Hostname: page-component-6b989bf9dc-94dtm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-15T04:39:31.829Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Marine Protected Areas: reserve effect or natural variability? The Patagonian octopus case

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2012

Lorena P. Storero ,
Maite A. Narvarte  and
Raúl A. González
Lorena P. Storero*
Affiliation:
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro, Argentina Instituto de Biología Marina y Pesquera Almirante Storni (IBMPAS-UNCo), San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro, Argentina
Maite A. Narvarte
Affiliation:
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro, Argentina Instituto de Biología Marina y Pesquera Almirante Storni (IBMPAS-UNCo), San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro, Argentina
Raúl A. González
Affiliation:
Instituto de Biología Marina y Pesquera Almirante Storni (IBMPAS-UNCo), San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro, Argentina
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: L.P. Storero, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro, Argentina email: lorestorero@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Population characteristics can be influenced by specific factors of the habitat and the natural variability of populations can confuse the effect related to protected environments. This study compares the demographic characteristics of Octopus tehuelchus in three coastal environments: two Marine Protected Areas (San Antonio Bay (SAB) and Islote Lobos (IL)) and a traditional fishing zone (El Fuerte (EF)). Weight–frequency distributions, sex-ratio and recruitment were monthly compared between the three intertidal zones. Octopus tehuelchus was smaller in IL, where fishing intensity is lower or null, and reached the largest sizes in the main fishing area of EF and within SAB (where there is no regulation and a mid–high fishing intensity). The sex proportion in SAB and EF was 1:1 all along the year. Although the proportion of mature females in IL was higher, the highest recruitment was observed in EF (the traditional fishing ground). These new data suggest that previous studies, which reported that Marine Protected Areas have positive effects for O. tehuelchus populations, can no longer be supported, and highlight the importance of understanding and quantifying the magnitude and range of natural variability in each environment when assessing the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas.

Keywords

Marine Protected Areaspopulation variabilityOctopus tehuelchusPatagonia
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 93 , Issue 1 , February 2013 , pp. 259 - 266
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Babcock, R.C., Kelly, S., Shears, N.T., Walker, J.W. and Willis, T.J. (1999) Changes in community structure in temperate marine reserves. Marine Ecology Progress Series 189, 125–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Begon, M., Townsend, C.R. and Harper, J.L. (2006) Ecology: from individuals to ecosystems. 4th edition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.Google Scholar
Belcari, P., Tserpes, G., Gonzalez, M., Lefkaditou, E., Marceta, B., Piccinetti Manfrin, G. and Souplet, A. (2002) Distribution and abundance of Eledone cirrhosa (Lamarck, 1798) and E. moschata (Lamarck, 1798) (Cephalopoda: Octopoda) in the Mediterranean Sea. Scientia Marina 66, 143–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bennett, B.A. and Attwood, C.G. (1991) Evidence for recovery of a surf-zone fish assemblage following the establishment of a marine reserve on the southern coast of South Africa. Marine Ecology Progress Series 75, 173–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boyle, P.R. and Boletzky, S.V. (1996) Cephalopod populations: definition and dynamics. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London, Series B 351, 985–1002.Google Scholar
Boyle, P. and Rodhouse, P. (2005) Cephalopods: ecology and fisheries. Singapore: Blackwell Publishing.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dans, S.L., Crespo, E.A., Pedraza, S.N. and Koen Alonso, M. (2004) Recovery of the South American sea lion population (Otaria flavescens) in northern Patagonia. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 61, 1681–1690.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
García-Charton, J. and Perez-Ruzafa, A. (1999) Ecological heterogeneity and the evaluation of the effects of marine reserves. Fisheries Research 42, 1–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
García-Charton, J.A., Williams, I.D., Pérez-Ruzafa, A., Milazzo, M., Chemello, R., Marcos, C., Kitsos, M.S., Koukouros, A. and Riggio, S. (2000) Evaluating the ecological effects of the Mediterranean marine protected areas: habitat, scale and the natural variability of ecosystems. Environmental Conservation 27, 159–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
García-Rubies, A. and Zabala, M. (1990) Effect of total fishing prohibition on the rocky fish assemblages of Medes Islands marine reserves (NW Mediterranean). Scientia Marina 54, 317–328.Google Scholar
Guidetti, P. and Sala, E. (2007) Community-wide effects of marine reserves in the Mediterranean Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 335, 43–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halpern, B. (2003) The impact of marine reserves: do reserves work and does reserve size matter? Ecological Applications 13, 117–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iribarne, O.O. (1990) Use of shelter by the small Patagonian octopus Octopus tehuelchus: availability, selection and effects on fecundity. Marine Ecology Progress Series 66, 251–258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iribarne, O.O. (1991a) Intertidal harvest of the Patagonian octopus, Octopus tehuelchus (d'Orbigny). Fisheries Research 12, 375–390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iribarne, O.O. (1991b) Life history and distribution of the small south-western Atlantic octopus, Octopus tehuelchus. Journal of Zoology of London 223, 549–565.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katsanevakis, S. and Verriopoulus, G. (2004a) Abundance of Octopus vulgaris on soft sediments. Scientia Marina 68, 553–560.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katsanevakis, S. and Verriopoulus, G. (2004b) Den ecology of Octopus vulgaris Cuvier, 1797, on soft sediment: availability and types of shelter. Scientia Marina 68, 147–157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koen Alonso, M., Crespo, E.A., Pedraza, S.N., García, N.A. and Coscarella, M.A. (2000) Food habits of the South American sea lion, Otaria flavescens, off Patagonia, Argentina. Fisheries Bulletin 98, 250–263.Google Scholar
Leite, T.S., Haimovici, M., Mather, J. and Lins Oliveira, J.E. (2009) Habitat, distribution, and abundance of the commercial octopus (Octopus insularis) in a tropical oceanic island, Brazil: information for management of an artisanal fishery inside a marine protected area. Fisheries Research 98, 85–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lefkaditou, E., Politou, C.Y., Palialexis, A., Dokos, J., Cosmopoulos, P. and Valavanis, V.D. (2008) Influences of environmental variability on the population structure and distribution patterns of the short-fin squid Illex coindetii (Cephalopoda: Ommastrephidae) in the Eastern Ionian Sea. Hidrobiología 612, 71–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malacalza, V.E., Poretti, T.I. and Sertellotti, N.M. (1994) La dieta de Phalacrocorax albiventer en Punta León (Chubut, Argentina) durante la temporada reproductiva. Ornitología Neotropical 5, 91–97.Google Scholar
Millán, D. (2007) Anuario de estadísticas pesqueras de la provincia de Río Negro. [Statistical yearbook of fisheries in Río Negro Province] San Antonio Oeste, Argentina: Departamento Policía de Pesca Dirección de Pesca, Technical Report 2007.Google Scholar
Narvarte, M., González, R. and Fernández, M. (2006) Comparison of Tehuelche octopus (Octopus tehuelchus) abundance between an open-access fishing ground and a marine protected area: evidence from a direct development species. Fisheries Research 79, 112–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pierce, G.J., Valavanis, V.D., Guerra, A., Jereb, P., Orsi-Relini, L., Bellido, J.M., Katara, I., Piatkowski, U., Pereira, J., Balguerias, E., Sobrino, I., Lefkaditou, E., Wang, J., Santurtun, M., Boyle, P.R., Hastie, L.C., MacLeod, C.D., Smith, J., Viana, M., González, A.F. and Zuur, A.F. (2008) A review of cephalopod–environment interactions in European seas. Hydrobiologia 612, 49–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pinnegar, J.K., Polunin, N.V.C., Francour, P., Badalamenti, F., Chemello, R., Harmelin-Vivien, M.L., Hereu, B., Milazzo, M., Zabala, M., D'anna, G. and Pipitone, C. (2000) Trophic cascades in benthic marine ecosystems: lessons for fisheries and protected-area management. Environmental Conservation 27, 179–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pujals, M.A. (1986) Contribución al conocimiento de la biología de Octopus tehuelchus d'Orbigny (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). Anales de la Sociedad Científica Argentina, Serie I 214, 29–71.Google Scholar
Rakitin, A. and Kramer, D.L. (1996) Effect of a marine reserve on the distribution of coral reef fishes in Barbados. Marine Ecology Progress Series 131, 97–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ré, M.E. and Gómez Simes, E. (1992) Hábitos alimentarios del pulpo (Octopus tehuelchus). I. Análisis cuali-cuantitativos de la dieta en el intermareal de Puerto Lobos, Golfo San Matías (Argentina). Frente Marítimo 11, 119–128.Google Scholar
Sobrino, I., Silva, L., Bellido, J.M. and Ramos, F. (2002) Rainfall, river discharges and sea temperature as factors affecting abundance of two coastal benthic cephalopod species in the Gulf of Cadiz (SW Spain). Bulletin of Marine Science 71, 851–865.Google Scholar
Stockwell, B., Jadloc, C.R.L., Abesamis, R.A., Alcala, A.C. and Russ, G.R. (2009) Trophic and benthic responses to no-take marine reserve protection in the Philippines. Marine Ecology Progress Series 389, 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Storero, L.P., Ocampo-Reinaldo, M., González, R.A. and Narvarte, M.A. (2010) Growth and life span of the small octopus Octopus tehuelchus in San Matías Gulf (Patagonia): three decades of study. Marine Biology 157, 555–564.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Storero, L.P, Narvarte, M.A. and González, R.A. (2012) Reproductive traits of the small Patagonian octopus Octopus tehuelchus. Helgoland Marine Research. DOI: 10.1007/s10152-012-0298-z.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Voight, J.R. (1992) Movement, injuries and growth of members of a natural population of the Pacific pygmy octopus, Octopus diguetti. Journal of Zoology 228, 247–263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar