Marine protected areas (MPAs) are increasingly being used globally to conserve marine resources. However, whether many MPAs are being effectively and equitably managed, and how MPA management ...influences substantive outcomes remain unknown. We developed a global database of management and fish population data (433 and 218 MPAs, respectively) to assess: MPA management processes; the effects of MPAs on fish populations; and relationships between management processes and ecological effects. Here we report that many MPAs failed to meet thresholds for effective and equitable management processes, with widespread shortfalls in staff and financial resources. Although 71% of MPAs positively influenced fish populations, these conservation impacts were highly variable. Staff and budget capacity were the strongest predictors of conservation impact: MPAs with adequate staff capacity had ecological effects 2.9 times greater than MPAs with inadequate capacity. Thus, continued global expansion of MPAs without adequate investment in human and financial capacity is likely to lead to sub-optimal conservation outcomes.
Recent reports suggest that many well-assessed fisheries in developed countries are moving toward sustainability. We examined whether the same conclusion holds for fisheries lacking formal assessment ...which comprise >80% of global catch. We developed a method using species' life-history, catch, and fishery development data to estimate the status of thousands of unassessed fisheries worldwide. We found that small unassessed fisheries are in substantially worse condition than assessed fisheries, but that large unassessed fisheries may be performing nearly as well as their assessed counterparts. Both small and large stocks, however, continue to decline; 64% of unassessed stocks could provide increased sustainable harvest if rebuilt. Our results suggest that global fishery recovery would simultaneously create increases in abundance (56%) and fishery yields (8 to 40%).
Climate change is causing range shifts in many marine species, with implications for biodiversity and fisheries. Previous research has mainly focused on how species' ranges will respond to changing ...ocean temperatures, without accounting for other environmental covariates that could affect future distribution patterns. Here, we integrate habitat suitability modeling approaches, a high‐resolution global climate model projection, and detailed fishery‐independent and ‐dependent faunal datasets from one of the most extensively monitored marine ecosystems—the U.S. Northeast Shelf. We project the responses of 125 species in this region to climate‐driven changes in multiple oceanographic factors (e.g., ocean temperature, salinity, sea surface height) and seabed characteristics (i.e., rugosity and depth). Comparing model outputs based on ocean temperature and seabed characteristics to those that also incorporated salinity and sea surface height (proxies for primary productivity and ocean circulation features), we explored how an emphasis on ocean temperature in projecting species' range shifts can impact assessments of species' climate vulnerability. We found that multifactor habitat suitability models performed better in explaining and predicting species historical distribution patterns than temperature‐based models. We also found that multifactor models provided more concerning assessments of species' future distribution patterns than temperature‐based models, projecting that species' ranges will largely shift northward and become more contracted and fragmented over time. Our results suggest that using ocean temperature as a primary determinant of range shifts can significantly alter projections, masking species' climate vulnerability, and potentially forestalling proactive management.
Climate change research predicting marine species' range shifts has mainly focused on expected responses to changing ocean temperatures, overlooking how other environmental covariates could affect future distribution patterns. We explore how this emphasis on ocean temperature could impact species' climate vulnerability assessments, comparing outputs from temperature‐based habitat suitability models to those that include multiple environmental covariates. We find that multifactor models perform better in explaining and predicting species' historical distribution patterns. These models also make more concerning projections for species' future distribution patterns, that is, that species' ranges will largely shift northward and become more contracted and fragmented over time.
The field of marine reserve science has matured greatly over the last decade, moving beyond studies of single reserves and beyond perspectives from single disciplines. This Special Feature ...exemplifies recent advances in marine reserve research, showing insights gained from synthetic studies of reserve networks, long-term changes within reserves, integration of social and ecological science research, and balance between reserve design for conservation as well as fishery and other commercial objectives. This rich body of research helps to inform conservation planning for marine ecosystems but also poses new challenges for further study, including how to best design integrated fisheries management and conservation systems, how to effectively evaluate the performance of entire reserve networks, and how to examine the complex coupling between ecological and socioeconomic responses to reserve networks.
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are conservation tools intended to protect biodiversity, promote healthy and resilient marine ecosystems, and provide societal benefits. Despite codification of MPAs in ...international agreements, MPA effectiveness is currently undermined by confusion about the many MPA types and consequent wildly differing outcomes. We present a clarifying science-driven framework—The MPA Guide—to aid design and evaluation. The guide categorizes MPAs by stage of establishment and level of protection, specifies the resulting direct and indirect outcomes for biodiversity and human well-being, and describes the key conditions necessary for positive outcomes. Use of this MPA Guide by scientists, managers, policy-makers, and communities can improve effective design, implementation, assessment, and tracking of existing and future MPAs to achieve conservation goals by using scientifically grounded practices.
The rapid increase in the science and implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs) around the world in the past 15 years is now being followed by similar increases in the science and application ...of marine ecosystem-based management (EBM). Despite important overlaps and some common goals, these two approaches have remained either separated in the literature and in conservation and management efforts or treated as if they are one and the same. In the cases when connections are acknowledged, there is often little assessment of if or how well MPAs can achieve specific EBM goals. Here we start by critically evaluating commonalities and differences between MPAs and EBM. Next, we use global analyses to show where and how much no-take marine reserves can be expected to contribute to EBM goals, specifically by reducing the cumulative impacts of stressors on ocean ecosystems. These analyses revealed large stretches of coastal oceans where reserves can play a major role in reducing cumulative impacts and thus improving overall ocean condition, at the same time highlighting the limitations of marine reserves as a single tool to achieve comprehensive EBM. Ultimately, better synergies between these two burgeoning approaches provide opportunities to greatly benefit ocean health.
Aquaculture surpassed wild fisheries as the largest supplier of fish for human consumption in 2014 and is expected to supply the majority of seafood for future increases in demand. Marine and coastal ...aquaculture, collectively referred to as mariculture, currently represents just 36% of aquaculture production but is poised to expand in the decades ahead. One of the most commonly cited concerns regarding this likely expansion is ecological and socioeconomic interactions with wild‐capture fisheries. While attention has largely been drawn to high‐profile negative externalities from fed finfish and crustacean mariculture, not all marine‐based practices are equivalent. Empirical evidence for the different interactions between mariculture and wild fisheries is often sparse. While negative consequences can arise, positive synergies can also occur. By considering mariculture development in the context of fisheries interactions, we suggest that it is possible to minimize conflicts and maximize positive connections between the two sectors. We provide the first comprehensive synthesis of the interactions between mariculture and wild fisheries, characterizing the types of interactions, evaluating available empirical evidence and identifying where management (sector‐specific and cooperative) can play an important role. We highlight potential effects of mariculture on the efficiency, sustainability, and equity of seafood production and identify remaining knowledge gaps.
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have demonstrated promising efficacy, particularly in hematologic malignancies. One challenge regarding CAR T cells in solid tumors is the immunosuppressive ...tumor microenvironment (TME), characterized by high levels of multiple inhibitory factors, including transforming growth factor (TGF)-β. We report results from an in-human phase 1 trial of castration-resistant, prostate cancer-directed CAR T cells armored with a dominant-negative TGF-β receptor (NCT03089203). Primary endpoints were safety and feasibility, while secondary objectives included assessment of CAR T cell distribution, bioactivity and disease response. All prespecified endpoints were met. Eighteen patients enrolled, and 13 subjects received therapy across four dose levels. Five of the 13 patients developed grade ≥2 cytokine release syndrome (CRS), including one patient who experienced a marked clonal CAR T cell expansion, >98% reduction in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and death following grade 4 CRS with concurrent sepsis. Acute increases in inflammatory cytokines correlated with manageable high-grade CRS events. Three additional patients achieved a PSA reduction of ≥30%, with CAR T cell failure accompanied by upregulation of multiple TME-localized inhibitory molecules following adoptive cell transfer. CAR T cell kinetics revealed expansion in blood and tumor trafficking. Thus, clinical application of TGF-β-resistant CAR T cells is feasible and generally safe. Future studies should use superior multipronged approaches against the TME to improve outcomes.
No-take marine reserves are widely recognized as an effective conservation tool for protecting marine resources. Despite considerable empirical evidence that abundance and biomass of fished species ...increase within marine reserve boundaries, the potential for reserves to provide fisheries and conservation benefits to adjacent waters remains heavily debated. This paper uses statistical and population models to evaluate published empirical data on adult spillover from marine reserves and shows that spillover is a common phenomenon for species that respond positively to reserve protection, but at relatively small scales, detectable on average up to 800 m from reserve boundaries. At these small scales, local fisheries around reserves were likely unsustainable in 12 of 14 cases without the reserve, and spillover partially or fully offsets losses in catch due to reserve closure in the other two cases. For reserves to play a role in sustaining and replenishing larger-scale fished stocks, networks of reserves may be necessary, but as few exist this is difficult to evaluate. The results suggest reserves can simultaneously meet conservation objectives and benefit local fisheries adjacent to their boundaries.
Climate change is already producing ecological, social, and economic impacts on fisheries, and these effects are expected to increase in frequency and magnitude in the future. Fisheries governance ...and regulations can alter socio-ecological resilience to climate change impacts via harvest control rules and incentives driving fisher behavior, yet there are no syntheses or conceptual frameworks for examining how institutions and their regulatory approaches can alter fisheries resilience to climate change. We identify nine key climate resilience criteria for fisheries socioecological systems (SES), defining resilience as the ability of the coupled system of interacting social and ecological components (i.e., the SES) to absorb change while avoiding transformation into a different undesirable state. We then evaluate the capacity of four fisheries regulatory systems that vary in their degree of property rights, including open access, limited entry, and two types of rights-based management, to increase or inhibit resilience. Our exploratory assessment of evidence in the literature suggests that these regulatory regimes vary widely in their ability to promote resilient fisheries, with rights-based approaches appearing to offer more resilience benefits in many cases, but detailed characteristics of the regulatory instruments are fundamental.
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