Using connectivity study to assess marine protected areas in the center of Coral Triangle

Faryuni, Irfana;Saint-Amand, Antoine;Umar, Widyastuti;Jompa, Jamaluddin;Hanert, Emmanuel
(2021) the 6th International Marine Connectivity Conference — Location: Paris (6.December.2021)

Files

CONFERENCE_Poster_IMARCO_2021_Irfana.pdf
  • Restricted Access
  • Adobe PDF
  • 1.29 MB
Request a copy

Details

Authors
  • Faryuni, Irfanaorcid-logoUCLouvain
    Author
  • Saint-Amand, Antoineorcid-logoUCLouvain
    Collaborator
  • Umar, WidyastutiHasanuddin University
    Collaborator
  • Jompa, JamaluddinHasanuddin University
    Collaborator
  • Hanert, Emmanuelorcid-logoUCLouvain
    Scientific Director/Editor
Abstract
As part of the Coral Triangle, the Wakatobi National Park (WNP), Indonesia, is one of the most biodiverse marine habitats on earth. Unfortunately, the ecosystem of WNP has been endangered in the last decade. Therefore, the Government of Indonesia (GoI) has designated a portion of these marine areas as protected since 1990. However, the current designated MPAs were established without considering their ecological connections. As a consequence, their effectiveness to support the regional-scale resilience against anthropogenic disturbances is remains unknown. This study tries to fill in the gap by evaluating the connectivity of reefs as a significant criterion in planning for MPAs. Here we modelled Acropora millepora and Acropora gemmifera dispersal during four spawning events in 2014, 2018-2020 in the WNP by using the high-resolution ocean model SLIM. We then simulated the coral larval dispersal using a biophysical model. We analyzed the resulting connectivity matrices using a graph theory algorithm to explore the spatial connections and determine each site's importance to local and regional connectivity. In particular, we used Google's PageRank algorithm to identify the main source and sink reefs, as well as the reefs best suited for protection and restoration. Here, we found that most of the existing MPAs have a low Protection PageRank index. On the contrary, most reefs with a high Protection PageRank index (such as reefs around the Wangi-Wangi and the Kaledupa islands) are outside the current MPAs, suggesting a mismatch between WNP design and coral protection and restoration needs. Therefore, we proposed these potential reef areas to be protected in future MPA design. Using this approach, we provided quantitative parameters to assist the GoI in assessing the current MPAs and better arranging the protection and conservation program.
Affiliations

Citations

  • APA
  • Chicago
  • FWB

Faryuni, I. (2021). Using connectivity study to assess marine protected areas in the center of Coral Triangle. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/26316