Ecoseas Laboratory - PAVIS - Assessing the relationships between marine protected areas and invasive species

Title

PAVIS - Assessing the relationships between marine protected areas and invasive species

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A school of invasive rabbitfishes in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Photo by Yiannis Issaris/www.yissaris.com

Keywords

marine protected areas; invasive species; Mediterranean Sea; impacts

Coordinator / Lead partner

FRE 3729 ECOMERS. CNRS-Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, Nice, France

Principal investigator(s)

Sylvaine Giakoumi

Funding bodies and amount

Agence National de Recherche (Accueil de Chercheurs de Haut Niveau)

– Overall funding 365,335€ (ECOMERS 365,335€)

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Grant period

March 1^th 2016 – February 28^th 2019

The project in a nutshell

Biological invasions are major contributors to global change and native biodiversity decline. Currently, assessments of invasive species' impacts on marine ecosystems in and outside MPAs are scanty. At the same time,the role of MPAs in controlling invasive species populations is largely unknown.
PAVIS will investigate the following hypotheses: 1) whether MPAs influence the expansion of invasive species and mitigate their effects on native assemblages, 2) whether the ecological effects of such species could alter, reduce, or nullify ecosystem responses to protection in MPAs, and 3) whether local economic activities, such as artisanal fisheries and recreational diving, performed in MPAs and adjacent areas, have been impacted by the presence of invasives.

Contacts

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