The Condition of the Red Alga Phyllophora crispa (Hudson) P.S. Dixon and Proposals for MPA Optimization in Southwestern Crimea, Black Sea

There are six marine protected areas (MPAs) in the coastal zone of the southwestern Crimea created for the conservation of bottom communities including those of the red alga Phyllophora crispa (the Black Sea Red Data Book, the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation, the European Red List of Habitats). The aim of this paper was to evaluate the condition of Ph. crispa within the four MPAs and in nine other areas, in order to make a case for the measures to be taken to improve the effectiveness of its protection. It is shown that the Phyllophora biomass in the studied aquatic areas declined five-fold from 1967 to 2015–2017, with its population density being on average 2.7 times lower in the MPAs than in the other areas. Due to the low effectiveness of the conservation efforts, it is being recommended to raise the status of the MPA from natural monuments to natural preserves, to extend their areas and create buffer zones. The suggested optimization measures will lead to increasing the protected area size in the coastal zone of the southwestern Crimea by 7.6 times.