Patellid Limpets: An Overview of the Biology and Conservation of Keystone Species of the Rocky Shores

Abstract

Abstract This work reviews a broad spectrum of subjects associated to Patellid limpets’ biology such as growth, reproduction, and recruitment, also the consequences of commercial exploitation on the stocks and the effects of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the biology and populational dynamics of these intertidal grazers. Knowledge of limpets’ biological traits plays an important role in providing proper background for their effective man- agement. This chapter focuses on determining the effect of biotic and abiotic factors that influence these biological characteristics and associated geographical patterns. Human exploitation of limpets is one of the main causes of disturbance in the intertidal ecosys- tem and has occurred since prehistorical times resulting in direct and indirect alterations in the abundance and size structure of the target populations. The implementation of MPAs has been shown to result in greater biomass, abundance, and size of limpets and to counter other negative anthropogenic effects. However, inefficient planning and lack of surveillance hinder the accomplishment of the conservation purpose of MPAs. Inclusive conservation approaches involving all the stakeholders could guarantee future success of conservation strategies and sustainable exploitation. This review also aims to estab- lish how beneficial MPAs are in enhancing recruitment and yield of adjacent exploited populations. Keywords: