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Testing source-sink theory: the spill-over of mussel recruits beyond marine protected areas

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Abstract

Source-sink theory has contributed to our understanding of the function of protected areas, particularly due to their role as population sources. Marine reserves are a preferred management tool for the conservation of natural populations, creating areas of good quality habitat and thus improving population connectivity by enhancing larval supply and recruitment among shores. Despite recent advances in the study of protected areas in the context of the source-sink theory, rigorous and empirical testing of marine reserves as metapopulation sources for the adjacent areas remain largely unexplored. We investigated the role of marine reserves as population sources, whether there was spill-over beyond the reserve boundaries and if so, whether spill-over was directional. We measured percentage cover and recruitment of mussels (Perna perna) at two reserves and two comparably sized exploited control areas on the south-east coast of South Africa where unprotected populations are severely affected by artisanal exploitation. Adult abundances were enhanced within reserves, but decreased towards their edges. We predicted that recruitment would mirror adult abundances and show directionality, with northern shores having greater recruitment following the prevalent northward flow of near-shore currents. There were, however, no correlations between adult abundances and recruitment for any months or shores, and no clear spatial patterns in recruitment (i.e. similar patterns occurred at reserves and controls). The results emphasise that, while reserves may act as important refuges by protecting adult abundances, their influence on promoting recovery of near-by exploited shores through larval spill-over may be overestimated.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to two anonymous referees for improving an earlier version of the manuscript. The authors thank Eastern Cape Parks for permission to work within the reserves and the park rangers for assistance in finding sites. The authors thank also R. Mapukata, Z. Amos, M. Nkaitshana, C. von der Meden, L. Johnson, B. Mostert, M. Ludford, J. Booth, M. Goddard and Z. Gqamana for assistance and advice in the field. Funding was supplied by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the National Research Foundation of South Africa in a joint programme with the Swedish Research Council. This study is based upon research supported by the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Coastal Research Group, Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, PO Box 94, Grahamstown, South Africa

    Adam Ludford, Victoria J. Cole, Francesca Porri & Christopher D. McQuaid

  2. Department of Zoology, Walter Sisulu University, P/Bag x 1, Mthatha, 5100, South Africa

    Motebang D. V. Nakin

  3. ARONIA Coastal Zone Research Team, Åbo Akademi University/Novia University of Applied Sciences, 10600, Ekenäs, Finland

    Johan Erlandsson

  4. Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    Johan Erlandsson

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  1. Adam Ludford
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  2. Victoria J. Cole
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  4. Christopher D. McQuaid
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  5. Motebang D. V. Nakin
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  6. Johan Erlandsson
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Correspondence to Adam Ludford.

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Ludford, A., Cole, V.J., Porri, F. et al. Testing source-sink theory: the spill-over of mussel recruits beyond marine protected areas. Landscape Ecol 27, 859–868 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-012-9739-y

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