Marine reserves help fish resist climate change

Fish communities of marine reserves can better withstand the impact of climate change than those of fishing areas, concludes a study published yesterday in the journal Nature Climate Change.
The research was conducted by a team of researchers from the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania and the Organization of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIRO).

The authors used a series of data in two decades on the abundance of fish in the Navy Reserve Maria Island, collected by Dr. Neville Barrett and Professor Graham Edgar supported by the Parks and Wildlife Tasmania and Marine Resources Division of the Department of Primary Industries (DPIPWE).

The researchers focused on the observed changes in biodiversity and the biological characteristics of fish communities in the marine reserve following a period of sustained warming of the sea, compared to nearby areas open to fishing.

“This study analyzes the different types of community responses of fish to environmental variability in both the short and long term”Explains Dr. Rick Stuart-Smith, co-author of the study. “What we found is that marine reserves have the potential to increase the resilience of the community through mechanisms that promote functional and species stability and resist colonization while Rovers warm waters.”

It also signals the ecological reserve and fishing areas, such as an increase in the number of herbivorous fish were consistently observed. Therefore, the results suggest that the persistence of long-term warming in southeastern Australia will lead to major changes in the structure and function of fish communities of shallow reefs.

“What strikes me about this work is that marine reserves have an important role in understanding ecological changes when no fishing”Says the study's lead author, Dr. Amanda Bates. “The knowledge we gained was possible because our disposal of long-term data on fish species of a marine reserve and could use to make a comparison with nearby sites open to fishing”He added.

SOURCE: University of Tasmania.