Environmental DNA metabarcoding reveals and unpacks a biodiversity conservation paradox in Mediterranean marine reserves
2021
Boulanger, Emilie | Loiseau, Nicolas | Valentini, Alice | Arnal, Véronique | Boissery, Pierre | Dejean, Tony | Deter, Julie | Guellati, Nacim | Holon, Florian | Juhel, Jean-Baptiste | Lenfant, Philippe | Manel, Stéphanie | Mouillot, David | Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE) ; Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) ; Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [Occitanie])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro - Montpellier SupAgro ; Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro) | MARine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation (UMR MARBEC) ; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | SPYGEN [Le Bourget-du-Lac] | Agence de l'eau Rhône Méditerranée Corse | Andromède Océanologie | Centre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditérranéens (CEFREM) ; Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | Institut universitaire de France (IUF) ; Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche (M.E.N.E.S.R.) | ANR-16-EBI3-0002,RESERVEBENEFIT,Evaluating and managing connectivity in a network of Marine Protected Area to maintain genetic diversity and deliver fish beyond protected limits(2016)
International audience
Show more [+] Less [-]English. Although we are currently experiencing worldwide biodiversity loss, local species richness does not always decline under anthropogenic pressure. This conservation paradox may also apply in protected areas but has not yet received conclusive evidence in marine ecosystems. Here, we survey fish assemblages in six Mediterranean no-take reserves and their adjacent fishing grounds using environmental DNA (eDNA) while controlling for environmental conditions. We detect less fish species in marine reserves than in nearby fished areas. The paradoxical gradient in species richness is accompanied by a marked change in fish species composition under different managements. This dissimilarity is mainly driven by species that are often overlooked by classical visual surveys but detected with eDNA: cryptobenthic, pelagic, and rare fishes. These results do not negate the importance of reserves in protecting biodiversity but shed new light on how under-represented species groups can positively react to fishing pressure and how conservation efforts can shape regional biodiversity patterns.
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