Brittle stars shine a light on patterns in the deep A team of scientists, including CEED researchers, have created the first map of seafloor diversity across the world’s oceans. The map reveals how patterns of biodiversity in the deep oceans fundamentally differ from those in shallow waters or on land. Focusing on brittle and basket […]
What are the challenges and opportunities? KEY MESSAGES: Offshore oil and gas development brings with it a range of challenges and opportunities for marine biodiversity conservation The conservation community should become more actively involved in the earliest planning and exploration phases of oil and gas extraction Environmental decision-support tools can be used to explicitly incorporate […]
Risk it or play it safe? KEY MESSAGES: There is a bias towards placing MPAs in areas that are least threatened We found that conservation targets in our study area could not be met solely by avoiding high threat areas A threat selection strategy should be part of the management toolbox Cost-effectiveness in spatial conservation […]
Connectivity networks and the control of Crown-Of-Thorns starfish on the GBR KEY MESSAGES: Crown of thorns starfish are a major threat to the GBR Outbreaks spread like an epidemic as starfish larvae drift from reef to reef Studying how reefs are connected by larval dispersal is generating valuable insights on how COTS outbreaks can be […]
Accounting for the movement of fish and boats KEY MESSAGES: Balancing the needs of conservation with its impacts on fisheries is important when designing marine reserve networks Commonly used design tools based on static models are good at placing reserves to avoid short-term losses to fisheries Static models perform poorly for designing reserves that bring benefits to fisheries […]
Sustainable fisheries management in Chile KEY MESSAGES: Assigning user rights to fishers is expected to lead to more sustainable fishing practices by fishers Fishers may choose not to enforce their user rights if they think that government policing of marine areas and punishment of poachers are ineffective In Chile, the government can support fishers’ engagement […]
Planning for a transition zone in a time of climate change KEY MESSAGES: Subtropical and temperate reefs are currently undergoing ‘tropicalisation’ Going from tropical to temperate reefs, species richness in corals and fishes declines, but that of algae, echinoderms and other invertebrates can increase We should aim to conserve sites that consistently remain important for […]
Prioritising actions to protect seagrass meadows KEY MESSAGES: Seagrass meadows provide important ecosystem services but are under threat Prioritisations based on cost-effectiveness are more efficient than prioritisations based on habitat maps or threat maps alone Marine coastal habitats, such as seagrass meadows, provide valuable ecosystem services including food provision, carbon sequestration, and coastal protection. But […]
How much do we need to know to develop a good plan? KEY MESSAGES: Spatial priorities for sea turtle conservation are very sensitive to the type of information being used Setting conservation targets for migration tracks altered the location of conservation priorities Telemetry data needs to be better harnessed in conservation planning It’s quite a […]
The marine environment of Papua New Guinea (PNG) is vast and diverse. Marine ecosystems directly support the livelihoods of Papua New Guineans through fisheries and development activities, and tourism. They provide an ecological foundation for much of the national economy and prosperity. However, the country’s marine environment is under threat from a growing population dependent […]
Ocean zoning with stakeholders establishes the Tun Mustapha Marine Park Malaysia has just established the Tun Mustapha Marine Park off the northern tip of Sabah province in Borneo (Malaysia). At 1.6 million hectares, it’s the country’s biggest marine protected area, and Marxan and CEED scientists have played an important role in the planning process that […]
Major shortfalls identified in marine conservation KEY MESSAGES: This analysis provides a baseline for measuring how well our marine species are represented in protected areas Currently, most marine species are not well represented within marine protected areas It is imperative that new reserves are located in places that help better represent the full range of […]
‘Shopping’ for the GBR – it’s a question of benefit, cost AND feasibility KEY MESSAGES: Prioritisation of catchment management projects using cost-effectiveness can increase the outcome several fold A clear quantifiable objective is critical to making wise investment decisions A graphic display of cost-effectiveness helps to evaluate trends and aids in decision making If you […]
Multi-objective hotspots and complementary super-spots in the Coral Triangle KEY MESSAGES: Collaboration between Coral Triangle nations makes good sense The challenge is to work out how regional priorities can be incorporated into national decisions Establishing new MPAs in multi-objective hotspots provides good benefits for all six regional objectives simultaneously Defining management actions for marine […]
In this the ‘decade of marine conservation’, we have a number of important decisions to make. At the heart of many of these decisions is a common dilemma, how do we make the most of limited resources when the need is enormous? Where do we place our marine reserves so that they protect the most […]