Developing tools for assessing ecological performance of marine protected areas [ 2006-09-30 - 2009-12-31 ]

Research Grant

Researchers: Michael Keough (Chief Investigator) ,  Swearer, Stephen (Chief Investigator) ,  Dr Anthony Boxshall (Partner Investigator)

Brief description Developing tools for assessing ecological performance of marine protected areas. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are rapidly being established around Australia as a device to conserve marine biodiversity. Their ability to sustain animal and plant populations depends critically on the ability of populations to replenish themselves, but we have no ready way of assessing replenishment, relying instead on simple counts of animals and plants within MPAs as a measure of their success. We propose a new measure, using relationships between adult stocks and recruitment, as a way of assessing the long-term success of MPAs. We will test this measure using comparisons among marine national parks that were established recently in Victoria.

Funding Amount $96,067

Funding Scheme Linkage Projects

View this grant in the ARC Data Portal