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Complex habitat boosts scallop recruitment in a fully protected marine reserve

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Abstract

This study investigated the effects of a fully protected marine reserve on commercially valuable scallops and benthic habitats in Lamlash Bay, Isle of Arran, United Kingdom. Dive surveys found the abundance of juvenile scallops to be greater within the marine reserve than outside. A novel multivariate approach, based upon neural networks and generalised linear models, revealed the greater abundance of juveniles to be related to the greater presence of macroalgae and maerl within the reserve boundaries. This complex habitat appeared to have positively encouraged spat settlement. In contrast, the density of adult scallops did not differ between the two treatments, possibly due to the short duration of protection. However, the age, size and biomass of adult scallops were significantly greater within the reserve. Overall, this study suggests that the newly created marine reserve is already providing benefits which are flowing back to species targeted by fisheries, emphasising the importance of marine reserves in ecosystem-based management of fisheries.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST). Many thanks to those who supported the project by donating their time and acting as boat people and/or survey divers. Thank you to Eamon Murphy of Marine Scotland for organising permission to take scallops from the marine reserve. Special thanks to Julie Hawkins and Sally Campbell for their help in setting up the project and for all the support they gave. Comments from the Associate Editor, two anonymous reviewers, and Jo Beukers-Stewart considerably improved an earlier version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environment Department, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK

    Leigh M. Howarth & Bryce D. Beukers-Stewart

  2. Community of Arran Seabed Trust, Allt-na-ceirde, Whiting Bay, Isle of Arran, KA27 8QT, UK

    Howard L. Wood

  3. Department of Electronics, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK

    Alexander P. Turner

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  1. Leigh M. Howarth
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  4. Bryce D. Beukers-Stewart
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Correspondence to Bryce D. Beukers-Stewart.

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Communicated by S. D. Connell.

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Howarth, L.M., Wood, H.L., Turner, A.P. et al. Complex habitat boosts scallop recruitment in a fully protected marine reserve. Mar Biol 158, 1767–1780 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1690-y

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