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Genetic evidence from the spiny lobster fishery supports international cooperation among Central American marine protected areas

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Abstract

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are an important ecosystem-based management approach to help improve the sustainability of the spiny lobster fishery (Panulirus argus), but information is lacking concerning levels of lobster population connectivity among MPAs. Given their prolonged (~6 months) pelagic larval duration, population connectivity must be considered in any spatial management plan for P. argus. We used genetic techniques to uncover spatial patterns of connectivity among MPAs along the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (MBRS) of Central America. We hypothesized that connectivity would be greater and genetic differentiation diminished among lobster populations within MPAs in the southern MBRS, which is dominated by a retentive oceanographic environment, as compared to MPAs in the more advective environment further north. We found that levels of connectivity are high among spiny lobster populations residing in MPAs in Central America, although overall F ST was low (F ST = 0.00013) but significant (P = 0.037). MPAs in the northern MBRS contained significantly more individuals that were genetically determined outliers or migrants than southern MPAs (P = 0.008, R 2 = 0.61), which may have contributed to the higher levels of genetic differentiation observed in northern MPAs. Direct genetic testing of larvae and adults will be required to confirm this hypothesis. The high level of connectivity among MPAs provides additional evidence of the importance of international cooperation in the management of Caribbean lobster fisheries. However, uncertainty regarding the ecological and physical drivers of genetic differentiation in Northern MPAs implies that managers should hedge against uncertainty.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful for the logistical support provided by the Belize Fisheries Department biologists and rangers and staff at Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society. We would particularly like to thank James Azueta and Isaias Majil at the Belize Fisheries Department. Without their help and hard work this research project would not have been possible. Numerous individuals helped to collect samples throughout Central America. We would also like to thank the Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas in Mexico and particularly María del Carmen García Rivas for her assistance at Banco Chinchorro. We thank the following individuals for help with sample collection and logistics: Dr. Alfonso Aguilar (Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán Mexico); Miguel Alamilla, Kira Forman, Luis Novelo, Elias Cantun, Samuel Novelo, Martinez, Merve, Shakera Arnold, Ali, Aldo, and Islop, Wilfredo Pott and Barbi Gentle (Belize Fisheries) Friederike Clever (University of Manchester); Alex Tilley, Danny Wesby, Janet Gibson, and Sarah Pacyna (Wildlife Conservation Society); and Alicia Medina (WWF). This research was supported by funding for a PhD fellowship for NKT from the Sustainable Consumption Institute and Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Manchester, and by a grant (OCE-0928930) from the US National Science Foundation to MJB and DCB. This is manuscript contribution number 966 of the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, Florida.

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  1. Nathan K. Truelove

    Present address: Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL, 34949, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK

    Nathan K. Truelove, Sarah Griffiths & Richard F. Preziosi

  2. Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia

    Kim Ley-Cooper

  3. Belize Fisheries Department, Belize Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Belize City, Belize

    James Azueta & Isaias Majil

  4. Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL, 34949, USA

    Stephen J. Box

  5. Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Program, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32653, USA

    Donald C. Behringer

  6. Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA

    Donald C. Behringer

  7. Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA

    Mark J. Butler IV

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  1. Nathan K. Truelove
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Truelove, N.K., Griffiths, S., Ley-Cooper, K. et al. Genetic evidence from the spiny lobster fishery supports international cooperation among Central American marine protected areas. Conserv Genet 16, 347–358 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-014-0662-4

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