Marine protected areas (MPAs) are important tools for managing marine ecosystems. MPAs are expected to replenish nearby exploited populations through the natural dispersal of young, but the models that make these predictions rely on assumptions that have recently been demonstrated to be incorrect for most species of fish. A meta-analysis showed that fish reproductive output scales “hyperallometrically” with fish mass, such that larger fish produce more offspring per unit body mass than smaller fish. Because fish are often larger inside MPAs, they should exhibit disproportionately higher reproductive output as compared to fish outside of MPAs. We explore the consequences of hyperallometric reproduction for a range of species for population replenishment and the productivity of exploited species. We show that the reproductive contribution of fish inside MPAs has been systematically underestimated and that fisheries yields can be enhanced by the establishment of reservoirs of larger, highly fecund fish.

中文翻译：

---

低估了海洋保护区对补充捕捞种群的益处

海洋保护区 (MPA) 是管理海洋生态系统的重要工具。海洋保护区有望通过幼鱼的自然扩散来补充附近的被开发种群，但做出这些预测的模型依赖于最近被证明对大多数鱼类不正确的假设。一项荟萃分析表明，鱼的繁殖产量与鱼的质量“超异”成比例，因此较大的鱼比较小的鱼每单位体重产生更多的后代。由于海洋保护区内的鱼通常较大，因此与海洋保护区外的鱼相比，它们的繁殖产量应该高得不成比例。我们探索了一系列物种的超异速繁殖对种群补充和开发物种生产力的影响。