Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38408235›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2024

A diverse portfolio of marine protected areas can better advance global conservation and equity.

David A Gill, Sarah E Lester, Christopher M Free, Alexander Pfaff, Edwin Iversen, Brian J Reich, Shu Yang, Gabby Ahmadia, Dominic A Andradi-Brown, Emily S Darling and 9 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Evaluating protected areas' coverage of threats to terrestrial biodiversity.Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology · 2025
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

David A GillDuke Marine Laboratory, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC 28516.ORCID 0000-0002-7550-1761
Sarah E LesterDepartment of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306.ORCID 0000-0003-1456-3843
Christopher M FreeMarine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93117.ORCID 0000-0002-2557-8920
Alexander PfaffSanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
Edwin IversenDepartment of Statistical Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
Brian J ReichDepartment of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695.
Shu YangDepartment of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695.ORCID 0000-0001-7703-707X
Gabby AhmadiaOcean Conservation, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC 20037.
Dominic A Andradi-BrownOcean Conservation, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC 20037.
Emily S DarlingMarine Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, NY 10460.
Graham J EdgarInstitute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia.
Helen E FoxCoral Reef Alliance, San Francisco, CA 94104.ORCID 0000-0002-0541-7484
Jonas GeldmannCenter for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0002-1191-7610
Duong Trung LeDuke Marine Laboratory, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC 28516.
Michael B MasciaSanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.ORCID 0000-0002-9874-9778
Roosevelt Mesa-GutiérrezDuke Marine Laboratory, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC 28516.
Peter J MumbyMarine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-6297-9053
Laura VeverkaOcean Conservation, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC 20037.ORCID 0000-0003-4198-5216
Laura M WarmuthDuke Marine Laboratory, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC 28516.ORCID 0000-0002-5448-4552

Funding

Arnhold UC Santa Barbara- Conservation International Climate Solutions CollaborativeDanish Independent Research Council 0165-00018BDavid H Smith Conservation FellowshipNational Science Foundation (NSF) DBI-1052875Waitt Foundation (WF)
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are widely used for ocean conservation, yet the relative impacts of various types of MPAs are poorly understood. We estimated impacts on fish biomass from no-take and multiple-use (fished) MPAs, employing a rigorous matched counterfactual design with a global dataset of >14,000 surveys in and around 216 MPAs. Both no-take and multiple-use MPAs generated positive conservation outcomes relative to no protection (58.2% and 12.6% fish biomass increases, respectively), with smaller estimated differences between the two MPA types when controlling for additional confounding factors (8.3% increase). Relative performance depended on context and management: no-take MPAs performed better in areas of high human pressure but similar to multiple-use in remote locations. Multiple-use MPA performance was low in high-pressure areas but improved significantly with better management, producing similar outcomes to no-take MPAs when adequately staffed and appropriate use regulations were applied. For priority conservation areas where no-take restrictions are not possible or ethical, our findings show that a portfolio of well-designed and well-managed multiple-use MPAs represents a viable and potentially equitable pathway to advance local and global conservation.

Indexed as

Conservation of Natural ResourcesFisheriesAnimalsBiomassEcosystemFishesHumanscausal inferenceconservationfishing restrictionsmarine protected areasquasi-experiment

Identifiers

PMID38408235
PMCPMC10927568

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.