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Reservation Required?

June 26, 2017

Restoff Island in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, is a biodiversity hotspot that is home to hundreds of coral reef fish species. It is also one of eight sites sampled in the largest, most comprehensive study of larval dispersal ever conducted, research that has important implications for the sizing and spacing of marine reserves. Marine reserves come in many shapes and sizes, but if a reserve is too small, it can’t accommodate enough larvae to sustain populations. If it’s too big, larvae will simply stay within the confines of the reserve without contributing to surrounding fisheries—a critical secondary role marine reserves need to play to improve fisheries management. (Photo by Simon Thorrold, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)