Current marine protected areas mismatched hotspots of fish taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity in the coastal China Seas

Coastal fish biodiversity is indispensable for humanity, but it also faces multiple threats and needs protection. Knowledge of coastal fish biodiversity and retrospection on efficiencies of marine protected areas (MPAs) are both essential for effective coastal fish conservation. By compiling historical coastal fish investigation data, environmental data, functional traits, and phylogenetic information, Joint Species Distribution Modelling (JSDM) was applied to predict fish communities in the coastal China Seas. Spatial patterns of taxonomic diversity (TD), functional diversity (FD), and phylogenetic diversity (PD) were studied, and their congruencies were evaluated. Finally, the effectiveness of current MPA networks in terms of match/mismatch with TD, FD, and PD hotspots was assessed. The validated HMSC model confirmed that biodiversity hotspots in terms of fish TD, FD, and PD were found in the intersection zone between the East China Sea and the South China Sea. The congruence simultaneously among the hotspots of TD, FD, and PD was approximately 50% and the congruence pairwisely between TD and PD was higher than that between TD and FD or between FD and PD. Current MPA networks mismatched most of the biodiversity hotspots, and the matched areas (4.40%) were not significantly higher than expected. The matched areas between MPAs and TD hotspots were higher than those between MPAs and FD or between MPAs and PD. Coastal fish biodiversity hotspots of China occur in the intersection zone between the East China Sea and the South China Sea. Representation of current MPA networks is insufficient for fish biodiversity conservation, especially for FD and PD. This work provides a complete picture of fish biodiversity patterns in the coastal China Seas and gives feedback information on the effectiveness of current MPAs on coastal fish conservation, which will be important for systematic conservation reinforcement.

沿海鱼类生物多样性对人类社会不可或缺，但当前正面临多重威胁，亟需开展保护工作。了解沿海鱼类生物多样性现状，并回溯评估海洋保护区（marine protected areas，MPAs）的保护效能，均是开展高效沿海鱼类保护的核心前提。本研究通过整合历史沿海鱼类调查数据、环境数据、功能性状及系统发育信息，采用联合物种分布模型（Joint Species Distribution Modelling，JSDM）对中国近海的鱼类群落进行预测。分析了分类多样性（taxonomic diversity，TD）、功能多样性（functional diversity，FD）与系统发育多样性（phylogenetic diversity，PD）的空间分布格局，并评估了三者之间的一致性。最终，本研究评估了当前海洋保护区网络与三类多样性热点区域的匹配/错配情况。经过验证的HMSC模型证实，中国近海鱼类TD、FD及PD的生物多样性热点区域集中于东海与南海的交汇海域。TD、FD与PD热点区域三者同时重合的比例约为50%，而两两之间的一致性则表现为TD与PD的重合度高于TD与FD，或FD与PD的重合度。当前的海洋保护区网络与绝大多数生物多样性热点区域错配，匹配区域仅占4.40%，且未显著高于随机预期水平。海洋保护区与TD热点区域的匹配面积高于其与FD热点或PD热点的匹配面积。中国沿海鱼类生物多样性热点区域集中于东海与南海的交汇海域。当前海洋保护区网络的代表性不足，难以满足鱼类生物多样性保护的需求，尤其对功能多样性与系统发育多样性的保护覆盖不足。本研究完整刻画了中国近海鱼类生物多样性的分布格局，并为当前海洋保护区在沿海鱼类保护中的效能提供了评估反馈，这将对系统性强化海洋保护工作具有重要指导意义。