The dispersal of larvae by ocean currents is likely to represent an increasingly important driver of marine population dynamics across fragmented habitats. A boost in availability of larval dispersal data from biophysical simulations has therefore led to routine calculations of population connectivity metrics that are used for area-based management decision support, including the placement of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). However, connectivity-based decision support for area-based management is often complex, highly uncertain, and the associated conservation impact rarely if ever evaluated. In combination, these challenges risk stakeholder engagement, compliance, and overall management effectiveness. Here we use a case study representing multiple key fishery species on coral reefs in Indonesia to demonstrate that consideration of larval dispersal for MPA placement decision support could be critical to recover both fish populations and fisheries from depletion, thereby mitigating potentially severe impacts on coastal communities. Importantly, we further show that MPA placement decisions can be effective even if based on comparatively simple and empirically measurable dispersal characteristics. Maximizing larval export, expressed as the contribution of larvae from MPA candidate sites to total larval settlement in surrounding areas, for example, was found to be a broadly beneficial MPA placement prioritization approach. Across investigated fish families with diverse life histories, this strategy resulted in MPA network designs that increased catches by a factor of 1.3 ± 0.3 (mean ± SD) and total fish biomass by a factor of 3.2 ± 0.3 (9.7 ± 1.2 in no-fishing areas and 1.4 ± 0.3 in fished areas) compared to conditions without effectively managed or protected areas. Our findings are relevant for both the implementation and impact evaluation of global marine conservation policies, specifically in tropical biodiversity hotspots, such as Indonesia, where coral reefs are often overfished and increasingly threatened but local communities highly dependent on sustainable fisheries.

洋流对幼虫的扩散很可能是分散生境中海洋种群动态的一个日益重要的驱动因素。因此，来自生物物理模拟的幼虫传播数据可用性的提高导致了用于基于区域的管理决策支持的种群连通性指标的常规计算，包括海洋保护区 (MPA) 的放置。然而，基于连通性的区域管理决策支持通常是复杂的、高度不确定的，并且相关的保护影响很少被评估。综合起来，这些挑战会给利益相关者的参与、合规性和整体管理有效性带来风险。在这里，我们使用一个代表印度尼西亚珊瑚礁上多个主要渔业物种的案例研究来证明，考虑幼虫扩散以支持 MPA 安置决策对于从枯竭中恢复鱼类种群和渔业至关重要，从而减轻对沿海社区的潜在严重影响。重要的是，我们进一步表明，即使基于相对简单且可凭经验测量的分散特征，MPA 放置决策也可能是有效的。例如，将幼虫出口最大化（表示为 MPA 候选地点的幼虫对周边地区幼虫总定居的贡献）被认为是一种广泛有益的 MPA 放置优先级方法。在调查的具有不同生活史的鱼类家族中，这一策略导致 MPA 网络设计使渔获量增加了 1.3 ± 0.3（平均值 ± SD），鱼类总生物量增加了 3.2 ± 0.3 倍（禁渔区为 9.7 ± 1.2，捕捞区为 1.4 ± 0.3）与没有有效管理或保护区的情况相比。我们的研究结果与全球海洋保护政策的实施和影响评估相关，特别是在热带生物多样性热点地区，例如印度尼西亚，那里的珊瑚礁经常被过度捕捞且受到越来越多的威胁，但当地社区高度依赖可持续渔业。