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There are several general principles that should be followed when selecting locations for marine reserves. To properly function as a buffer against external exploitation, the 10% of ocean area must include a globally representative sample of habitats and ecosystems (Ballantine 1991). Particular emphasis should be placed on protecting especially fragile, unique, or threatened ecosystems. Furthermore, when possible, multiple, discrete examples of each habitat type should be protected to insure against localized disturbances. Finally, individual Marine Reserves marine reserves should be set up in mutually reinforcing networks to maximize their collective influence. The proper layout of such systems relies heavily on accurate knowledge of the physical processes in a given area, especially the activity of advective and convective current systems, and the biological responses to such physical factors (Johnson, Funicelli, & Bohnsack 1999 and Ballantine 1991). As such, continual refinement of such data through future research is very important to effective placement of the Marine Reservesmarine reserves.
Although the Nono-Take Zones take zones in this proposal are intended to primarily target entire ecosystems, we acknowledge that there are biological or economic situations in which a certain species is of particular importance. In such cases, a thorough understanding of the relevant biology and ecology is critically important. For example, a very mobile fish population would have a faster biomass exchange rate through a marine reserve, rendering it less effective than it would be for a less mobile species. As such, no-take zones are best placed along the axis of movement for given populations. This configuration maximizes the time the fish will remain within the reserve and hence the protective effect. (Watson, Alder, Walters, 2000)
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This vast array of considerations can seem daunting. The optimal layout of Marine Reserves marine reserves must consider numerous biological, physical, and social factors, as well as the very practical issues of cost and enforceability. Fortunately, there exist several sophisticated environmental modeling packages such as Marxan (Possingham, Ball, & Andleman 2000), ResNet, and C-Plan that use stochastic statistical methods to optimize these many parameters. Naturally, these types of algorithms are only as good as the input data put into them, so continued emphasis on the collection of scientific data is essential to the optimal design, and hence eventual success of marine reserves.
Figure 1. Taken from Google Images, depicting possible Marine Protected Areas.
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Graphic depicting possible marine protected areas, map data courtesy of Google Maps.
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