Implementation of the MSFD to the Deep Mediterranean Sea IDEM Project Coordinator: Roberto Danovaro Deliverable 2.2. Report on the first assessment of the deep Mediterranean environmental status Leader: UNIVPM Participants: CNR, CSIC, DFMR, ENEA, TAU, UB, UM, UNIVPM SUBMISSION DATE 26th October| 2018 Deliverable 2.2 Table of Content 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 3 2. DESCRIPTOR 1: BIODIVERSITY ................................................................................................................... 5 3. DESCRIPTOR 2: NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES ............................................................................................. 37 4. DESCRIPTOR 3: POPULATIONS OF ALL COMMERCIALLY EXPLOITED FISH AND SHELLFISH ........................ 38 5. DESCRIPTOR 4: ECOSYSTEMS, INCLUDING FOOD WEBS ........................................................................... 54 6. DESCRIPTOR 5: EUTROPHICATION ........................................................................................................... 67 7. DESCRIPTOR 6: SEAFLOOR INTEGRITY ..................................................................................................... 68 8. DESCRIPTOR 7: PERMANENT ALTERATION OF HYDROGRAPHICAL CONDITIONS ..................................... 78 9. DESCRIPTOR 8 AND 9: CONCENTRATIONS OF CONTAMINANTS/CONTAMINANTS IN FISH AND OTHER SEAFOOD FOR HUMAN COMSUMPTION ..................................................................................................... 106 9.1. Contaminants in water ......................................................................................................................... 106 9.2. Contaminants in sediments ................................................................................................................... 125 9.3 Contaminants in the biota ..................................................................................................................... 141 10. DESCRIPTOR 10: MARINE LITTER ....................................................................................................... 180 11. DESCRIPTOR 11: INTRODUCTION OF ENERGY .................................................................................... 193 12. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK .................................................................................................. 194 2 www.msfd-idem.eu Deliverable 2.2 1. INTRODUCTION The main aim of the present Deliverable is to provide an overview of the state, pressures and impacts on the deep Mediterranean Sea. We here report trends in the status, levels of pressures and impacts for those deep-sea areas for which data are available. This Deliverable is the product of the work carried out within the task 2.2 and is also based on the results of previous task 2.1 and Deliverable 2.1. During the last months of the project we focused on the collection and analysis of existing datasets obtained from scientific literature, open-access repositories, public datasets and partners’ own datasets related to monitoring programs from the different Mediterranean sub-regions. To achieve one of the aim of the IDEM project, the first assessment of deep Mediterranean status, here we analysed the available datasets and reported the results of a proper meta-analysis or a semi- quantitative analysis, depending on the availability of the data. A meta-analysis refers to a process of integration of the results of many studies to arrive at evidence synthesis (Normand, 1999). Meta-analysis is essentially a systematic review; however, in addition to narrative summary that is conducted in systematic review, in meta analysis, the analysts also numerically pool the results of the studies and arrive at a summary estimate. In the case of the overall datasets, this numerical estimation cannot be performed and we carried out a systematic review, due to the constrains highlighted below. Additionally, a systematic review has been done for those MSFD Descriptors for which a sufficient amount of data is available. The previous report (Deliverable 2.1) has evidenced indeed several gaps concerning data availability for some Descriptors. Specifically, Descriptors 2 (non-indigenous species), 5 (eutrophication) and 11 (introduction of energy) presented very few available data. More in detail, the records of deep-living non-indigenous species (Descriptor 2) are reported in few papers (11) and limited to the Eastern Mediterranean and the south-eastern part of Aegean Sea. Regarding eutrophication (Descriptor 5), most of the papers do not cover the criteria defined by the MSFD. Even a lower amount of papers (5) have been published regarding the presence and the effects of noise on deep Mediterranean ecosystems and organisms and the available data are essentially provided by deep-sea cabled observatories (i.e. ANTARES in the North-western Mediterranean and KM3NET off Cape Passero in southern Sicily). Thus, for the purpose of this report we focused on D1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. As previously reported, also for these Descriptors we have a fragmented knowledge with spatial and temporal gaps and lack of long- term data. For Descriptor 1, the amount of data available varied depending on species groups and habitat types. Thus, we carried out a proper meta-analysis on mega, macro and meio-fauna inhabiting different habitats (both soft and hard bottom substrates). Regarding the Descriptor 3, most of the assessed stocks are in the Western Mediterranean Sea. In this report we analysed the trend of the first two criteria of D3, i.e., the ratio between fishing mortality and Maximum Sustainable Yield and the spawning stock biomass, in order to assess if commercially exploited stocks, inhabiting deep-sea bottoms are in a healthy state and if exploitation should be sustainable. Further, in the case of descriptor 3, regarding those species which inhabit both the shelf and the slope (e.g. red mullets, hakes etc.), it was not possible to disentangle data from shallow and deep-sea bottoms, as stock assessments considered data complessively. Marine food webs were analysed on the basis of the stable isotope signatures of the species analysed in the three different sub-basins of the deep Mediterranean, based on the datasets provided by Report 2.1 3 www.msfd-idem.eu Deliverable 2.2 and updated with recent publications/partners’ data, if any. As stable isotope analysis (SIA) is considered a promising approach in depicting food webs and data are easily comparable among basins, when a baseline of reference is taken into account, this dataset was considered the most appropriate for the meta-analysis approach. SIA may comply with one of the primary criterion (D4C1: diversity of trophic guilds) and in part with one of the secondary criteria (D4C3: size distribution of individuals across trophic guilds) established by COMM DEC 848/2017. Regarding seafloor integrity (Descriptor 6), we carried out a semi-quantitative analysis reporting the main pressures identified in the deep Mediterranean Sea, quantitative data on bottom trawling and waste disposal and their impacts on habitats and ecosystems. For Descriptor 7 we here reviewed information regarding data distribution/availability, reporting long-term variations of hydrological conditions (i.e., alterations of temperature, salinity, nutrients, Chlorophyll a and acidification level) and the impacts on habitat and ecosystems. Concerning descriptors 8 and 9, presence of contaminants was described in deep Mediterranean waters, sediments and biota. The main toxic effects were also highlighted. Finally, for marine litter (Descriptor 10) a semi-quantitative analysis was performed focusing on the four D10 criteria. 4 www.msfd-idem.eu Deliverable 2.2 2. DESCRIPTOR 1: BIODIVERSITY The deep sea is characterized by outstanding features from a geological, biological, and oceanographic perspective. The deep sea hosts focal points for fisheries and threatened ecosystems, particularly where peculiar habitats occur (such as canyons) along the continental slope. The Mediterranean Sea is estimated to contain more than 500 canyons that are characterized by peculiar features: they are indeed steeper, more closely spaced, and are amongst the most dendritic of the world (Harris and Whiteway, 2011; Würtz, 2012). In the Mediterranean Sea, the alternation of different habitats along the continental margins is responsible for a high spatial heterogeneity and complex hydrographic patterns, which result in exchange of organisms, organic matter and sediments from the shelf to the deep sea (Vetter and Dayton, 1998; Tyler et al., 2009; Vetter et al., 2010; Thomsen et al., 2017), enhancing faunal abundance and diversity (De Leo et al., 2010; Ramirez-Llodra et al., 2010). The high spatial heterogeneity and habitat complexity at both local and regional scale (De Leo et al., 2010; Huvenne et al., 2011) are factors expected to contribute to the high meio- macro- and megafaunal biodiversity (reviewed by Fernandez-Arcaya et al., 2017). In the Mediterranean Sea, the low primary productivity, limited freshwater inputs and high and nearly constant temperatures (13-14°C, below 200 m), which causes rapid degradation of particulate organic matter (POM) exported from the photic zone, have detrimental effects on the food availability for the deep-sea benthic fauna (Danovaro et al., 1999; Pusceddu et al., 2009; 2010; Luna et al., 2012). Several studies indicated a clear and strong