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CSCOR-sponsored Research Assesses Habitat Connectivity for MPA Management and Zonation in Mona Island, Puerto Rico
The Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCOR)-sponsored researchers at the Caribbean Coral Reef Institute are analyzing how the abundance and distribution of habitat at Mona Island Natural Reserve controls the abundance, distribution, and species composition of coral reef fishes to assess habitat connectivity for MPA management and zonation in Mona Island, Puerto Rico . Underwater visual surveys have been completed throughout the insular platform and provide a “seascape approach” that emphasizes the connectivity among habitats throughout fish development in the determination of essential habitat. The localized distribution patterns of key habitats used as settling, nursery and spawning grounds suggest that zoning patterns of no-take versus open areas will be important in maintaining populations. As an isolated island in the middle of a partial biogeographic boundary, healthy fish communities at Mona are essential both for population maintenance and genetic connectivity between Puerto Rico and Hispaniola . Study results will be presented to the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources within the context of management implications for this marine protected area, and will also provide a spatially explicit baseline for monitoring the effectiveness of the no-take zone. For more information, please contact Michael Dowgiallo at Michael.Dowgiallo@noaa.gov.