The effectiveness of marine protected areas (MPAs) on the general health and conservation of species, habitats, and community interactions is of great interest to researchers, managers, and recreationalists. However, the ecological and behavioral diversity of vertebrate predators of southern California kelp forests limits our ability to make general conclusions about MPA effectiveness across a variety of species. Identifying and studying species with extreme feeding habits or prey-capture strategies may offer greater insight into predator-prey relationships and reveal the trophic importance of an animal in the larger community. Moray eels (family Muraenidae) have been shown to have morphological and behavioral adaptations that allow them to consume large prey whole, identifying them as important predators. From 2015-2018, we studied the health and feeding behavior of a long-lived, elusive, and benthic kelp forest predator, the California moray eel (Gymnothorax mordax). We trapped eels inside and outside of Blue Cavern Onshore State Marine Conservation Area, an MPA on the northwest side of Santa Catalina Island, CA which prohibits the take of any species. Over four years, we captured 1,736 eels. Overall, we found that morays were longer, older, heavier, had higher body condition and were found in greater abundance within the MPA. Although fish comprised the majority of their summer diet, morays outside of the MPA were consuming a more diverse set of fish, while kelp bass comprised more than half of the diet for morays inhabiting the MPA. Additionally, we found that morays within the MPA had larger relative vertical gape distances and narrower heads. Our recapture data support the high site fidelity of morays, indicating that their diet and morphology are influenced by their local community. While the majority of morays are thriving in the MPA, as suggested by their robust sizes and longevity, high abundance appears to result in higher frequencies of cannibalism, the presence of an undescribed disease, and lower growth rates. Our results suggest that the MPA affects the life history of morays and may select for an alternative feeding strategy in which eels develop larger vertical gape distances, smaller adductor muscles, and a specialized diet which is presumably influenced by the local environment. In addition, observations of cannibalistic behavior and species-specific disease provide us with important insight into natural factors that may still regulate populations removed from anthropogenic disturbances such as fishing.

中文翻译：

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海洋保护导致加利福尼亚海鳗、裸胸鱼的形态变化

海洋保护区 (MPA) 对物种、栖息地和社区互动的总体健康和保护的有效性引起了研究人员、管理者和娱乐者的极大兴趣。然而，南加州海藻林脊椎动物捕食者的生态和行为多样性限制了我们对各种物种的 MPA 有效性做出一般性结论的能力。识别和研究具有极端饮食习惯或猎物捕获策略的物种可能会更深入地了解捕食者与猎物的关系，并揭示动物在更大社区中的营养重要性。海鳗（海鳗科）已被证明具有形态和行为适应性，使它们能够吃掉整个大型猎物，将它们确定为重要的捕食者。从 2015-2018 年，我们研究了一种长寿、难以捉摸的底栖海带森林捕食者加州海鳗 (Gymnothorax mordax) 的健康和摄食行为。我们在加利福尼亚州圣卡塔利娜岛西北侧的海洋保护区 Blue Cavern Onshore State Marine Conservation Area 内外捕获鳗鱼，该保护区禁止捕捞任何物种。四年多来，我们捕获了 1,736 条鳗鱼。总的来说，我们发现海鳗更长、更老、更重、身体状况更好，并且在 MPA 中发现的数量更多。尽管鱼类占其夏季饮食的大部分，但 MPA 以外的海鳗正在消耗更多种类的鱼，而海带鲈鱼占 MPA 栖息的海鳗饮食的一半以上。此外，我们发现 MPA 内的海鳗具有更大的相对垂直张开距离和更窄的头部。我们的重新捕获数据支持海鳗的高现场保真度，表明它们的饮食和形态受当地社区的影响。虽然大多数海鳗在 MPA 中茁壮成长，正如它们强壮的体型和长寿所表明的那样，但高丰度似乎导致更高的自相残杀频率、未描述的疾病的存在和较低的增长率。我们的研究结果表明，MPA 影响海鳗的生活史，并可能选择另一种喂养策略，在这种策略中，鳗鱼的垂直张开距离更大，内收肌更小，并且可能受当地环境影响的特殊饮食。此外，