚礁的时间序列生态数据进行荟萃分析，以比较海洋保护区内外的变化率。我们的第二个目标是了解使用珊瑚礁资源的人如何选择开发哪些珊瑚礁。在这里，我们正在使用一个从行为生态学理论中借用的一般框架来理解为什么珊瑚礁渔民在他们所做的地方捕鱼，为什么潜水员在他们所做的地方潜水。找到管理看似非常不同的活动的一般原则应该有助于珊瑚礁和其他开发系统的管理者，了解是什么控制了用户的空间分布，以及如何设计低冲突的管理方案。最后，我们正在解开人类活动对珊瑚礁生物的复杂间接影响。我们正在关注两个物种的去除，清洁濑鱼和小丑鱼，从野生环境中捕获的鱼类，以供水族馆贸易使用，并追踪对其他并非直接贸易对象的鱼类和无脊椎动物的影响但与目标物种有密切关系。综合起来，这些研究将大大提高我们对人类对珊瑚礁影响的认识，并将揭示减轻这些影响的方法。