DOCSLIB.ORG

The Role of Trophic Interactions Between Fishes, Sea Urchins and Algae in the Northwest Mediterranean Rocky Infralittoral

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Role of Trophic Interactions Between Fishes, Sea Urchins and Algae in the Northwest Mediterranean Rocky Infralittoral The role of trophic interactions between fishes, sea urchins and algae in the northwest Mediterranean rocky infralittoral Bernat Hereu Fina Departament d’Ecologia Universitat de Barcelona 2004 Tesi Doctoral Universitat de Barcelona Facultat de Biologia – Departament d’Ecologia The role of trophic interactions between fishes, sea urchins and algae in the northwestern Mediterranean rocky infralittoral Memòria presentada per Bernat Hereu Fina per a optar al títol de Doctor en Biologia al Departament d’Ecologia, de la Universitat de Barcelona, sota la direcció dels doctors Mikel Zabala Limousin i Enric Sala Gamito Bernat Hereu Fina Barcelona, Febrer de 2004 El director de la Tesi El director de la Tesi Dr. Mikel Zabala Limousin Dr. Enric Sala Gamito Professor titular Assistant professor Facultat de Biologia Scripps Institution Oceanography Universitat de Barcelona University of California Contents Contents....................................................................................................................................................3 Chapter 1- General introduction..............................................................................................................1 The theoretical framework: trophic models.............................................................................................4 Trophic cascades: evidence of “top-down” control................................................................................6 Trophic cascades in marine systems........................................................................................................7 Quantitative models and the role of humans ...........................................................................................8 Box 1: The ‘algae-sea urchin-fish’ triangle in the Mediterranean..........................................................9 An overview of the challenges ahead.....................................................................................................17 Objectives and the structure of the thesis ..............................................................................................19 Box 2: The study area............................................................................................................................28 Chapter 2- Multiple controls of community structure in a sublittoral marine environment............35 Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................38 Material and methods............................................................................................................................40 Results....................................................................................................................................................46 Discussion..............................................................................................................................................62 Appendix................................................................................................................................................70 Chapter 3- The effects of sea urchins and fish in depleting palatable algae on a Mediterranean subtidal community .................................................................................................................................73 Abstract..................................................................................................................................................75 Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................75 Material and methods............................................................................................................................77 Results....................................................................................................................................................82 Discussion..............................................................................................................................................85 Chapter 4- Temporal and spatial variability in settlement of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus in the NW Mediterranean ...........................................................................................................................89 Abstract..................................................................................................................................................91 Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................91 Materials and methods ..........................................................................................................................93 Results....................................................................................................................................................98 Discussion............................................................................................................................................102 Chapter 5- The effects of predator abundance and habitat structural complexity on survival of juvenile sea urchins ...............................................................................................................................105 Abstract................................................................................................................................................107 Introduction .........................................................................................................................................107 Material and methods..........................................................................................................................109 Results..................................................................................................................................................111 Discussion............................................................................................................................................118 Chapter 6- Movements patterns of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus in the NW Mediterranean .................................................................................................................................................................121 Abstract................................................................................................................................................123 Introduction .........................................................................................................................................123 Methods ...............................................................................................................................................125 Results..................................................................................................................................................129 Discussion............................................................................................................................................133 Chapter 7 – Temporal variability in abundance of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus in the northwestern Mediterranean: comparison between a reserve and an unprotected area................137 Introduction .........................................................................................................................................139 Material and Methods..........................................................................................................................140 Results..................................................................................................................................................143 Discussion............................................................................................................................................158 Chapter 8- Effects of removing sea urchins (Paracentrotus lividus): stability of barren states and Cystoseira balearica forest recover in NW Mediterranean.................................................................163 Introduction .........................................................................................................................................165 Material and methods..........................................................................................................................166 Results..................................................................................................................................................172 Discussion............................................................................................................................................177 Chapter 9- General Discussion .............................................................................................................183 Question 1: top-down controls or bottom-up controls?.......................................................................185 Question 2: the relative importance of sea urchins and fish as herbivores.........................................186 Question 3. The importance of floristic composition and functional groups.......................................187 Question 4. What controls the demographic dynamics of sea urchin populations? ............................189 Question 5: Why are the predictions made by trophic models not fulfilled in marine reserves?.........196
Load more

Recommended publications
  • View/Download
    SPARIFORMES · 1 The ETYFish Project © Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara COMMENTS: v. 4.0 - 13 Feb. 2021 Order SPARIFORMES 3 families · 49 genera · 283 species/subspecies Family LETHRINIDAE Emporerfishes and Large-eye Breams 5 genera · 43 species Subfamily Lethrininae Emporerfishes Lethrinus Cuvier 1829 from lethrinia, ancient Greek name for members of the genus Pagellus (Sparidae) which Cuvier applied to this genus Lethrinus amboinensis Bleeker 1854 -ensis, suffix denoting place: Ambon Island, Molucca Islands, Indonesia, type locality (occurs in eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific from Indonesia east to Marshall Islands and Samoa, north to Japan, south to Western Australia) Lethrinus atkinsoni Seale 1910 patronym not identified but probably in honor of William Sackston Atkinson (1864-ca. 1925), an illustrator who prepared the plates for a paper published by Seale in 1905 and presumably the plates in this 1910 paper as well Lethrinus atlanticus Valenciennes 1830 Atlantic, the only species of the genus (and family) known to occur in the Atlantic Lethrinus borbonicus Valenciennes 1830 -icus, belonging to: Borbon (or Bourbon), early name for Réunion island, western Mascarenes, type locality (occurs in Red Sea and western Indian Ocean from Persian Gulf and East Africa to Socotra, Seychelles, Madagascar, Réunion, and the Mascarenes) Lethrinus conchyliatus (Smith 1959) clothed in purple, etymology not explained, probably referring to “bright mauve” area at central basal part of pectoral fins on living specimens Lethrinus crocineus
    [Show full text]
  • Uranium Uptake in Paracentrotus Lividus Sea Urchin, Accumulation
    Uranium Uptake in Paracentrotus lividus Sea Urchin, Accumulation and Speciation Benjamin Reeves, Maria Rosa Beccia, Pier Lorenzo Solari, Danil Smiles, David Shuh, Catherine Berthomieu, Didier Marcellin, Nicolas Bremond, Luisa Mangialajo, Sophie Pagnotta, et al. To cite this version: Benjamin Reeves, Maria Rosa Beccia, Pier Lorenzo Solari, Danil Smiles, David Shuh, et al.. Uranium Uptake in Paracentrotus lividus Sea Urchin, Accumulation and Speciation. Environmental Science and Technology, American Chemical Society, 2019, 53 (14), pp.7974-7983. 10.1021/acs.est.8b06380. hal-02196756 HAL Id: hal-02196756 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02196756 Submitted on 12 Feb 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Environmental Science & Technology This document is confidential and is proprietary to the American Chemical Society and its authors. Do not copy or disclose without written permission. If you have received this item in error, notify the sender and delete all copies. Uranium uptake in Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin, accumulation and speciation Journal: Environmental Science & Technology Manuscript ID es-2018-06380c.R1 Manuscript Type: Article Date Submitted by the 10-May-2019 Author: Complete List of Authors: Reeves, Benjamin; Universite Cote d'Azur, ICN Beccia, Maria Rosa; Universite Cote d'Azur, Institut de Chimie de Nice Solari, Pier Lorenzo; Synchrotron Soleil, Smiles, Danil; Chemical Sciences Division, Glenn T.
    [Show full text]
  • Pdf Underwater Routes
    UNDERWATER ROUTES of the western Algarve CONTENTS CREDITS COORDINATION: Jorge M. S. INTRODUCTION 3 Gonçalves e Mafalda Rangel TEXT: Mafalda Rangel DIVING IN THE ROUTES 5 RESEARCH TEAM: Mafalda Rangel, Luís Bentes, Pedro MAP OF THE NETWORK OF UNDERWATER ROUTES 8 Monteiro, Carlos M. L. Afonso, Frederico Oliveira, Inês Sousa, SCUBA DIVING ROUTES 10 Karim Erzini, Jorge M. S. Gonçalves (CCMAR – Centre of GRUTA DO MARTINHAL (SAGRES) 10 Marine Sciences) PHOTOGRAPHY: Carlos M. L. PONTA DOS CAMINHOS (SAGRES) 12 Afonso, David Abecasis, Frederico Oliveira, João Encarnação/ “POÇO” (ARMAÇÃO DE PERA) 14 Subnauta (p.7), Jorge M. S. Gonçalves, Nuno Alves (p.19), SNORKELING ROUTES 16 Pedro Veiga ILUSTRATION_ Underwater P. 2 PRAIA DA MARINHA (LAGOA) 16 slates: Frederico Oliveira GRAPHIC DESIGN AND PRAIA DOS ARRIFES (ALBUFEIRA) 18 ILUSTRATION: GOBIUS Comunication and Science PHOTOS 20 COLABORATION: Isidoro Costa ADB COORDINATION: José CURIOSITIES 25 Moura Bastos TRANSLATION: Mafalda DANGERS 26 Rangel, Fátima Noronha CONTACTS: INTEREST FOR CONSERVATION 26 _CCMAR - Centro de Ciências do Mar do Algarve: Universidade do READING SUGGESTIONS 27 Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, FCT Ed7, 8005-139 Faro Telf. 289 800 051 http://www.ccmar.ualg.pt HOW TO QUOTE THIS PUBLICATION: _ADB - Agência Desenvolvimento Rangel, M.; Oliveira, F.; Bentes, L.; Monteiro, P.; Afonso, C.M.L.; do Barlavento, Rua Impasse à Rua Sousa, I.; Erzini, K.; Gonçalves, J.M.S.. 2015. Underwater Routes Poeta António Aleixo, Bloco B, GENTES D’MAR of the windward Algarve. Centre of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), R/c, 8500-525 Portimão, Portugal Algarve University; Agência Desenvolvimento do Barlavento Telf. 282 482 889 (ADB). GOBIUS Communication and Science, 27p.
    [Show full text]
  • Updated Checklist of Marine Fishes (Chordata: Craniata) from Portugal and the Proposed Extension of the Portuguese Continental Shelf
    European Journal of Taxonomy 73: 1-73 ISSN 2118-9773 http://dx.doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2014.73 www.europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu 2014 · Carneiro M. et al. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Monograph urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9A5F217D-8E7B-448A-9CAB-2CCC9CC6F857 Updated checklist of marine fishes (Chordata: Craniata) from Portugal and the proposed extension of the Portuguese continental shelf Miguel CARNEIRO1,5, Rogélia MARTINS2,6, Monica LANDI*,3,7 & Filipe O. COSTA4,8 1,2 DIV-RP (Modelling and Management Fishery Resources Division), Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, Av. Brasilia 1449-006 Lisboa, Portugal. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] 3,4 CBMA (Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology), Department of Biology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] * corresponding author: [email protected] 5 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:90A98A50-327E-4648-9DCE-75709C7A2472 6 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:1EB6DE00-9E91-407C-B7C4-34F31F29FD88 7 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:6D3AC760-77F2-4CFA-B5C7-665CB07F4CEB 8 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:48E53CF3-71C8-403C-BECD-10B20B3C15B4 Abstract. The study of the Portuguese marine ichthyofauna has a long historical tradition, rooted back in the 18th Century. Here we present an annotated checklist of the marine fishes from Portuguese waters, including the area encompassed by the proposed extension of the Portuguese continental shelf and the Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ). The list is based on historical literature records and taxon occurrence data obtained from natural history collections, together with new revisions and occurrences.
    [Show full text]
  • The Effects of Multiple Predators on the Size Structure of Red Urchin Populations in British Columbia
    The Effects Of Multiple Predators On the Size Structure of Red Urchin Populations in British Columbia An undergraduate Directed Studies (BISC 498) research project by Christine Stevenson Introduction Predator-prey body size relationships influence trophic structure, transfer efficiency, and interaction strength within a food web (Jonsson and Ebenman 1998). Size distributions of both predators and prey are an important component to the population dynamics of a community. Knowledge of the strength of predatory interactions within a food web can provide insight to the relationships between the sizes of prey and their predators. Predators are generally larger than the size their prey and predator size is often positively correlated to prey size (Vezina 1985, Warren and Lawton 1987, Cohen et al. 1993). The relative body size of a predator and its prey largely contribute to the ecology and evolutionary consequences of predator-prey relationships. This is most defined in systems involving size- dependent predators. These predators are effective agents of selection among prey species that differ in body size or growth rate. Size dependent predators therefore influence the structure of prey populations by diminishing prey species of a preferred size (Kerfoot and Peterson 1980). Prey species that can reach a large size through embellishments of the exoskeleton can often attain a size refuge from predators (Sousa 1992). Thus, the risk of predation may be lower for larger prey compared to smaller individuals. The risk of an individual prey being consumed may also depend on the size- structure of the predator population, as larger predators generally have the ability to handle and consume larger prey (Sousa 1992).
    [Show full text]
  • Spawning of Gametes in Paracentrotus Lividus
    Spawning of gametes in Paracentrotus lividus 1. Randomly select 4-5 adult animals (sex determination in P. lividus is not possible by visual inspection; only after the spawning female and male will be Paola Cirino, Alfonso Toscano easily distinguished by gametes: eggs are yellow-orange, sperm are white) Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, It. Animals: Adult sea urchins collected from 2. Apply one of the following stimulus in order to induce the spawning (the 3 natural population. methods (a – c) are progressively more invasive and can be applied successively Apparatus: filtered seawater 0,22µ, or alternatively, according to the quantity of gametes needed). various size glass beakers, Pasteur pipets a) Shaking: shake vigorously animals wrapping them in common and pipet bulbs , Petri dishes, eppendorf paper. Place the animals with the oral side down on a Petri dish. Wait for a tubes, syringes (2 – 5 ml) and needles. few minutes and check the spawning of gametes from the aboral surface. An electrical device (9 – 12 V): two b) Electrical shock: place the urchin with the oral side down on a Petri dish metallic paddles with insulated handles with a thin layer of sea water just lapping the animal. Apply the paddle to (electrodes) connected to a battery. the opposite sides of animal near the gonopore and give an electrical Chemicals: potassium chloride (KCl) 0,5M discharge lasting a few seconds. Repeat this electrical shock for 3 – 4 times. in distilled water. Wait for a few minutes and check the spawning of gametes from the Parameters: T 20 °C aboral surface. c) Intracoelomic injection : place the urchin with the oral side up.
    [Show full text]
  • Sibling Bald Sea Urchin Disease Affecting the Edible [I
    Sibling Bald Sea Urchin Disease affecting the edible Paracentrotus lividus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) in Sardinia (Italy) Grech, D., Guala, I., Farina, S. IMC - International Marine Centre - Loc. Sa Mardini, Torregrande, 09170 Oristano, Italy Corresponding Author: Daniele Grech Email address: [email protected] Different species of echinoids and bivalves are suffering infectious diseases as the effect of ocean warming. In Sardinia (Western Mediterranean Sea) the keystone sea urchin species Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck 1816) is widely appreciated as edible resource. Recently, a number of individuals were found to be infected by a no specified bacterial morphologically matching to a “bald sea urchin disease” (Fig. 1). In February 2019, a sampling campaign took place in two locations in the West and East Coast, inside and in proximity of local Marine Protected Areas. Field samplings were approved by the Regione Autonoma Sardegna (Fishing License for scientific purposes n.310/AP SCIE/N.1 10/01/2019). Samplings were carried out at the end of February 2019, when water temperature was 13°C. For each sampled site we performed two replicates of fast 50 m belt transects to estimate the infection rate as the total individuals infected on the total counted. The estimated infection rate was around 5% in both of sampled locations. A higher level of preyed sea urchins was observed, compared to natural predatory level previously observed in all the surveyed sites. Moreover, an unusual amount of dead sea urchins has been observed stranded on the storm berm, neighbouring one of the sampled sites. Microbiological analysis puts in evidence bacterial infection as the potential causal agent that could be temperature-related.
    [Show full text]
  • Protein and Energy Digestibility and Gonad Development of the European Sea Urchin Paracentrotus Lividus (Lamarck) Fed Algal and Prepared Diets During Spring and Fall
    UC Davis UC Davis Previously Published Works Title Protein and energy digestibility and gonad development of the European sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck) fed algal and prepared diets during spring and fall Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2q5151zv Journal Aquaculture Research, 36 Author Schlosser, Susan Publication Date 2005 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Aquaculture Research, 2005, 36, 972^982 doi:10.1111/j.1365-2109.2005.01306.x Protein and energy digestibility and gonad development of the European sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck) fed algal and prepared diets during spring and fall Susan C Schlosser1, Ingrid Lupatsch2, John M Lawrence3, Addison L Lawrence4 & Muki Shpigel2 1California Sea Grant Extension Program, Eureka, CA, USA 2National Center for Mariculture, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, Eilat, Israel 3Department of Biology,University of South Florida,Tampa, FL, USA 4Texas A&M Shrimp Mariculture Project, Port Aransas,TX, USA Correspondence: S C Schlosser, California Sea Grant Extension Program, 2 Commercial St., Ste. 4, Eureka, CA 95501, USA. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract from the higher dietary energy content of the pre- pared diet. Protein and energy are two of the main limiting fac- tors for sea urchin growth. However, the requirement Key words: Paracentrotus lividus, sea urchin, of daily protein and energy to maximize gonadal pro- gonad, protein, energy,diet duction is still unknown. Paracentrotus lividus were fed three experimental diets: Ulva lactuca, Gracilaria conferta and a prepared diet for 2 months in the fall of 1999 and spring of 2000. Sea urchins from a Introduction laboratory-cultured population of equal age, weight and test diameter were used.
    [Show full text]
  • Marine Fishes from Galicia (NW Spain): an Updated Checklist
    1 2 Marine fishes from Galicia (NW Spain): an updated checklist 3 4 5 RAFAEL BAÑON1, DAVID VILLEGAS-RÍOS2, ALBERTO SERRANO3, 6 GONZALO MUCIENTES2,4 & JUAN CARLOS ARRONTE3 7 8 9 10 1 Servizo de Planificación, Dirección Xeral de Recursos Mariños, Consellería de Pesca 11 e Asuntos Marítimos, Rúa do Valiño 63-65, 15703 Santiago de Compostela, Spain. E- 12 mail: [email protected] 13 2 CSIC. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas. Eduardo Cabello 6, 36208 Vigo 14 (Pontevedra), Spain. E-mail: [email protected] (D. V-R); [email protected] 15 (G.M.). 16 3 Instituto Español de Oceanografía, C.O. de Santander, Santander, Spain. E-mail: 17 [email protected] (A.S); [email protected] (J.-C. A). 18 4Centro Tecnológico del Mar, CETMAR. Eduardo Cabello s.n., 36208. Vigo 19 (Pontevedra), Spain. 20 21 Abstract 22 23 An annotated checklist of the marine fishes from Galician waters is presented. The list 24 is based on historical literature records and new revisions. The ichthyofauna list is 25 composed by 397 species very diversified in 2 superclass, 3 class, 35 orders, 139 1 1 families and 288 genus. The order Perciformes is the most diverse one with 37 families, 2 91 genus and 135 species. Gobiidae (19 species) and Sparidae (19 species) are the 3 richest families. Biogeographically, the Lusitanian group includes 203 species (51.1%), 4 followed by 149 species of the Atlantic (37.5%), then 28 of the Boreal (7.1%), and 17 5 of the African (4.3%) groups. We have recognized 41 new records, and 3 other records 6 have been identified as doubtful.
    [Show full text]
  • Checklist of the Marine Fishes from Metropolitan France
    Checklist of the marine fishes from metropolitan France by Philippe BÉAREZ* (1, 8), Patrice PRUVOST (2), Éric FEUNTEUN (2, 3, 8), Samuel IGLÉSIAS (2, 4, 8), Patrice FRANCOUR (5), Romain CAUSSE (2, 8), Jeanne DE MAZIERES (6), Sandrine TERCERIE (6) & Nicolas BAILLY (7, 8) Abstract. – A list of the marine fish species occurring in the French EEZ was assembled from more than 200 references. No updated list has been published since the 19th century, although incomplete versions were avail- able in several biodiversity information systems. The list contains 729 species distributed in 185 families. It is a preliminary step for the Atlas of Marine Fishes of France that will be further elaborated within the INPN (the National Inventory of the Natural Heritage: https://inpn.mnhn.fr). Résumé. – Liste des poissons marins de France métropolitaine. Une liste des poissons marins se trouvant dans la Zone Économique Exclusive de France a été constituée à partir de plus de 200 références. Cette liste n’avait pas été mise à jour formellement depuis la fin du 19e siècle, © SFI bien que des versions incomplètes existent dans plusieurs systèmes d’information sur la biodiversité. La liste Received: 4 Jul. 2017 Accepted: 21 Nov. 2017 contient 729 espèces réparties dans 185 familles. C’est une étape préliminaire pour l’Atlas des Poissons marins Editor: G. Duhamel de France qui sera élaboré dans le cadre de l’INPN (Inventaire National du Patrimoine Naturel : https://inpn. mnhn.fr). Key words Marine fishes No recent faunistic work cov- (e.g. Quéro et al., 2003; Louisy, 2015), in which the entire Northeast Atlantic ers the fish species present only in Europe is considered (Atlantic only for the former).
    [Show full text]
  • First Record of Pagellus Bellottii (Teleostei: Sparidae) in the Bay of Biscay, France Samuel P
    Iglésias and Lorance Marine Biodiversity Records (2016) 9:16 DOI 10.1186/s41200-016-0007-8 MARINE RECORD Open Access First record of Pagellus bellottii (Teleostei: Sparidae) in the Bay of Biscay, France Samuel P. Iglésias1* and Pascal Lorance2 Abstract The red pandora, Pagellus bellottii, is a tropical and subtropical demersal porgy (Sparidae) distributed in the eastern Atlantic, mostly along African coast. Several recent records in the Gulf of Cádiz suggests a northward migration of the species. Two specimens of the red pandora were caught in the southeast Bay of Biscay during the 2014 French fishery survey programme. They represent the first records of the species for the Bay of Biscay and for French waters. In Europe the species has been previously recorded only in the Gulf of Cádiz in the Atlantic and in Spanish Mediterranean waters. The hypothesis that global climate change is a factor for this almost 7° northward species range extension, commonly distributed in the tropical and subtropical eastern Atlantic along the African coast, is analysed using temperature data from the World Ocean Atlas 2013. The northern extension of the distribution range of Pagellus bellottii most probably is a consequence of the warming waters of the Bay of Biscay over the past decades. Keywords: Red pandora, Porgies, Range extension, Immigrant, Tropicalisation, Northeast Atlantic Background com. pers.). Some specimens were also recorded in Span- The red pandora, Pagellus bellottii Steindachner, 1882, is ish Mediterranean waters, in the Bay of Almería about 36° a tropical and subtropical demersal Sparidae (Porgies) 47′ N, 2°25′ W (Lucena, et al. 1982), the northernmost re- that lives over hard or sandy bottoms in coastal marine cords for the Mediterranean waters.
    [Show full text]
  • Recovery Trends of Commercial Fish: the Case of an Underperforming Mediterranean Marine Protected Area
    RESEARCH ARTICLE Recovery Trends of Commercial Fish: The Case of an Underperforming Mediterranean Marine Protected Area Stefano Marra1,2*, Stefania Coppa1, Andrea Camedda1, Carlotta Mazzoldi3, Francesco Wrachien4, Giorgio Massaro4, G. Andrea de Lucia1 1 Institute for Coastal Marine Environment-National Research Council (IAMC-CNR), Oristano, Italy, 2 Department of Ecology and Biology, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy, 3 Department of Biology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy, 4 Marine Protected Area “Penisola del Sinis-Isola di Mal di Ventre”, Cabras, Italy * [email protected] Abstract Temporal trends in the recovery of exploited species in marine protected areas (MPAs) are useful for a proper assessment of the efficacy of protection measures. The effects of protec- OPEN ACCESS tion on the fish assemblages of the sublittoral rocky reefs in the “Penisola del Sinis-Isola di Citation: Marra S, Coppa S, Camedda A, Mazzoldi Mal di Ventre” MPA (W. Sardinia, Italy) were evaluated using a multi-year series of data. C, Wrachien F, Massaro G, et al. (2016) Recovery Trends of Commercial Fish: The Case of an Four surveys, conducted 7, 10, 13 and 15 years after the area was designated as an MPA Underperforming Mediterranean Marine Protected and carried out in the period spanning June and July, were used to estimate the abundance Area. PLoS ONE 11(1): e0146391. doi:10.1371/ and biomass of commercial species. The surveys were carried out in zones with decreasing journal.pone.0146391 levels of fishing restrictions within the MPA (zones A, B, C) and in unprotected zones Editor: George Tserpes, Hellenic Centre for Marine (OUT1 and OUT2), and underwater video visual census techniques were used.
    [Show full text]