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Despite significant progress made in Chile, and globally, in establishing marine protected areas (MPAs), the actual contribution to marine biodiversity conservation needs to be revised, to focus on representativeness and the diversity of tools alongside effective implementation, management, and enforcement.This study makes progress in this direction, describing the most recent advances in marine conservation in Chile and analysing the contribution of the different conservation instruments as well as the distribution of designated areas across ecoregions. Furthermore, it examines the potential contribution of alternative area‐based instruments to balance ocean protection. The advances observed in Chile were compared among four South American countries and five leading countries in ocean conservation, analysing protection levels in coastal areas, continental exclusive economic zones, and overseas territories.Data on MPA boundaries and attributes were sourced from the World Database on Protected Areas and complemented the official information on MPAs and territorial user rights for fisheries and for indigenous people in South America.The current level of protection in Chile is among the highest in the world in area coverage and in the proportion of the continental exclusive economic zone assigned to fully protected areas. However, it exhibits the strongest imbalances in the distribution of designated MPAs between coastal and oceanic waters, in comparison with the leading countries and also within South America (Perú, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay), and among ecoregions.The patterns observed suggest that Chile has advanced, but concentrated, conservation efforts in low‐threat, remote ecoregions. There is an urgent need to progress towards high‐threat ecoregions, which implies balancing the needs of nature and people. The distribution of ancillary conservation instruments can help double the level of protection in threatened coastal areas, filling gaps in marine conservation and creating an opportunity to progress and diversify conservation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Bottom-up participatory processes to create and manage no-take marine protected areas have been proposed as a way to scale-up marine conservation and deal with the lack of support and compliance of top-down conservation approaches. However, bottom-up conservation does not always lead to positive outcomes, thus it is increasingly important to understand the conditions that determine the establishment and implementation of these initiatives., Establishment and implementation processes were compared empirically for two contrasting bottom-up no-take marine protected areas that have been developing under the same political setting, however, one has been successful and the other has stalled., Using mixed methods, stakeholders' (a) motivations to participate in the no-take marine protected area initiatives, (b) communication, support and information flow networks, (c) perceived participation, and (d) satisfaction with the establishment process of the bottom-up no-take marine protected areas, were assessed., Non-significant differences were found between the two initiatives in terms of stakeholders' motivations to create a no-take marine protected area., Significant differences were found in stakeholders' communication, support and information flow networks, in addition to differences in participation, and satisfaction with the establishment and implementation process., Results highlight that for the implementation and consolidation of bottom-up no-take marine protected areas initiatives, common interests do not necessarily lead to common action, partnerships will not emerge automatically in response to potential benefits., Understanding disparities in participation, information sharing and communication are key aspects which must be considered for creating and supporting successful marine protected areas based on bottom-up participatory processes., Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism is a financing mechanism considered by many donor-funded marine conservation initiatives. Here we assess the potential role of visitor entry fees, in generating the necessary revenue to manage a marine protected area (MPA), established through a Global Environmental Facility Grant, in a temperate region of Chile. We assess tourists’ willingness to pay (WTP) for an entry fee associated to management and protection of the MPA. Results show 97 % of respondents were willing to pay an entrance fee. WTP predictors included the type of tourist, tourists’ sensitivity to crowding, education, and understanding of ecological benefits of the MPA. Nature-based tourists state median WTP values of US$ 4.38 and Sun-sea-sand tourists US$ 3.77. Overall, entry fees could account for 10–13 % of MPA running costs. In Chile, where funding for conservation runs among the weakest in the world, visitor entry fees are no panacea in the short term and other mechanisms, including direct state/government support, should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parasites comprise a substantial proportion of global biodiversity and exert important ecological influences on hosts, communities and ecosystems, but our knowledge of how parasite populations respond to human impacts is in its infancy., Here, we present the results of a natural experiment in which we used a system of highly successful marine protected areas and matched open-access areas in central Chile to assess the influence of fishing-driven biodiversity loss on parasites of exploited fish and invertebrate hosts. We measured the burden of gill parasites for two reef fishes ( Cheilodactylus variegatus and Aplodactylus punctatus), trematode parasites for a keyhole limpet ( Fissurella latimarginata), and pinnotherid pea crab parasites for a sea urchin ( Loxechinus albus). We also measured host density for all four hosts., We found that nearly all parasite species exhibited substantially greater density (# parasites m−2) in protected than in open-access areas, but only one parasite species (a gill monogenean of C. variegatus) was more abundant within hosts collected from protected relative to open-access areas., These data indicate that fishing can drive declines in parasite abundance at the parasite population level by reducing the availability of habitat and resources for parasites, but less commonly affects the abundance of parasites at the infrapopulation level (within individual hosts)., Considering the substantial ecological role that many parasites play in marine communities, fishing and other human impacts could exert cryptic but important effects on marine community structure and ecosystem functioning via reductions in parasite abundance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the biodiversity of Guafo island, located in northern Chilean Patagonia and the need for the government in Chile to protect the ecosystems by deeding the island to the Indigenous people who claim it.

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses a study of the swimming behavior of Concholepas concholepas larvae (CCL) in response to geotaxis, water flow and settlement cues. A plankton net was used to collect CCL from 1990 to 2009 from surface tows in El Quisco and from 2002 to 2004 in El Way, Chile. All of the specimens were observed swimming for two to 12 hour periods. It points out that the laboratory results are in accord with nocturnal vertical migration based on the high abundances of CCL in inner-nearshore shallow waters during nocturnal tows. According to the authors, the presence or absence of settlement cues and the water depth will affect larval behaviour.

The article examines interspecific competitive strengths and survival and growth rates between the tunicate Pyura praeputialis and the mussel Perumytilus purpuratus at mid-low and mid-upper intertidal fringes in Chile's Bay of Antofagasta. It was found that the survival and growth rates of the invading P. praeputialis were not significantly affected by the presence of the native P. purpuratus in the mid-low fringe. Survival of P. praeputialis was decreased by the presence of P. purpuratus at the mid-upper intertidal fringe. The role of P. praeputialis in modifying the zonation pattern in the bay is also addressed.

The article investigates the effects of coastal coseismic uplifts and the 2010 Chilean mega-earthquake on intertidal biomarker species. The mean coseismic uplift on the Gulf of Arauco, Santa Maria Island and the Bay of Concepción is measured. Intertidal rocky shore and shallow subtidal edible/commercial species that were found stranded at the uplifted areas include Concholepas concholepas, Fissurella spp, Pyura chilensis, Rhodymeniales Sarcothalia sp. and the Ceramiales Chondracanthus sp.

The article presents a study which investigates the depletions of reef fishes due to the unregulated spearfishing in Chile. The study reveals that Semicossyphus darwini, Graus nigra, and Medialuna ancietae reflected depletion in size and abundance. It finds out that the overall catches of reef fishes shifted from large carnivore species toward smaller-sized omnivore and herbivore species. This suggests that spearfishing depleting temperate reef fishes should be included in policy debates.

There are few legal marine protected areas in Japan rather than fishing-ban areas. Fishers did not seek legal fishing-ban areas but they did establish fishing-ban areas by autonomous bases. We briefly introduce the institutional history and features of Japanese coastal fishery management, including the past decade’s major legislative developments. Japan still has a decentralized co-management system involving fishers and the government, and ca. 98% of Japanese fishers are artisanal. There are several successful cases of coastal fisheries management in Japan. However, offshore industrial fisheries have problems in Japan. We compare coastal fisheries co-management between Japan and Chile. We finally discuss the possibility of improvement for Japanese fisheries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the fertilization efficiency and gamete viability of the ascidian Pyura praeputialis in the intertidal and subtidal habitats in Antofagasta Bay, Chile. The study explores the patterns of gamete spawning of the species, as well as the consequences of the mode of reproduction, sperm age, and sperm concentration on fertilization success. It found that it is selectively advantageous for the ascidian Pyura praeputialis to release gametes during low tide or after a period of emersion followed by a biofoam formation. The authors suggest that the rationale behind the evolution of the mechanism is to extenuate the difficulties of fertilization in turbulent aerated seawater and to maximize fertilization success of short-lived gametes.

The article describes the fishery-management policies in Chile. It examines the artisan and industrial fishery regulations, sea zoning, and the total allowable catch and quota regimes in the country. It discusses the Chilean marine fishery landing and export value between 1970 and 2006. Chile's marine fishery capture is said to be among of the highest in the world based on the data of the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for 2006.

Nearshore circulation processes and local geomorphological patterns are thought to be important correlates of spatial variation in larval recruitment of benthic organisms. However, few studies have attempted to quantitatively separate their relative influences upon recruitment dynamics. Here we use 12 study sites spanning 250 km of the northern Chile upwelling ecosystem and the intertidal barnacles Jehlius cirratus and Notochthamalus scabrosus to examine the extent to which spatial variation in larval recruitment is related to environmental variability and how these relationships depend on spatial autocorrelation. We find that upwelling intensity and wind velocity are negatively related to larval recruitment while surface slicks showed a positive correlation. However, the pure effect of each environmental variable was lower than its combined effects. Taking spatial autocorrelation into account, we find that the spatially structured variation of upwelling dynamics, distance to upwelling fronts, wind velocity, and slick occurrence explained most of the variation in barnacle recruitment. Spatial variation in recruitment rates of barnacles showed a characteristic length scale of 60-70 km, similar to the scale estimated for the spatially structured variables (upwelling, wind velocity, and surface slicks). We find that conditions for the occurrence of surface slicks (as surrogates of internal waves activity) seem to operate across several sites, suggesting a meso- instead local-scale influence over spatial variation in barnacle recruitment. Our results suggest that spatial variation in barnacle recruitment is modulated by the combined influence of several spatially structured nearshore processes operating at scales of 60-70 km and that spatial autocorrelation must be taken into account in the study of the recruitment-environment relationship. However, the influence of local and small-scale factors on recruitment dynamics of benthic invertebrates should be interpreted cautiously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article relates a study which tested the hypothesis that Management and Exploitation Areas for Benthic Resources (MEABRs) in Central Chile not only sustain targeted benthic resources, but additionally provide add-on conservation benefits for species that are not directly connected to policy. The study comprised quantification of kelp forest complexity, understory survey of sessile species, quantification of conspicuous benthic macroinvertebrates and quantification of reef-fish species inside the kelp habitat. Results showed population enhancement of target-managed invertebrates inside MEABRs.

Chile is one of the world's leading countries in landings (catch) of marine resources. The pioneer studies of human impacts on coastal marine communities provided the scientific basis on which to establish novel resource management strategies for exploited wild populations but were not used to develop a comprehensive marine conservation plan that would also include no-take areas. We reviewed the development of marine conservation actions since approximately 1970 to date, focusing on the (1) complex legal framework for establishment of marine protected areas, (2) scientific grounds that provided the impetus to establish areas where exploitation is regulated, (3) private efforts that were critical to creating the first marine protected areas, and (4) lessons and constraints derived from this process as well as the challenges ahead. The existing legal tools for the protection of the ocean include natural sanctuaries, marine reserves, marine parks, national monuments, and management and exploitation areas for benthic resources. These instruments may be applied in coastal marine protected areas. It is remarkable that most of the existing marine protected areas in Chile are sponsored and administered by private organizations. We think the sequence in which the development of the different conservation instruments occurred, with a high priority reserved for initiatives tending to promote exploitation of the ocean (aquaculture and fisheries), poses challenges and constraints for establishing a network of marine protected areas that combine such apparently diametrically opposing goals as exploitation and preservation of marine species. More recently, the value of preserving biodiversity became evident with the creation of the first marine parks. We encourage more scientific information on patterns of biodiversity, biological processes, and assessment of human impact to be incorporated in the process to reach the goal of preserving 10% of the representative marine habitats along Chile's coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the self-thinning of the fish species Pyura praeputialis in the Antofagasta Bay in northern Chile through the use of a tridimensional allometric model. Number of layers, density and corrected density; Observed self-thinning relationships; Constancy in tunicate tunic dry mass; Mean population allometries; Population boundary line.

Here we report a mechanism that reduces dispersal of early developing stages and larvae in a free-spawning intertidal and shallow subtidal tunicate, Pyura praeputialis (Heller 1878), in the Bay of Antofagasta, Chile. The spawning of gametes by the tunicate into the naturally turbulent aerated seawater decreases their surface tension and induces the formation of a bio-foam. Water collected from foamy intertidal pools and tide channels showed a high concentration of P. praeputialis early developing stages and tadpole larvae in the foam. Because gametes are synchronically spawned for external fertilization and larvae settle near adults, our results suggest that this bio-foam increases fertilization success and effective settlement of their short-lived larvae in the vicinity of the adults spawning the gametes. This mechanism reinforces published evidence suggesting that local retention of intertidal and inshore marine invertebrate larvae may be more common than previously thought, offering, for instance, new perspectives for the design and networking of marine protected and management areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the external validity of a common pool resource (CPR) laboratory experiment. The experimental subjects were artisanal fishers who exploit benthic resources on the coast of Chile. A first set of subjects was recruited from fishers' unions that comanage their resources through territorial user right areas. These unions differ in their performance, which is largely the outcome of the cooperative efforts of their members. A second set of subjects was recruited among nonunionized fishers who do not participate in the comanagement system. They fish exclusively in open-access areas and barely cooperate in their fishing. Membership of a union and the union's performance in comanagement were related to the subjects' behavior in the laboratory. In the CPR experiment, members of high-performance unions showed high cooperation with each other, while members of low-performance unions cooperated significantly less. Nonunionized fishers did not cooperate at all. We also explored how the weak external enforcement of an individual quota can trigger changes in behavior, what we refer to as internalizing the norm. Only the members of high-performance unions internalized the norm. They refrained from overfishing until the end of the game, even though the sanction for exceeding the quota was not strong enough to be dissuasive from the point of view of pure self-interest. This study provided insight on the experimental analysis of cooperation in artisanal fisheries and suggested that the capacity to internalize norms is important to the sustainable exploitation of artisanal fisheries common pool resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large daily temperature fluctuations in the nearshore water column have been observed at several sites along the coast of central and northern Chile, particularly during summertime. These fluctuations are often on the order of the seasonal fluctuation in sea-surface temperature for the area and are capable, in certain locations, of penetrating deep (10–15 m) into the water column during the course of a single day. We explain this phenomenon by a combination of solar heating of the sea surface and wind-driven transport and accumulation of these warm, surface waters near shore. Measurements of surface heat flux agree roughly with observed daytime changes in the heat content of the nearshore water column. The strength of these diurnal fluctuations is shown to vary with the strength of coastal upwelling in the area. The potential consequences of this process for nearshore larval transport are unknown, but we briefly speculate about its importance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Explaining why some species are widespread, while others are not, is fundamental to biogeography, ecology, and evolutionary biology. A unique way to study evolutionary and ecological mechanisms that either limit species' spread or facilitate range expansions is to conduct research on species that have restricted distributions. Nonindigenous species, particularly those that are highly invasive but have not yet spread beyond the introduced site, represent ideal systems to study range size changes. Here, we used species distribution modeling and genomic data to study the restricted range of a highly invasive Australian marine species, the ascidian Pyura praeputialis This species is an aggressive space occupier in its introduced range (Chile), where it has fundamentally altered the coastal community. We found high genomic diversity in Chile, indicating high adaptive potential. In addition, genomic data clearly showed that a single region from Australia was the only donor of genotypes to the introduced range. We identified over 3,500 km of suitable habitat adjacent to its current introduced range that has so far not been occupied, and importantly species distribution models were only accurate when genomic data were considered. Our results suggest that a slight change in currents, or a change in shipping routes, may lead to an expansion of the species' introduced range that will encompass a vast portion of the South American coast. Our study shows how the use of population genomics and species distribution modeling in combination can unravel mechanisms shaping range sizes and forecast future range shifts of invasive species., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest.

Background: Biological invasions affecting rocky intertidal zonation patterns, yield information on species interactions. In the Bay of Antofagasta, northern Chile, the non-indigenous tunicate Pyura praeputialis, originally from Australia, has invaded (in the past century or so) and monopolized a major portion of the mid-intertidal rocky shore, displacing upshore the native mussel Perumytilus purpuratus. In Antofagasta the tunicate is subjected to intensive exploitation. Monitoring protocols show that in the past 10 years Antofagasta's tunicate population has experienced a drastic decline, affecting the intertidal zonation pattern., Methodology/principal Findings: A 12.5 km of coastline, on the southern eastern shore of the Bay of Antofagasta, was studied. Eight sites were systematically (1993-1994) or sporadically (2003-2014) monitored for the seaward-shoreward expansion or reduction of the tunicate Pyura praeputialis, and native mussel and barnacle bands. A notable reduction in the mid-intertidal band of P. praeputialis and a seaward expansion of the mussel, Perumytilus purpuratus, and barnacle bands was observed. We suggest that the major cause for the decline in the tunicate is due to its intensive exploitation by rocky shore Pyura-gathers. The rate of extraction of tunicates by professional Pyura-gathers ranged between 256-740 tunicates hour-(1). Between 2009-2014 the density of professional Pyura-gather ranged between 0.5-4.5 km(-1) per low tide. Hence, 10 professional Pyura-gathers working 1 h for 10 low tides per month, during 6 months, will remove between 307-888 m(2) of tunicates. A drastic decline in tunicate recruitment was observed and several P. praeputialis ecosystems services have been lost., Conclusion and Significance: In Antofagasta, the continuous and intensive intertidal gathering of the invasive tunicate Pyura praeputialis, has caused a drastic reduction of its population modifying the zonation pattern. Thereby, native mussel Perumytilus purpuratus has regained its ecological center in the intertidal zone. We recorded a Pyura recruitment failure and loss of ecosystem services.

In open ecological systems, community structure can be determined by physically modulated processes such as the arrival of individuals from a regional pool and by local biological interactions. There is debate centering on whether niche differentiation and local interactions among species are necessary to explain macroscopic community patterns or whether the patterns can be generated by the neutral interplay of dispersal and stochastic demography among ecologically identical species. Here we evaluate how much of the observed spatial variation within a rocky intertidal metacommunity along 800 km of coastline can be explained by drift in the structure of recruits across 15 local sites. Our results show that large spatial changes in recruitment do not explain the observed spatial variation in adult local structure and that, in comparison with the large drift in structure of recruits, local adult communities converged to a common, although not unique, structure across the region. Although there is no unique adult community structure in the entire region, the observed variation represents only a small subset of the possible structures that would be expected from passive recruitment drift. Thus, in this diverse system our results do not support the idea that rocky intertidal metacommunities are structured by neutral mechanisms.

Invasion by marine nonindigenous species (NIS) is a spread phenomenon. The tunicate Pyura praeputialis shows pronounced disjoint geographical distribution: along thousands of kilometers in wave-swept headlands on the southeastern coast of Australia, from where it appears to have originated, and exclusively along 60-70 km inside the Bay of Antofagasta, Chile. mtDNA sequences suggested that the species invaded this rocky shore recently. We used field manipulations and juvenile P. praeputialis transplant techniques to test hypotheses regarding the capacity of the tunicate to survive and grow at different sites and tidal heights inside and outside Antofagasta, and its competitive performance for primary space (inside the Bay) against the native mussel Perumytilus purpuratus. We conclude that survival and growth of P. praeputialis showed no significant differences among sites inside and outside the Bay, and suggest that the restrictive distribution of the species in Chile is caused by a specific oceanographic retention mechanism and/or its brief larval dispersal. We demonstrated that, inside the Bay, P. praeputialis outcompetes Perumytilus from the Mid-Low intertidal, constraining Perumytilus to the Upper Mid-Intertidal, modifying the local pattern of intertidal zonation. We show that predation on P. praeputialis juveniles by starfish and snails constitutes a regulatory mechanism for the setting of its low intertidal limit. Major ecological impacts caused by NIS invasions to rocky shores by aggressive primary space users may result in negative aspects, but also may contribute to biodiversity enhancement. We call attention to the need for increment manipulations and testing of ecological hypotheses regarding marine NIS.