Assessing the ecological value of, and threats to marine protected areas in the Isles of Scilly

项目背景：海洋保护区（MPAs）可以产生广泛的生态、经济和社会效益，这些效益是对数百万人的福祉至关重要的商品和服务的基础;因此，使其成为大多数海洋保护和渔业管理战略的基石。然而，只有精心设计MPAs，并有效管理渔业捕捞、娱乐和其他海洋活动等人为压力，这些效益才能积累[1-3]。鉴于许多管理机构可用的资源有限，我们必须设计和实施具有成本效益的监测战略，这些战略可用于制定以证据为基础的建议，以支持未来的保护和管理战略。这个博士将探讨在锡利群岛，英国这些关键问题中的几个;提供了一个机会，集中在一个有限的地理区域，其中调查海洋种群和社区如何应对不同程度的人为压力的少数海洋保护区，以及海洋保护区的生态和治理特征。项目目的和方法：研究的具体内容将与学生一起开发，但将围绕四个主要目标：1。制定一项具有成本效益的长期监测战略，通过遥感、公民科学数据和水中调查（如带诱饵的远程水下录像-BRUV），监测海洋生物多样性的空间分布，包括生境和指示物种。结合使用商业渔业和航运船只监测系统以及近海渔业、旅游业和娱乐活动的参与性绘图和全球定位系统跟踪器，绘制海洋用户群体活动的精细比例时空模式图[4]。通过结合海洋学建模、累积影响绘图[5]和渔业调查，量化人类活动对海洋生物多样性的影响和生态压力，以及这种影响在海洋保护区内外的变化情况，利用上岸量或观察员数据绘制捕捞努力量（CPUE）并评估捕捞活动的生态影响。探索海洋保护区内外人为影响与生态系统结果的生态和治理特征之间的关系，以确定对群落组成、生物量、多样性和丰度的影响。

Project Background:Marine protected areas (MPAs) can produce a wide range of ecological, economic, and social benefits, which underpin goods and services critical to the wellbeing of millions of people; thereby making them a cornerstone of most marine conservation and fisheries management strategies.These benefits, however, can only accrue if MPAs are well designed, and anthropogenic pressures such as fisheries harvest, recreational, and other maritime activities are effectively managed[1-3]. Given the limited resources available to many management agencies it is essential that we design and implement cost-effective monitoring strategies that can be used to develop evidence-based recommendations that underpin future conservation and management strategies. This PhD will explore several of these key issues in the Isles of Scilly, UK; providing an opportunity to focus on a small number of MPAs in a limited geographical area in which to investigate how marine populations and communities respond to different levels of anthropogenic pressure, as well as the ecological and governance characteristics of MPAs.Project Aims and Methods:The specifics of the research will be developed with the student, but will centre around four main aims:1. Develop a cost-effective long-term monitoring strategy to characterise the spatial distribution of marine biodiversity including habitats and indicator species, through remote sensing, citizen science data, and in-water surveys (e.g. baited remote underwater videos - BRUVs).2. Map the fine-scale spatiotemporal patterns of activity for ocean user-groups using a combination of vessel monitoring systems for commercial fisheries and shipping, and participatory mapping and GPS trackers for inshore fisheries, tourism and recreational activities[4].3. Quantify anthropogenic impact and ecological pressures on marine biodiversity and how that varies within and outside marine protected areas through a combination of oceanographic modelling, cumulative impact mapping[5], and fisheries surveys using landings or observer data to map fishing effort (CPUE) and assess the ecological impact of fisheries.4. Explore the relationship between anthropogenic influence, and ecological and governance characteristics on ecosystem outcomes, both within and outside marine protected areas to identify implications on community composition, biomass, diversity, and abundance.