Using Cumulative Impact Mapping to Prioritize Marine Conservation Efforts in Equatorial Guinea
Marine biodiversity is under extreme pressure from anthropogenic activity globally, leading to calls to protect at least 10% of the world’s oceans within marine protected areas (MPAs) and other effective area-based conservation measures. Fulfilling such commitments, however, requires a detailed unde...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2019.00717/full |
| _version_ | 1828416371426328576 |
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| author | Brittany T. Trew Hedley S. Grantham Christian Barrientos Tim Collins Philip D. Doherty Angela Formia Brendan J. Godley Sara M. Maxwell Richard J. Parnell Stephen K. Pikesley Dominic Tilley Matthew J. Witt Kristian Metcalfe |
| author_facet | Brittany T. Trew Hedley S. Grantham Christian Barrientos Tim Collins Philip D. Doherty Angela Formia Brendan J. Godley Sara M. Maxwell Richard J. Parnell Stephen K. Pikesley Dominic Tilley Matthew J. Witt Kristian Metcalfe |
| author_sort | Brittany T. Trew |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Marine biodiversity is under extreme pressure from anthropogenic activity globally, leading to calls to protect at least 10% of the world’s oceans within marine protected areas (MPAs) and other effective area-based conservation measures. Fulfilling such commitments, however, requires a detailed understanding of the distribution of potentially detrimental human activities, and their predicted impacts. One such approach that is being increasingly used to strengthen our understanding of human impacts is cumulative impact mapping; as it can help identify economic sectors with the greatest potential impact on species and ecosystems in order to prioritize conservation management strategies, providing clear direction for intervention. In this paper, we present the first local cumulative utilization impact mapping exercise for the Bioko-Corisco-Continental area of Equatorial Guinea’s Exclusive Economic Zone – situated in the Gulf of Guinea, one of the most important and least studied marine regions in the Eastern Central Atlantic. This study examines the potential impact of ten direct anthropogenic activities on a suite of key marine megafauna species and reveals that the most suitable habitats for these species, located on the continental shelf, are subject to the highest threat scores. However, in some coastal areas, the persistence of highly suitable habitat subject to lower threat scores suggests that there are still several strategic areas that are less impacted by human activity that may be suitable sites for protected area expansion. Highlighting both the areas with potentially the highest impact, and those with lower impact levels, as well as particularly damaging activities can inform the direction of future conservation initiatives in the region. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T14:02:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-66175001812449a8a0ddca86233eaf0a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T14:02:05Z |
| publishDate | 2019-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-66175001812449a8a0ddca86233eaf0a2022-12-22T01:45:46ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452019-11-01610.3389/fmars.2019.00717493311Using Cumulative Impact Mapping to Prioritize Marine Conservation Efforts in Equatorial GuineaBrittany T. Trew0Hedley S. Grantham1Christian Barrientos2Tim Collins3Philip D. Doherty4Angela Formia5Brendan J. Godley6Sara M. Maxwell7Richard J. Parnell8Stephen K. Pikesley9Dominic Tilley10Matthew J. Witt11Kristian Metcalfe12Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, United KingdomWildlife Conservation Society, Global Conservation Program, Bronx, NY, United StatesWildlife Conservation Society, Equatorial Guinea Program, Bata, Equatorial GuineaWildlife Conservation Society, Marine Program, Bronx, NY, United StatesCentre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, United KingdomWildlife Conservation Society, Gulf of Guinea Sea Turtle Program, Libreville, GabonCentre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, United KingdomSchool of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington Bothell, Bothell, WA, United StatesWildlife Conservation Society, Gabon Program, Libreville, GabonCentre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, United KingdomCentre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, United KingdomEnvironmental Biology Group, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hatherly Laboratories, University of Exeter, Exeter, United KingdomCentre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, United KingdomMarine biodiversity is under extreme pressure from anthropogenic activity globally, leading to calls to protect at least 10% of the world’s oceans within marine protected areas (MPAs) and other effective area-based conservation measures. Fulfilling such commitments, however, requires a detailed understanding of the distribution of potentially detrimental human activities, and their predicted impacts. One such approach that is being increasingly used to strengthen our understanding of human impacts is cumulative impact mapping; as it can help identify economic sectors with the greatest potential impact on species and ecosystems in order to prioritize conservation management strategies, providing clear direction for intervention. In this paper, we present the first local cumulative utilization impact mapping exercise for the Bioko-Corisco-Continental area of Equatorial Guinea’s Exclusive Economic Zone – situated in the Gulf of Guinea, one of the most important and least studied marine regions in the Eastern Central Atlantic. This study examines the potential impact of ten direct anthropogenic activities on a suite of key marine megafauna species and reveals that the most suitable habitats for these species, located on the continental shelf, are subject to the highest threat scores. However, in some coastal areas, the persistence of highly suitable habitat subject to lower threat scores suggests that there are still several strategic areas that are less impacted by human activity that may be suitable sites for protected area expansion. Highlighting both the areas with potentially the highest impact, and those with lower impact levels, as well as particularly damaging activities can inform the direction of future conservation initiatives in the region.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2019.00717/fullcumulative impactsGulf of Guineamarine conservationmarine protected areasmarine mammalsthreat mapping |
| spellingShingle | Brittany T. Trew Hedley S. Grantham Christian Barrientos Tim Collins Philip D. Doherty Angela Formia Brendan J. Godley Sara M. Maxwell Richard J. Parnell Stephen K. Pikesley Dominic Tilley Matthew J. Witt Kristian Metcalfe Using Cumulative Impact Mapping to Prioritize Marine Conservation Efforts in Equatorial Guinea Frontiers in Marine Science cumulative impacts Gulf of Guinea marine conservation marine protected areas marine mammals threat mapping |
| title | Using Cumulative Impact Mapping to Prioritize Marine Conservation Efforts in Equatorial Guinea |
| title_full | Using Cumulative Impact Mapping to Prioritize Marine Conservation Efforts in Equatorial Guinea |
| title_fullStr | Using Cumulative Impact Mapping to Prioritize Marine Conservation Efforts in Equatorial Guinea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using Cumulative Impact Mapping to Prioritize Marine Conservation Efforts in Equatorial Guinea |
| title_short | Using Cumulative Impact Mapping to Prioritize Marine Conservation Efforts in Equatorial Guinea |
| title_sort | using cumulative impact mapping to prioritize marine conservation efforts in equatorial guinea |
| topic | cumulative impacts Gulf of Guinea marine conservation marine protected areas marine mammals threat mapping |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2019.00717/full |
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