Downloaded by [New York University] at 20:24 20 August 2016 Marine Biodiversity Conservation Effective marine biodiversity conservation is dependent upon a clear scientific rationale for practical interventions. This book is intended to provide knowledge and tools for marine conservation practitioners and to identify issues and mechanisms for upper-level under- graduate and master’s students. It also provides sound guidance for marine biology field coursework and professionals. The main focus is on benthic species living on or in the seabed and immediately above, rather than on commercial fisheries or highly mobile vertebrates. Such species, including algae and invertebrates, are fundamental to a stable and sustainable marine ecosystem. The book is a practical guide based on a clear exposition of the principles of marine ecology and species biology to demonstrate how marine conservation issues and mechanisms have been tackled worldwide, with special attention given to the criteria, structures and decision trees that practitioners and managers will find useful. Well illustrated with conceptual diagrams and flow charts, the book includes case study examples from both temperate and tropical marine environments. Keith Hiscock is an Associate Fellow and Senior Consultant in Biodiversity and Conservation Science at the Marine Biological Association, Plymouth, UK. Downloaded by [New York University] at 20:24 20 August 2016 Earthscan Oceans Governing Marine Protected Areas Resilience through Diversity By Peter J.S. Jones Marine Policy An Introduction to Governance and International Law of the Oceans By Mark Zacharias The Great Barrier Reef An Environmental History By Ben Daley Marine Biodiversity Conservation A Practical Approach By Keith Hiscock For further details please visit the series page on the Routledge website: http://www.routledge.com/books/series/ECOCE Downloaded by [New York University] at 20:24 20 August 2016 Marine Biodiversity Conservation A practical approach Keith Hiscock Downloaded by [New York University] at 20:24 20 August 2016 Routledge Taylor & Francis Group earthscan LONDON AND NEW YORK from Routledge First published 2014 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 Keith Hiscock The right of Keith Hiscock to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Unless otherwise stated, all images are by the author. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Hiscock, Keith. Marine biodiversity conservation : a practical approach / Keith Hiscock. pages cm. -- (Earthscan oceans) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Marine biodiversity conservation. 2. Marine ecology. I. Title. QH91.8.B6H57 2014 333.95’616--dc23 Downloaded by [New York University] at 20:24 20 August 2016 2014006327 ISBN: 978-0-415-72355-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-415-72356-5 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-85764-0 (ebk) Typeset in Goudy Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire Contents Preface vi About the author x Acknowledgements xi A note on scientific names xii 1 The need for marine biodiversity conservation 1 2 What is where and how much of it is there? The role of science 11 3 Ecosystem structure, functioning and viability 22 4 Understanding change 44 5 Impacts of human activities on ecosystem composition, structure and function 65 6 The application of science to management: introduction 96 7 ‘Threatened’ and ‘sensitive’ species and habitats 101 8 Sampling and recording 117 9 Selection, design and management of marine protected areas 136 10 Assessing likely impacts and monitoring change 178 11 Recovery, restoration and replacement of habitats and species 194 12 Conclusions and the manager’s ‘toolbox’ 229 Glossary 237 Acronyms and abbreviations 249 References 251 Index 277 Downloaded by [New York University] at 20:24 20 August 2016 Preface This book is a guide to the conservation of marine biodiversity based firmly on scientific knowledge of marine species and ecosystems and the experience that we now have of manag- ing human impacts for the protection of wildlife. It benefits from the natural history expertise of often aging individuals and, hopefully, provides a starting point for a next generation of naturalists to build on that knowledge and to inform conservation in a wise way. This book is predominantly about benthic species as information on fisheries and on large, highly mobile vertebrates is well covered elsewhere. It provides tools for practitioners to use, aiming to make the best use of the science that we have for marine biodiversity conservation. It is ‘practical’ because we live in a world with incomplete information on what we need to know for conservation and where we need to make best use of what we do know. It is practical because it tries to interpret the rhetoric that often comes from directives, conventions and statutes into scientifically sound actions. It is practical because it tries to separate actions that will make a difference from those that will not. It is practical because it accepts that human activities are bound to have some impact on marine ecosystems. It is not a textbook about marine processes, ecosystem structure and function or the biology of species (although relevant examples are given to inform conservation action): there are many books that provide such information including the volume on marine conservation ecology by Roff and Zacharias (2011). Nor is it a book about how to implement conservation measures (mecha- nisms and governance): that is addressed by volumes such as Jones (2014). The definition of biodiversity used in this book is ‘the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems’ (UN Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992, cited in Glowka et al., 1994, p16). Essentially, biodiversity is the variety of life from genes to ecosystems. The definition of ‘conservation’ that readers should touch back to throughout their read- Downloaded by [New York University] at 20:24 20 August 2016 ing of the book comes from a time before scientists started to use the term biodiversity: ‘the regulation of human use of the global ecosystem to sustain its diversity of content indefi- nitely’ (Nature Conservancy Council, 1984, p7). This definition makes it clear that human activities need to be regulated to protect species and habitats and that protection will not just ‘happen’ by labelling locations as ‘protected’. Good stewardship of the whole of the marine environment is essential, whilst marine protected areas are needed for the most threatened habitats and species to preserve valued resources and to provide examples that are as close as possible to natural for study. Whilst human interest in feathered creatures and large, charis- matic vertebrates has led moves for their protection for many years, we also need to identify what is threatened on and near the seabed and action there is well under way. Preface vii This book gives the reader: • reasons for ‘doing’ marine biodiversity conservation; • a perspective on how to organise the information that we already have to inform biodiversity conservation; • a background of knowledge on natural change that is essential if we are to sepa- rate natural from human- induced change; • information on how marine ecosystems ‘work’: essential for understanding the environmental factors that determine what is where, why change happens and whether we can fix things when we break them; • examples of the changes brought about by human activities to marine ecosystems that provide a warning of how easily we can adversely affect nature; • an explanation of ways of assessing degree of threat and of sensitivity of species and habitats to human activities as a starting point to prioritising action; • a guide to ensuring that the most relevant survey and monitoring methods for answering conservation questions are chosen; • a view on what marine protected areas can and cannot do and a description of their selection, design and management; • an account of how long recovery might take after protection is put in place or after some disaster and whether we can do anything to help recovery or to replace what has been lost; • a final account of what writing the book has reminded or taught the author about marine conservation and a summary (as the ‘manager’s toolbox’) of what the new generation of scientists, policy advisors and managers can use to help sustain the diversity of content of our marine ecosystems indefinitely. The book is split between Chapters 1 to 5 which are about what we already know and Chapters 6 to 11 that are the ‘how to do it’ chapters. Chapter 12 concludes the volume and provides a checklist of what the marine conservation manager and policy advisor should have in their box of tools. There is a glossary and list of commonly used acronyms to help the reader. The book addresses one of the greatest problems that we face in marine environmental protection and management: knowing what is where. The text will help practitioners see how to find, to organise and to make best use of the knowledge that we have for marine biodiversity conservation.