Marine Protected Areas:Theory and Application

Marine reserves are commonly used to help sustain fisheries and conserve biodiversity.  Here I define and highlight future empirical and theoretical needs that apply to marine reserves and restoration more generally.  In particular, I emphasize that: 1) the lack of Before data limit our inferences and likely has led to overestimation of the presumed benefits; 2) differential movement of organisms can explain mismatches between data and theory and reveal new phenomena; and 3) testing regional effects on fisheries is likely to be limited except in special circumstances (e.g., lagoonal fisheries on Pacific islands).