Management Plan - Glover's Reef Marine Reserve

3. Conservation Planning
Glovers Reef Marine Reserve – Management Plan
Conservation planning for Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve is detailed in the
proceedings of the Glover’s Reef Seascape Species Selection Workshop
(Gibson, Hoare, Strindberg and Agrosa, 2004). The Seascape Species
Approach is a wildlife-based strategy for defining and conserving the integrity
of wild landscapes. The approach uses a group of surrogate species, called
Seascape Species, as conservation targets, with the belief that meeting the
needs of this suite will help conserve the composition of the seascape as a whole, the
configuration of the seascape (how elements are arranged and connected), and ecological
processes occurring at a seascape scale. The approach also helps conservationists to define
the extent of the seascape based on the needs of the most demanding species, define
ecologically appropriate management units, identify where and when conservation conflicts
occur, and structure and prioritise conservation actions accordingly.
The Living Seascape programme fits within the conservation planning criteria required by the
National Protected Areas System Plan, identifying a series of conservation targets to represent
the biodiversity of the protected area, highlighting threats and concerns, and developing
strategies for incorporation into management programmes.
The following project goals were defined during the development of the conservation planning
activities:
To conserve all species and habitats in order to preserve Glover’s Reef’s diversity &
productivity
To provide an ecological basis for functional seascape boundaries
To focus conservation actions on key threats, efficiently allocating scarce conservation
resources
To use a wildlife-focused strategies to reconcile wildlife needs and human welfare
3.1 Conservation Targets
3.1.1 Identification of Conservation Targets
The WCS Seascapes Programme (based on the Living Landscapes Programme) focuses on
target species, and defining their population and habitat requirements to determine the
seascape needs required for long term viability - of both the conservation targets, and of the
underlying ecological processes on which they depend.
Seascape Species are defined by their use of large, ecologically diverse areas, the important
roles they play in maintaining the structure and function of natural ecosystems, and their
susceptibility to human alteration of wild landscapes. As seascape species require large,
diverse, minimally impacted areas, it is hypothesized that meeting their needs will provide
substantial protection for the species with which they co-occur as well as for the marine
ecosystems on which both depend. Additional conservation targets are selected on criteria
such as endemism and species rarity.
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