130
The shaping of the global protected area estate
because they possess less functional redundancy
(Bellwood et al ., 2004 ). Reefs furthest from the Central
Indo - Pacifi c may therefore be doubly vulnerable. First,
they contain disproportionately large numbers of
endemics (corals and, especially, fi shes), which if lost
due to adverse regional environmental impacts (e.g.
global warming or invasive species) cannot recolonize
from elsewhere. Second, the low diversity of these locations implies limited potential for functional redundancy, so that extinctions of one or a few species at
peripheral locations are more likely to be associated
with losses of critical ecosystem function (Bellwood &
Hughes, 2001 ).
Furthermore, the hotspots approach to prioritization
does not take into account temporal changes or the
complexities of evolution (Reaka et al ., 2008 ). For
example, over geological time, hotspots have shifted
signifi cantly (Renema et al ., 2008 ), while in the North
Sea, nearly two - thirds of species (exploited and non -
exploited) have experienced distributional and/or
depth changes within just the last 25 years (Perry
et al ., 2005 ). The hotspots approach also ‘ ignores the
fact that there is literally no place on Earth, land or sea,
that is not critical for some form of life for some purpose
(e.g. breeding or feeding), or that is not the habitat of
some endemic species ’ (Ray, 1999 , p. 611).
Indeed, there is a risk that, while raising conservation awareness of small areas, the hotspots approach
may lead us to ignore and potentially lose many of
our most valuable ecosystems. Many conservation
threats (e.g. climate change, invasive species, human
pressure, pollution) are now global in their origin and
effects, and over - reliance on a hotspots approach,
despite being politically appealing and analytically
transparent (assuming high quality and availability
of data), can disenfranchize communities who need to
be engaged in the conservation effort (Kareiva &
Marvier, 2003 ).
5.4.5 Large Marine Ecosystems
The open - access nature and high connectedness of
habitats in the marine realm, as well as extensive
fi shing activity (commercial and artisanal), means
that conservation success is closely connected to
resource use and management (Table 4.6 ). Key factors
include that fi sheries management institutions wield
considerable political power, that fi shing is commonly
As is the case for terrestrial taxa, centres of high
marine endemism and species richness are not necessarily concordant (T.P. Hughes et al ., 2002 ; Roberts
et al ., 2002 ; Allen, 2008 ), leading to a potential
confl ict in prioritization. Analyses have shown that
restricted - range taxa are concentrated into centres
of endemism like those described for terrestrial taxa.
The ten richest centres of endemism cover 15.8 per
cent of the world ’ s coral reefs (0.012 per cent of the
oceans) and include between 44.8 per cent and 54.2
per cent of the restricted - range species (Roberts et al .,
2002 ).
These centres of endemism, however, tend to be
found in peripheral locations in areas with low species
diversity, while the high species richness of the
so - called ‘ coral triangle ’ between Indonesia, the
Philippines and Papua New Guinea is primarily due to
a concentration of overlapping distributions ( ‘ stacked
pancakes ’ ) of wide - ranging species (T.P. Hughes et al .,
2002 ; Bellwood & Meyer, 2009 ).
With nearly 100,000 km
2 of coral reefs (34 per cent
of the world ’ s total) (Spalding et al ., 2001 ) and over
2,000 species of reef fi sh (Allen, 2008 ), Southeast
Asia is unquestionably a hotspot of diversity. It is
also under extremely high threat from a burgeoning
human population, over - fi shing, destructive techniques of fi shing and development (Cheung et al .,
2002 ).
Data on marine species ’ distributions were included
in a regional version of the Reefs at Risk analysis (Table
5.8 ) for Southeast Asia (Burke et al ., 2002 ), an analysis
that has been infl uential in many marine conservation
initiatives in the area. While not necessarily protecting
the maximum number of restricted - range endemics, a
focus on Southeast Asia does provide high concentrations of widespread species that can be conserved
together by protecting a relatively small area (eight per
cent) of the Indo - Pacifi c domain (T.P. Hughes et al .,
2002 ). According to T.P. Hughes et al . (2002) , 83 per
cent of corals and 58 per cent of reef fi shes occur
within this small area, providing a cost - effective conservation target. For many species, however, this represents only a small proportion of their range, and
many species with smaller ranges are not included
at all.
It has been suggested that biodiversity ‘ coldspots ’
(species - poor regions) may in cases be functionally
more vulnerable than more diverse areas (Hughes
et al ., 2005 ). Such ecosystems may have less resilience
The shaping of the global protected area estate
because they possess less functional redundancy
(Bellwood et al ., 2004 ). Reefs furthest from the Central
Indo - Pacifi c may therefore be doubly vulnerable. First,
they contain disproportionately large numbers of
endemics (corals and, especially, fi shes), which if lost
due to adverse regional environmental impacts (e.g.
global warming or invasive species) cannot recolonize
from elsewhere. Second, the low diversity of these locations implies limited potential for functional redundancy, so that extinctions of one or a few species at
peripheral locations are more likely to be associated
with losses of critical ecosystem function (Bellwood &
Hughes, 2001 ).
Furthermore, the hotspots approach to prioritization
does not take into account temporal changes or the
complexities of evolution (Reaka et al ., 2008 ). For
example, over geological time, hotspots have shifted
signifi cantly (Renema et al ., 2008 ), while in the North
Sea, nearly two - thirds of species (exploited and non -
exploited) have experienced distributional and/or
depth changes within just the last 25 years (Perry
et al ., 2005 ). The hotspots approach also ‘ ignores the
fact that there is literally no place on Earth, land or sea,
that is not critical for some form of life for some purpose
(e.g. breeding or feeding), or that is not the habitat of
some endemic species ’ (Ray, 1999 , p. 611).
Indeed, there is a risk that, while raising conservation awareness of small areas, the hotspots approach
may lead us to ignore and potentially lose many of
our most valuable ecosystems. Many conservation
threats (e.g. climate change, invasive species, human
pressure, pollution) are now global in their origin and
effects, and over - reliance on a hotspots approach,
despite being politically appealing and analytically
transparent (assuming high quality and availability
of data), can disenfranchize communities who need to
be engaged in the conservation effort (Kareiva &
Marvier, 2003 ).
5.4.5 Large Marine Ecosystems
The open - access nature and high connectedness of
habitats in the marine realm, as well as extensive
fi shing activity (commercial and artisanal), means
that conservation success is closely connected to
resource use and management (Table 4.6 ). Key factors
include that fi sheries management institutions wield
considerable political power, that fi shing is commonly
As is the case for terrestrial taxa, centres of high
marine endemism and species richness are not necessarily concordant (T.P. Hughes et al ., 2002 ; Roberts
et al ., 2002 ; Allen, 2008 ), leading to a potential
confl ict in prioritization. Analyses have shown that
restricted - range taxa are concentrated into centres
of endemism like those described for terrestrial taxa.
The ten richest centres of endemism cover 15.8 per
cent of the world ’ s coral reefs (0.012 per cent of the
oceans) and include between 44.8 per cent and 54.2
per cent of the restricted - range species (Roberts et al .,
2002 ).
These centres of endemism, however, tend to be
found in peripheral locations in areas with low species
diversity, while the high species richness of the
so - called ‘ coral triangle ’ between Indonesia, the
Philippines and Papua New Guinea is primarily due to
a concentration of overlapping distributions ( ‘ stacked
pancakes ’ ) of wide - ranging species (T.P. Hughes et al .,
2002 ; Bellwood & Meyer, 2009 ).
With nearly 100,000 km
2 of coral reefs (34 per cent
of the world ’ s total) (Spalding et al ., 2001 ) and over
2,000 species of reef fi sh (Allen, 2008 ), Southeast
Asia is unquestionably a hotspot of diversity. It is
also under extremely high threat from a burgeoning
human population, over - fi shing, destructive techniques of fi shing and development (Cheung et al .,
2002 ).
Data on marine species ’ distributions were included
in a regional version of the Reefs at Risk analysis (Table
5.8 ) for Southeast Asia (Burke et al ., 2002 ), an analysis
that has been infl uential in many marine conservation
initiatives in the area. While not necessarily protecting
the maximum number of restricted - range endemics, a
focus on Southeast Asia does provide high concentrations of widespread species that can be conserved
together by protecting a relatively small area (eight per
cent) of the Indo - Pacifi c domain (T.P. Hughes et al .,
2002 ). According to T.P. Hughes et al . (2002) , 83 per
cent of corals and 58 per cent of reef fi shes occur
within this small area, providing a cost - effective conservation target. For many species, however, this represents only a small proportion of their range, and
many species with smaller ranges are not included
at all.
It has been suggested that biodiversity ‘ coldspots ’
(species - poor regions) may in cases be functionally
more vulnerable than more diverse areas (Hughes
et al ., 2005 ). Such ecosystems may have less resilience