Resources for Climate Resilience & Kelp Forest Protection in Baja California MPAs

The Vizcaino and Pacific Islands MPAs in Baja California protect giant kelp forests, critical habitats for species vital to local economy and culture. With climate change, including a significant 2014-2016 marine heatwave, threatening these ecosystems, researchers and fishing cooperatives are prioritizing conservation efforts. This project, developed with Federation of Fishing Cooperatives of Baja California, will focus on identifying climate refugia and creating adaptation measures with stakeholders to protect kelp forests. Managed by National Commission of Protected Areas and National Commission of Aquaculture and Fisheries, these MPAs allow limited fishing and are collaboratively regulated with regional cooperatives. The project aims to foster a network for adaptive strategies across MPAs, with this webpage serving as a resource for ongoing publications.

Read the Papers:

• Integrating Climate Adaptation and Transboundary Management: Guidelines for Designing Climate-Smart Marine Protected Areas
  Arafeh-Dalmau, N., Munguia-Vega, A., Micheli, F., Vilalta-Navas, A., Villaseñor-Derbez, J. C., Précoma-de la Mora, M., Schoeman, D. S., Medellín-Ortíz, A., Cavanaugh, K. C., Sosa-Nishizaki, O., Burnham, T. L. U., Knight, C. J., Woodson, C. B., Abas, M., Abadía-Cardoso, A., Aburto-Oropeza, O., Esgro, M. W., Espinosa-Andrade, N., Beas-Luna, R., Possingham, H. P. (2023). Integrating climate adaptation and transboundary management: Guidelines for designing climate-smart marine protected areas. One Earth, 6(11), 1523–1541. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2023.10.002
• Intensifying Marine Heatwaves and Limited Protection Threaten Global Kelp Forests
  Arafeh-Dalmau, N., Villaseñor-Derbez, J. C., Schoeman, D. S., Mora-Soto, A., Bell, T. W., Butler, C. L., Costa, M., Dunga, L. V., Houskeeper, H. F., Lagger, C., Pantano, C., Laínez del Pozo, D., Sink, K. J., Micheli, F., & Cavanaugh, K. C. (2024). Intensifying marine heatwaves and limited protection threaten global kelp forests. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.05.13.594016
• Combining the Uncombinable: Corporate Memories, Ethnobiological Observations, Oceanographic and Ecological Data to Enhance Climatic Resilience in Small-Scale Fisheries
  Garibay-Toussaint, I., Olguín-Jacobson, C., Woodson, C. B., Arafeh-Dalmau, N., Torre, J., Fulton, S., Micheli, F., O’Connor, R., Précoma-de la Mora, M., Hernández-Velasco, A., & Narchi, N. E. (2024). Combining the uncombinable: Corporate Memories, ethnobiological observations, Oceanographic and ecological data to enhance climatic resilience in small-scale fisheries. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1458059
• Marine Protected Areas Promote Resilience of Kelp Forests to Marine Heatwaves by Preserving Trophic Cascades
  Kumagai, J. A., Goodman, M. C., Villaseñor-Derbez, J. C., Schoeman, D. S., Cavanuagh, K. C., Bell, T. W., Micheli, F., De Leo, G., & Arafeh-Dalmau, N. (2024). Marine Protected Areas Promote Resilience of Kelp Forests to Marine Heatwaves by Preserving Trophic Cascades. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.04.10.588833v1
• Recovery Mode: Marine Protected Areas Enhance the Resilience of Kelp Species from Marine Heatwaves
  Olguín-Jacobson, C., Arafeh-Dalmau, N., Early-Capistrán, M.-M., Montes, J. A., Hernández-Velasco, A., Martínez, R., Romero, A., Torre, J., Woodson, C. B., & Micheli, F. (2024). Recovery Mode: Marine Protected Areas Enhance the Resilience of Kelp Species from Marine Heatwaves. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.05.08.592820