| Title: |
Conserving the beauty of the world’s reef fish assemblages |
| Authors: |
Mclean, Matthew; Mouillot, David; Langlois, Juliette; Arif, Suchinta; Bejarano, Sonia; Casajus, Nicolas; Edgar, Graham; Flandrin, Ulysse; Guilhaumon, François; Judah, Aaron; Loiseau, Nicolas; Macneil, M. Aaron; Maire, Eva; Stuart-Smith, Rick; Mouquet, Nicolas |
| Contributors: |
University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNC); University of North Carolina System (UNC); MARine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation - MARBEC (UMR MARBEC); Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM); Dalhousie University Halifax; Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT); Centre de Synthèse et d’Analyse sur la Biodiversité (CESAB); Fondation pour la recherche sur la Biodiversité (FRB); Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies Hobart (IMAS); University of Tasmania Hobart (UTAS); Ecologie marine tropicale dans les Océans Pacifique et Indien (ENTROPIE Réunion ); Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université de La Réunion (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); University of Hawai‘i Mānoa (UHM); Lancaster Environment Centre; Lancaster University; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD); BIODIVERSA |
| Source: |
ISSN: 0027-8424. |
| Publisher Information: |
CCSD; National Academy of Sciences |
| Publication Year: |
2025 |
| Collection: |
Université de la Réunion: HAL |
| Subject Terms: |
[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environment and Society |
| Description: |
International audience ; On shallow rocky and coral reefs, cultural and recreational values, like aesthetics, are critical aspects of Nature’s Contributions to People (NCP) that support human well-being and provide billions of dollars in tourism revenue. Quantifying the aesthetic value of reef ecosystems and uncovering the conditions that enhance it could support NCP-based management. Here, we combine a global dataset of reef fish surveys, species-level aesthetic values, and causal modeling to assess the global status and drivers of reef fish assemblage aesthetic value. We find that aesthetic value is inherently linked to species richness, displaying a latitudinal gradient with peaks in the tropics, but varies strongly with the presence of exceptionally beautiful or less-beautiful species. Sea surface temperature, primary productivity, human gravity, and protection status are the strongest drivers of assemblage-level aesthetic value. Protection against human impacts consistently enhances aesthetic value by boosting taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity, and this effect is greatest in species-rich, tropical ecoregions. Economic development has little influence, indicating that low-income countries are not constrained from maintaining beautiful fish assemblages. Our results therefore suggest that marine protected areas (MPAs) can support multiple NCPs simultaneously, particularly in developing tropical countries. While we highlight the effectiveness of MPAs, given the low level of marine protection globally and the sensitivity of aesthetic value to environmental conditions, the beauty of the world’s reefs appears severely threatened. Aesthetic value should be immediately integrated into reef conservation and management plans. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| DOI: |
10.1073/pnas.2415931122 |
| Availability: |
https://hal.science/hal-05140021; https://hal.science/hal-05140021v1/document; https://hal.science/hal-05140021v1/file/Conserving%20reef%20fish%20beauty_R3.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2415931122 |
| Rights: |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ ; info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.CCF974FA |
| Database: |
BASE |