Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1724568 | Ocean & Coastal Management | 2008 | 11 Pages |
Abstract
Coastal managers presently rely on a limited set of decision support tools for designing marine protected areas (MPAs) or subzones. A new approach, defining potential sizes and shapes of MPA boundaries early in the design process, is presented in a case study. A sliding window of the same dimensions as potential boundary configurations was regularly shifted throughout the study area and used to quantify variables representing preferred biophysical and socioeconomic characteristics. The technique offers advantages in spatially restricted areas, areas where habitat connectivity is critical, and situations wherein providing stakeholders with an up-front understanding of potential boundaries is required.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Oceanography
Authors
Matthew S. Kendall, Katherine A. Eschelbach, Gregory McFall, James Sullivan, Laurie Bauer,