Conservation at the edge: connectivity and opportunities from non-protected coral reefs close to a National Park in the Colombian Caribbean

Confronting a sustained coral reef conservation crisis, we need new opportunities to rethink how to protect areas successfully and efficiently in the face of a changing world. We studied the benthic community, including foraminifera, fish community, and genetic connectivity (SSRs and SNPs) of main reef-building corals, Orbicella faveolata and Agaricia undata, along a Non-Protected Area (NPA) reef tract in Barú peninsula, including some isolated banks, near Cartagena and the National Natural Park Corales del Rosario y San Bernando (NNP CRySB), Colombia. The fringing reef track is homogeneous in benthic components, including algae, sponges, and foraminifera between all the studied sites, while corals exhibited differences between sites and depth ranges. Many reef sites sustain between 42.8 and 53% coral cover, which are among the highest recorded in this region, even higher than the nearby NNP. A total of 82 fish species were found, and the Foram Index-FI varies between 2 and 2.5, showing environmental conditions marginal for reef growth. The Barú NPA reef system can be considered spatial refugia under climate change and Anthropocene conditions, including resilient reefs at the mouth of Cartagena Bay (Magdalena River), a place of increased stressing factors. The admixture between NPA and NNP populations, the high coral cover in the NPA, the fish density and composition, the uniqueness of the diapiric banks, and the disturbance resistance are major arguments to protect this reef tract. We suggest designing a co-management scheme to ensure species connectivity, avoid further degradation, and involve different stakeholders.