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Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,24]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>On shallow rocky and coral reefs, cultural and recreational values, like aesthetics, are critical aspects of Nature\u2019s Contributions to People (NCP) that support human well-being and provide billions of dollars in tourism revenue. Quantifying the aesthetic value of reef ecosystems and uncovering the conditions that enhance it could support NCP-based management. Here, we combine a global dataset of reef fish surveys, species-level aesthetic values, and causal modeling to assess the global status and drivers of reef fish assemblage aesthetic value. We find that aesthetic value is inherently linked to species richness, displaying a latitudinal gradient with peaks in the tropics, but varies strongly with the presence of exceptionally beautiful or less-beautiful species. Sea surface temperature, primary productivity, human gravity, and protection status are the strongest drivers of assemblage-level aesthetic value. Protection against human impacts consistently enhances aesthetic value by boosting taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity, and this effect is greatest in species-rich, tropical ecoregions. Economic development has little influence, indicating that low-income countries are not constrained from maintaining beautiful fish assemblages. Our results therefore suggest that marine protected areas (MPAs) can support multiple NCPs simultaneously, particularly in developing tropical countries. While we highlight the effectiveness of MPAs, given the low level of marine protection globally and the sensitivity of aesthetic value to environmental conditions, the beauty of the world\u2019s reefs appears severely threatened. Aesthetic value should be immediately integrated into reef conservation and management plans.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2415931122","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,18]],"date-time":"2025-06-18T13:37:51Z","timestamp":1750253871000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.cm10313","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Conserving the beauty of the world\u2019s reef fish assemblages"],"prefix":"10.1073","volume":"122","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6518-6043","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Matthew","family":"McLean","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology and Marine Biology, Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington","place":["Wilmington"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0402-2605","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"David","family":"Mouillot","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Marine Biodiversity Exploitation And Conservation, Universit\u00e9 de Montpellier, CNRS, Institut Fran\u00e7ais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer, Institut de Recherche pour le D\u00e9veloppement","place":["Montpellier, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Juliette","family":"Langlois","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Marine Biodiversity Exploitation And Conservation, Universit\u00e9 de Montpellier, CNRS, Institut Fran\u00e7ais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer, Institut de Recherche pour le D\u00e9veloppement","place":["Montpellier, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Suchinta","family":"Arif","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, Dalhousie University","place":["Halifax"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6451-6354","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sonia","family":"Bejarano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Reef Systems Research Group, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research","place":["Bremen, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5537-5294","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nicolas","family":"Casajus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fondation pour la recherche sur la biodiversit\u00e9: Centre de Synth\u00e8se et d'Analyse sur la Biodiversit\u00e9","place":["Montpellier, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0833-9001","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Graham J.","family":"Edgar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania","place":["Hobart, Australia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-2371-9127","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ulysse","family":"Flandrin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Marine Biodiversity Exploitation And Conservation, Universit\u00e9 de Montpellier, CNRS, Institut Fran\u00e7ais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer, Institut de Recherche pour le D\u00e9veloppement","place":["Montpellier, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4707-8932","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fran\u00e7ois","family":"Guilhaumon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit\u00e9 Mixte de Recherche Ecologie Marine Tropicale des Oc\u00e9ans Pacifique et Indien (Institut de Recherche pour le D\u00e9veloppement, Universit\u00e9 de La R\u00e9union, CNRS, Institut Fran\u00e7ais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer, Universit\u00e9 de Nouvelle-Cal\u00e9donie)","place":["Saint-Denis, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6293-3605","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aaron B.","family":"Judah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oceanography, University of Hawai\u2019i at M\u0101noa","place":["Honolulu"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nicolas","family":"Loiseau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Marine Biodiversity Exploitation And Conservation, Universit\u00e9 de Montpellier, CNRS, Institut Fran\u00e7ais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer, Institut de Recherche pour le D\u00e9veloppement","place":["Montpellier, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8406-325X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"M. 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