The seascape nursery: a novel spatial approach to identify and manage nurseries for coastal marine fauna

Abstract

Coastal marine and estuarine ecosystems are highly productive and serve a nursery function for important fisheries species. They also suffer some of the highest rates of degradation from human impacts of any ecosystems. Identifying and valuing nursery habitats is a critical part of their conservation, but current assessment practices typically take a static approach by considering habitats as individual and homogeneous entities. Here, we review current definitions of nursery habitat and propose a novel approach for assigning nursery areas for mobile fauna that incorporates critical ecological habitat linkages. We introduce the term 'seascape nurseries', which conceptualizes a nursery as a spatially explicit seascape consisting of multiple mosaics of habitat patches that are functionally connected. Hotspots of animal abundances/productivity identify the core area of a habitat mosaic, which is spatially constrained by the home ranges of its occupants. Migration pathways connecting such hotspots at larger spatial and temporal scales, through ontogenetic habitat shifts or inshore-offshore migrations, should be identified and incorporated. The proposed approach provides a realistic step forward in the identification and management of critical coastal areas, especially in situations where large habitat units or entire water bodies cannot be protected as a whole due to socio-economic, practical or other considerations.