Assistant Professor of Biology Pepperdine University, California, United States
Abstract: The goal of marine protected areas (MPAs) is to protect habitats and ecosystems to promote the diversity and health of marine populations. To evaluate the health of fish populations within and outside of MPAs, we used flight initiation distance (FID). FID is the distance at which an individual will flee from a perceived predator and is a direct measure of boldness. Lower FIDs are indicative of bolder and therefore healthier populations. Lower FID values indicate that fish will conserve energy that could be used towards growth and reproduction. Data was collected from nine locations along the southern California coast, four in protected areas, and five in non-protected areas. FIDs were measured with a sonar-based range finder. All fish species that could be caught by recreational fishermen were targeted, with a focus on six core species that are commonly sought by spearfishermen. Results showed that all fish sampled in MPAs have lower FIDs than those in non-protected areas (Wilcoxon rank sum: W=7013.5, p< 0.0001). An ANOVA showed no significant difference between different locations of the same protected status. When looking at the six core species, all species had lower average FIDs in protected areas and there was no significant difference in FIDs between species. These results show that southern California MPAs are promoting healthier fish communities with respect to boldness behavior. The data collected using this method could help parametrize a spillover model for southern California’s MPAs.
