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Browsing CCMAR by advisor "Castro, Margarida"

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  • The impact of the Arrábida Marine Park (Portugal) on the decapod crustacean Eualus cranchii: a case study
    Publication . Reis, Joana Rita Rebelo dos; Castro, Margarida; Bartilotti, Cátia
    Marine protected areas (MPAs) have been widely suggested as a tool for fisheries management, conservation goals and mitigation of other negative impacts of humans on the oceans. Within MPAs, sub-areas can be considered including Fully Protected Areas (FPA) and Partially Protected Areas (PPA), each one with different restrictions regarding anthropogenic activities. They can contribute to the increase of abundance and biodiversity of marine species and habitat improvement. This study aims to observe the abundance of the decapod crustacean Eualus cranchii at two different depths (surface and bottom) within fully- and partially- protected areas of the Arrábida Marine Park on the west coast of Portugal, in order to understand the effect of a protected area on the abundance of this species. Samples were collected every two weeks, from April to September 2013 at a fixed location in the FPA and PPA using Standard Monitoring Units for Recruitment of Fish (SMURFs), a tool that measures recruitment and settlement patterns in a repeatable way, helping to determine fish larval sources and sinks. A Three-Way ANOVA was performed to observe the existence of differences in abundance of E. cranchii as a function of protection type (FPA and PPA), depth (surface and bottom) and time (April, July and September). All level interactions were considered. The results showed that all three main factors were significant. Higher abundances are associated with FPA with about 77 % of the total number of individuals of E. cranchii present. With respect to depth 88 % of the individuals were found on the bottom. The highest larval abundance was recorded in July, representing 77 % of the total individuals analyzed in this study. Additionally, there was a significant interaction of time with protection level indicating that there were different trends along time in each area. Overall, MPAs can be viewed as a valuable tool to protect species abundance and diversity, yet they should not be considered as a final solution as other large-scale effects and subsequent community changes in coastal areas may also influence the abundance and distribution of marine species.
    2015-12-17Master thesis Open access Show more