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Comparison of Reef Fish Habitat Utilization Patterns Within and Outside Hawaii Marine Protected Areas
Comparison of Reef Fish Habitat Utilization Patterns Within and Outside Hawaii Marine Protected Areas
Objectives
The goals and objectives of the project are:
- Determine reef fish habitat utilization patterns within and outside main Hawaiian Island Marine Protected Areas;
- Determine the efficacy of main Hawaiian Island Marine Protected Areas under various management regimes; and,
- Make recommendations to Hawaii DLNR on the efficacy of existing Marine Protected Areas and suggest additional areas for protection based on species habitat requirements.
Project Summary
CCMA's Biogeography Branch of NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) has developed digital benthic habitat maps for pilot study areas in Hawaii . The integrated mapping and monitoring of coral reef ecosystems and reef fish habitat utilization patterns has been designed to help resource managers make informed decisions. Coupling the distribution of habitats and species habitat affinities using GIS technology enables the elucidation of species habitat utilization patterns for a single species and/or assemblages of animals. This integrated approach is useful in quantitatively defining essential fish habitat and defining biologically relevant boundaries of marine protected areas.
By integrating assessments of the distribution and quality of habitats and associated reef fishes, NOS and its partners are providing an analytical justification to define and support MPA boundaries. The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources has requested that NOS implement the approach taken in the USVI and Puerto Rico to aid in evaluating the designation and effectiveness of marine reserves under various management strategies. A science-based assessment of the effectiveness of Hawaii 's MPA system supports the federally mandated marine protected area (MPA) and essential fish habitat (EFH) initiatives. This approach will not only help resource managers in Hawaii evaluate existing MPAs and help design new protected areas, its will also lay the groundwork for large-scale comparisons throughout the Hawaiian archipelago, the US Pacific, and US Caribbean.
Over the past four decades, Hawaii has developed a network of eleven Marine Life Conservation Districts (MLCDs) to conserve and replenish marine resources around the state. These MLCDs vary in size, habitat quality, and management regimes, providing an excellent opportunity to tests hypotheses concerning marine protected area (MPAs) design and function using multiple discreet sampling units. Coupling the distribution of habitats and species habitat affinities using GIS technology enable the elucidation of species habitat utilization patterns at scales that are commensurate with ecosystem processes and is useful in defining essential fish habitat and biologically relevant boundaries for MPAs. NOAA's Biogeography Branch developed digital benthic habitat maps for most MLCDs and adjacent habitats that were used to evaluate the efficacy of existing MLCDs using a spatially explicit stratified random sampling design. Results show that MLCDs had higher values for most fish assemblage characteristics (e.g. biomass, size, diversity) compared with adjacent control areas across all habitat types. In addition, apex predators and other targeted resources species were more abundant and larger in the MLCDs, illustrating the effectiveness of these closures in conserving fish populations. Habitat complexity, quality, size and level of protection from fishing were important determinates of MLCD effectiveness with respect to their associated fish assemblages. If protective areas are to be effective, they must include the diversity of habitats within the entire ecosystem in order to accommodate the wide range of species under consideration.
Products
Current/Completed -
Reports and Publications
- Friedlander, A.M., E.K. Brown, M.A. Monaco, and A. Clark. 2005. Fish Habitat Utilization Patterns and Evaluation of the Efficacy of Marine Protected Areas in Hawaii: Integration of NOAA Digital Benthic Habitat Mapping and Coral Reef Ecological StudiesNOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 23. 210p.
- Fish Habitat Utilization Patterns and the Efficacy of Marine Protected Areas in the Main Hawaiian Islands
- Friedlander, A.M., E.K. Brown, M.E. Monaco. 2005. Coupling Ecology and GIS Technology to Evaluate the Efficacy of Marine Protected Areas in Hawaii. First International Marine Protected Areas Congress. Oral Presentation, Australia, October 2005.
- Friedlander, A.M, E. Brown, and M.E. Monaco. 2007. Defining reef fish habitat utilization patterns in Hawaii: comparisons between marine protected areas and areas open to fishing.
- Friedlander, A.M., Brown, E.K, and M.E. Monaco. 2007. Coupling ecology and GIS to evaluate efficacy of marine protected areas in Hawaii.
- NOAA Press Release: NOAA study finds Hawaiin marine life conservation districts effective management approache for fisheries replenishment.
- Wedding, L., Friedlander, A.M. 2008. Quantifying spatial patterns of coral reef fish assemblages to inform marine management actions in Hawaii
Maps
- Map products can be obtained from this website
Data
- A relational georeferenced Access database is under development for all fish and benthic data.
Partners
- NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
- Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology
- State of Hawaii, Dept. of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources
- National Park Service
Relevant Links
(nothing yet at this time)
Time Frame
October 2003 - September 2007
- Complete initial evaluation of all Hawaii's Marine Life Conservation Districts (MLCDs, n=11) in December 2004
- Initial analysis and report available June 2005
- Monitoring of select MLCDs ongoing