Crossing the divide: The challenges of designing an ecologically coherent and representative network of MPAs for the UK

Against a background of international commitments to establish ecologically coherent and representative MPA networks, and the UK Marine Bill which aims to implement these commitments, the larval dispersal potential of 31 rare/scare benthic invertebrates is investigated and it is found that over half have a low dispersal potential (<1 km). On the basis of this, interviews with experts and an analysis of relevant literatures, it is argued that the establishment of representative MPA networks may be a reachable objective, as it is scientifically more realistic and thereby more defensible, whilst the aim of establishing ecologically coherent MPA networks may be a bridge too far.