Abstract

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are capable of rebuilding biodiversity and increase fishery output. However, MPA success is not always achieved, and assessment of MPA performance is necessary for management accountability to stakeholders. MPA success requires adequate design, compliance and time. Success probability is enhanced if an MPA meets 4 of the 5 NEOLI criteria: No-take, Enforced, Old, Large, and Isolated, but often some of these factors are not accounted for when assessing MPA performance. Here we present preliminary results of a study evaluating patterns of temporal variation of fish assemblages of two MPAs with distinct management and enforcement plans: the no-take area of the Mona Island Natural Reserve, an offshore island between Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, and the La Parguera Natural Reserve, off the southwest coast of Puerto Rico. Both are considered large and old by NEOLI criteria, but differ in no-take status and degree of isolation, with enforcement unquantified in both areas. A prior study at Mona Island, 5-years after no-take designation, found only marginal changes in abundance for larger, commercially important species, with the largest increases in abundance detected for smaller species of groupers and early life stages. Non-compliance at Mona Island has been cited as a potential hindrance to the recovery, but this has not been formally assessed. In the present study, structure and composition of fish assemblages associated with coral reefs (collected via belt transects) are being analyzed using permutational multivariate analyses of variance (PERMANOVA) based on a multifactorial mixed model that considered several spatial and temporal scales, while compliance is being indirectly evaluated with a series of scaled stakeholder surveys.

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