Marine Protected Areas Vital To Recovery of Threatened Coral Reefs

Coral reef ecosystems within marine protected areas are more likely to remain healthy and even recover from overfishing and other threats, according to a new study. In an analysis of reefs worldwide, researchers at the University of North Carolina found that prevention of overfishing and other activities — such as pollution from sediment and nutrient runoff, and damage from anchors — helps restore populations of overharvested fish and invertebrates, and thus indirectly protects coral reef food webs. The study, which was published in the journal PloS ONE, is the first comprehensive global analysis of the role of marine protected areas in preventing coral reef decline. The researchers compiled a database of 8,534 live coral reef surveys from 1969 to 2006, and compared changes to coral reefs within 310 marine protected areas and in unprotected areas. Typically, coral cover within the protected zones remained constant, while cover on unprotected reefs declined. Additionally, researchers found that coral reef recovery does not begin immediately, even within marine protected areas. “Several years later, however, rates of coral cover decline slowed and then stabilized so that further losses stopped,” the authors said.