The biodiversity adaptation gap: Management actions for marine protected areas in the face of climate change

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a crucial component of international biodiversity conservation commitments, yet are increasingly affected by climate change. No synthesis or analysis exists of the specific on-the-ground management actions that have been taken by MPA managers in response to climate change. Here, we extract, evaluate, classify, and analyze adaptation responses from 646 existing, English-language MPA management plans preselected for their consideration of climate change. Our synthesis documents 213 unique management actions, of which only a fraction (4.7%) were on-the-ground adaptative measures directed at enhancing biodiversity conservation; in contrast, almost half (45.5%) were monitoring measures. Our analysis highlights the apparent paucity of documented management actions addressing the challenging task of limiting climate change impacts on biodiversity within MPAs-a "biodiversity adaptation gap". By compiling a community resource of adaptation approaches that can be further expanded and disseminated, we hope to contribute to the effort to adapt MPA networks to climate change.