Johnson, Steven M.

Marine Protected Areas as Linked Social-Ecological Systems

2017

University of Guam

mathesis

"Marine ecosystems have become increasingly impacted and the coastal communities that rely upon them are continuously adapting to these changes. A key to understanding these social-ecological systems is identifying the components of social structure that support desirable feedback loops, and are most responsible for conservation success. Using the island of Yap, Micronesia as a case study, we implemented a paired social-ecological design to assess the social structure of villages with marine protected areas (MPAs). Structured surveys and open-ended questionnaires were conducted with community representatives from MPAs that had a corresponding ecological monitoring station to characterize the underlying social structure. Surveys of fish assemblages were conducted to measure the ecological outcomes in MPAs; a suite of non-MPA reefs were surveyed as reference sites and used to measure the footprint of human resource use. We report that villages with indicators for social cohesion were linked to MPAs with greater positive ecological outcomes compared to villages that were structured solely around strong leadership and enforcement. Sites with the poorest performing MPAs lacked strong leadership and physical MPA features (e.g., boundary markers and signboards). The site with high levels of social cohesion contained greater total fish biomass, herbivore biomass, and mean fish length relative to reference sites compared with other clusters. We found that fish assemblages in non-MPAs and low-performing MPAs were described by a human footprint. Channel and innerreef fish assemblages decreased with increased village and commercial fishing pressure, while outer reef fish assemblages decreased with increasing village fishing pressure and decreasing wave energy. Altogether, human proximity was a strong predictor of fish assemblage condition. Successful ecological outcomes in Yap were linked to an underlying social structure characterized by positive attributes for governance and social cohesion. Local management groups, key individuals, and high levels of enforcement were the most important aspects of governance. In turn, these positive governance features were associated with beneficial MPA infrastructure, such as public signboards and boundary markers. While strong governance has previously been linked with successful management and conservation, the present results suggested that social cohesion could play an equal or even greater role. Addressing management in areas where leadership or social cohesion was lacking may be an important next step in advancing conservation. Ultimately, supporting policies that account for these key social structure features will lead to improved fisheries management and greater socialecological resilience."

FY2017; CRCP Project ID: 183; Project Title: International Coral Reef Conservation Grant Programs; CRCP Grant Number NA16NOS4820069