@article {390,
	title = {Restoration of threatened red gorgonian populations: An experimental and modelling approach},
	journal = {Biological Conservation},
	year = {2007},
	abstract = {<p>The increasing disturbances affecting marine communities highlight the  need to examine restoration measures that can be added to other  conservation efforts for threatened populations. The main goal of this  study was to examine the usefulness of ecological restoration in the  management of gorgonian populations damaged by diving activity in  intensively visited marine protected areas (MPAs). We used field  experiments as well as simulations from size-structured matrices to  assess the utility of transplantation of living fragments from damaged  colonies to increase the viability of threatened populations. Despite  results showing that technique failure caused the loss of 40\% of  transplants, well-attached transplants achieved survival rates (80\%)  similar to those of natural colonies. Surprisingly, environmental  conditions (light level and presence of algae) did not have a  significant effect on the mortality of the transplants, but did affect  methodological failure rates (37\% of transplants were lost in the  photophilous treatments in contrast to the 25\% lost in sciaphilous  treatment). The simulations showed a substantial increase in the annual  population growth rate (k) only when transplantation was performed every  two years and under the most demanding conditions (recovering 75\% of  the detached colonies and obtaining 3 fragments from each one).  Predictions from the size-structured matrix model suggest severe  limitations of this technique at larger spatial scales. However, our  study confirms the feasibility of this restoration measure to contribute  to the recovery of populations in MPAs affected by local disturbances.  The experimental and modelling approaches developed here may provide  useful guidelines for future studies on the restoration of marine  populations.</p>},
	keywords = {algae, conservation, corraligenous, gorgonian, guidelines, impact, management, management tool, marine protected area, matrix model, Medes, Mediterranean sea, methodology, mortality, octocoral, Paramuricea clavata, population, protected area, restoration, scale, scuba-diving, Spain, transplantation, western Mediterranean},
	author = {C. Linares and M. Zabala and R. Coma}
}
