Has marine reserve protection made a difference? Fish community structure, grazing intensity and coral recruitment on protected and fished patch reefs

Several 'Special Protected Areas' have been established within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary to promote the recovery of coral reef communities. To evaluate the effectiveness of these areas, I quantified reef fish abundance, grazing intensity, and benthic cover on abiotically similar protected and fished patch reefs. Baited underwater videos and transect surveys revealed greater abundances and size for several targeted fish species, and skewed size-class distributions for herbivorous fish within protected areas. Grazing intensity, coral recruitment and benthic cover did not vary consistently with protection. These results suggest that S.P.A.s, (1) increase the abundance and mean size of exploited reef fish, (2) support greater abundances of large/adult herbivorous fish, (3) limit the abundance of juvenile herbivorous fish, and (4) do not alter coral recruitment and benthic cover. By prohibiting exploitation, marine reserves establish a mechanism for 'improvement' in the fish community. However, additional management is needed to promote the recovery of benthic assemblages.