{"id":57870,"date":"2015-12-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-researcher-targeted-fisheries-management-needed-to-promote-healthy-coral-reefs\/"},"modified":"2015-12-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-12-21T00:00:00","slug":"uri-researcher-targeted-fisheries-management-needed-to-promote-healthy-coral-reefs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2015\/12\/uri-researcher-targeted-fisheries-management-needed-to-promote-healthy-coral-reefs\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 researcher: Targeted fisheries management needed to promote healthy coral reefs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tStudy in East Africa finds herbivorous fish vital to healthy ecosystem<\/b><\/p>\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 December 21, 2015 \u2013 Overfishing in the coastal waters of East Africa has had a devastating effect on the health of coral reefs and populations of reef fish, and the designation of marine protected areas in the region may not be the only solution. A 溏心vlog免费B站 scientist says that\u2019s because broad protections like the establishment of no-fishing zones often do not target the species critical for promoting healthy ecosystems. <\/p>\n


\n\tAccording to Austin Humphries, 溏心vlog免费B站 assistant professor of fisheries, it is important for managers to better understand the nuances of how conservation actions affect coral reef systems.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cCountless amounts of time and money have been spent on management interventions that are aimed at improving coral reef habitat and fisheries production in developing countries,\u201d said Humphries, who grew up in southwest Virginia and now lives in Providence. \u201cBut our understanding of whether these projects are effective, and under what ecological and social contexts, is variable.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tHumphries said that coral reef conservation efforts in developing countries have been based on the assumption that marine protected areas, where fishing is prohibited, will benefit both people and nature. But he argues that this approach may be too simplistic.<\/p>\n


\n\tHe conducted a series of experiments at four marine protected areas along the coast of Kenya. He set up what he called \u201cunderwater greenhouses\u201d at each site and grew several different seaweeds for more than a year. He used video to record what species of fish grazed on the seaweed and how those herbivores influenced the growth of seaweed.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cSeaweeds and corals are constantly fighting with each other for space, sunlight and nutrients, because both need these resources for growth and survival,\u201d Humphries said. \u201cBecause seaweeds grow faster than corals, if there aren\u2019t the right types of herbivores to keep the seaweed under control, then the corals will be smothered. Then you\u2019ll have a reef no longer dominated by corals but rather by seaweeds, which often negatively impacts fish populations and thus people\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tWhat his research found is that the health of the ecosystem depends largely on a few critical species of herbivorous fishes. In East Africa, those critical species include unicorn fish and parrotfish, which feed selectively on preferred seaweeds and algae. <\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cSo if these herbivorous fishes aren\u2019t there, seaweed may grow unchecked,\u201d Humphries said.<\/p>\n


\n\tThe 溏心vlog免费B站 scientist said his findings have important implications for the management of coral reef fisheries.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cJust establishing a marine protected area doesn\u2019t solve the problem of overfishing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt could create a diverse assemblage of herbivores, but additional management activities might be necessary to aid in the recovery of individuals from critical species.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tHe recommends a \u201ctargeted portfolio approach\u201d to fisheries management in coral reefs, in which restrictions and modifications on certain types of fishing gear are implemented to ensure that key species have a better chance at recovery.<\/p>\n


\n\tHumphries said his research, which was published this month in the journal PLOS ONE, confirms related research on coral reefs in other regions of the world, providing consensus in support of managing for key fish species that have unique and complementary roles. His next step is to study the various types of fishing gear and their influence on coral reef ecosystems.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cSaying to poor communities that are highly dependent on coral reefs that they can\u2019t fish somewhere often doesn\u2019t go over very well,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if you can provide alternative solutions, like eliminating a particularly harmful type of fishing gear or modifying a gear to make it more selective, then that may be a more socially acceptable solution that also benefits the ecosystem and fisheries.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nPictured above: 溏心vlog免费B站 Assistant Professor Austin Humphries conducts a survey of a coral reef off the coast of Kenya. (Photo courtesy of Austin Humphries.)\n\t<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Study in East Africa finds herbivorous fish vital to healthy ecosystem KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 December 21, 2015 \u2013 Overfishing in the coastal waters of East Africa has had a devastating effect on the health of coral reefs and populations of reef fish, and the designation of marine protected areas in the region may not be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57872,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}