The potential value of indicator groups in the selection of marine reserves Original Research Article

Efforts to systematically select networks of marine reserves to conserve biodiversity may be constrained by limited information on the distribution of biodiversity. A potential solution is the use of surrogates, such as indicator groups, that effectively represent other elements of biodiversity. The potential of macroalgae and molluscs to act as indicator groups for all species in the selection of intertidal marine reserves was tested for a sample of rocky shore locations in south-east Australia. Fifteen locations were surveyed between November 1999 and January 2000, and reserve selection for each of the potential indicator groups and for all species was undertaken using richness-based and rarity-based algorithms. The sets of locations chosen by both algorithms to conserve each of the indicator groups included around 95% of all species. There was 54% spatial correspondence of the sets of locations chosen for each of the indicator groups. Molluscs appeared to be a reliable indicator for areas of reservation ranging from 6.7 to 73.3% of the locations surveyed, including a similar percentage of all species as the locations selected for all species. Unlike macroalgae, locations chosen for molluscs included significantly more species than a set of locations chosen at random, and more species than the set of locations chosen for randomly selected subsets of species of the same richness as molluscs. There is significant scope for further research into the value of indicator groups in reserve selection in marine systems.