CAMP Connectivité des Aires Marines Protégées. Mars 2009-Octobre 2012. Rapport Final

The main objective of the CAMP project (2009-2011) was to estimate the effective connectivity between Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in the southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO) through population genetics of 3 biological models Epinephelus merra, Lutjanus kasmira and Myripristis berndti. The ultimate goal is to provide scientific results for managers to contribute significantly to the design of the MPA network in SWIO. At the end of the project and thank to the cooperation with the Natural Marine Reserve of La Réunion and 5 international partners from the SWIO, 414 M. berndti, 623 L. kasmira and 731 E. merra were sampled in 16 different sites (Reunion, Mayotte, Geyser, Europa, Juan de Nova, Glorioso, Rodrigues, Mauritius, Moheli, Grande Comore, Seychelles, Kenya, Tanzania, Maldives and Madagascar - 2 sites), for a total of almost 1800 individuals. Genetic analyses were run under the management quality genetic laboratory of Ifremer in La Réunion. The results of the genetic analyses showed different levels of regional connectivity, ranging from a very connected species (L. kasmira) to one that revealed a significant level of structure (E. merra). Comparative analysis of regional sampled sites showed that (1) The Comoros Basin, comprising the northern islands of the Mozambique Channel, seems to exhibit high level of mixing between individuals of the 3 species; (2) Remote oceanic islands such as the Mascarene Islands, at east of the study area, or Europa, in the southern Mozambique Channel, appear to be genetically less connected to the rest of the SWIO; (3) The north-western SWIO (Kenya) seems to have a less obvious connectivity with the rest of the IO, or at least be influenced by other areas such as the Maldives or more generally Northern IO area. This study highlights areas of interest to identify "Sub Regional Management Units” including the Mascarene Plateau and the southern Mozambique Channel. Within each Unit, managers must now structure the network of Marine Protected Areas based on local criteria (biodiversity, habitats, ecosystems, socio-economics factors...) and encourage scientists to work at the interfaces of these Management Units to refine their spatial boundaries.