scholarly journals Abundance patterns at the invasion front: the case of Siganus luridus in Linosa (Strait of Sicily, Central Mediterranean Sea)

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernesto Azzurro ◽  
Giulio Franzitta ◽  
Marco Milazzo ◽  
Michel Bariche ◽  
Emanuela Fanelli

The dusky spinefoot (Siganus luridus) has spread through much of the eastern Mediterranean since its introduction in 1920. In the present study, we monitored the abundance of this invader around the island of Linosa (Strait of Sicily), where the species was first recorded in 2003. Data were periodically collected along two temporal windows, 2005–06 and 2012–15, by both underwater visual census and surface snorkelling. Local ecological knowledge was investigated to gain complementary information. Both approaches highlighted significant proliferation of this tropical invader, with an average abundance of 0.36 individuals per 250m2 across the 0–30-m depth range. Dense aggregations of more than 100 adult individuals were observed in September 2015, and a coherent spatial structure at the small scale (<1km) was demonstrated. Considering the biogeographical relevance of this population, located at the western edge of its exotic distribution, these findings can be taken as a valuable case study for understanding invasion processes in the marine environment.

Author(s):  
Antoine O. H. C. Leduc ◽  
Fábio H. D. De Carvalho ◽  
Nigel E. Hussey ◽  
José Amorim Reis-Filho ◽  
Guilherme O. Longo ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raouia Ghanem ◽  
Emna Soufi Kechaou ◽  
Jamila Ben Souissi ◽  
Joaquim Garrabou

Gorgonian species play an important ecological role in the structure and function of marine communities. Human activities are negatively affecting the conservation status of gorgonian populations in the Mediterranean. Acquiring knowledge of gorgonian distribution is therefore a key step required to promote efficient management and conservation actions. However, information on the distribution of gorgonian species is lacking in many Mediterranean areas. This study aimed to provide an overview of the geographic and bathymetric distributions of gorgonians in the coastal waters of the Tunisian coast (1136 km). The sampling design encompassed three sectors, 27 localities and 87 sites. Information was collected from scuba diving (26 sites) and local ecological knowledge surveys of fishermen and divers (132 interviews), as well as from a literature review. Overall, the occurrence of eight gorgonians was confirmed at 54 out of the 87 sites surveyed in Tunisian coastal waters (7-120 m depth). The species that were found were Eunicella singularis, Eunicella cavolini, Paramuricea clavata, Paramuricea macrospina, Leptogorgia sarmentosa, Eunicella verrucosa, Corallium rubrum and Ellisella paraplexauroides. The highest gorgonian species richness and abundance was recorded in northern, followed by eastern Tunisian waters. In the southern areas only one species was recorded. This pattern was related to the rocky substrate that characterizes the northern and eastern coasts of Tunisia. This study is the first to report the occurrence of E. singularis, E. cavolini, E. verrucosa and Leptogorgia sarmentosa in northern and eastern Tunisian waters. The results are discussed in the hope of guiding future conservation and management actions for gorgonian assemblages in Tunisia.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 2812-2817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferdinal Asmin ◽  
Dudung Darusman ◽  
Iin Ichwandi ◽  
Didik Suharjito

2022 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel J. Zetina-Rejón ◽  
Gladis A. López-Ibarra ◽  
Lorena Rocha-Tejeda ◽  
Alesa Flores-Guzmán ◽  
Inés López-Ercilla ◽  
...  

The constant demand for seafood products and the undeniable effects of fishing on marine ecosystems make it urgent to implement an ecosystem approach, even in data-poor scenarios such as small-scale fisheries. Understanding the impacts of fishing is essential for promoting management strategies that prevent irreversible damage to marine ecosystems. Thus, ecosystem quantitative science-based models have been frequently used to evaluate the effects of fishing, although fishers’ local ecological knowledge (LEK) can aid the implementation of qualitative models, particularly in data-poor conditions. Here, we present a framework for simulating and assessing the effects of fishing following two strategies: (1) for both types of models, we simulated species removal scenarios, and (2) for quantitative science-based models, we fitted time series to dynamically assessed impacts. The impacts were analyzed through ecological indicators commonly used for quantitative models, and because these indicators cannot be easily estimated for qualitative models, we propose the use of topological indicators in both types of models. The approach was applied to three case studies of small-scale finfish fisheries in northwestern Mexico. We found that the ecosystem response to species removal was different in each case study and that the target species can play an important role in ecosystems, but their removal does not generate abrupt changes in the ecosystem structure. The quantitative science-based models were able to reproduce the historical catch trends, which allowed us to reveal that changes in ecosystems are indeed influenced by fishing effort but also by underlying primary productivity. Furthermore, topological and ecological indicators showed similar trends in the quantitative models, which suggests that the former could be useful when data-poor conditions allow only qualitative models. This result confirms the relevance of the participation of fishers in generating qualitative models and their decisive role in the discussion of co-management strategies and risk scenarios in a better-informed manner.


Human Ecology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rommel David Moo-Aldana ◽  
Miguel Angel Munguía-Rosas ◽  
Laura Patricia Serralta ◽  
María Teresa Castillo-Burguete ◽  
Rocío Vega-Frutis ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 640-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth S. Barron ◽  
Chris Sthultz ◽  
Dale Hurley ◽  
Anne Pringle

Local ecological knowledge (LEK) is increasingly used to provide insights into ecosystem dynamics and to promote stakeholder inclusion. However, research on how to incorporate LEK into ecosystem management rarely discusses taxonomy and nomenclature despite the fact that processes of naming are deeply implicated in what types of knowledge are validated and used. Too often, local names are vetted against and then subsumed under ‘true’ scientific names, producing an oversimplified understanding of local names and perpetuating stereotypes about communities that use them. Ongoing revisions in mycological taxonomy and widespread interest in wild edible fungi make mushrooms an excellent case study for addressing nomenclature as an important part of multi-stakeholder research. We use morel mushrooms collected from the Mid-Atlantic United States to demonstrate a methodological approach to nomenclature – performative method – that focuses both on maintaining culturally meaningful aspects of local names and on recognizing culture and meaning behind scientific names. While recognizing the utility of the Linnaean nomenclatural system, we argue that acknowledging the contextual meanings of names avoids the unequal power relations inherent in integrating local knowledge into scientific discourse, and instead reframes knowledge production around shared interests in environmental questions and challenges.


Author(s):  
Ferdinal Asmin ◽  
Dudung Darusman ◽  
Iin Ichwandi ◽  
Didik Suharjito

Local communities are frequently judged as the main driver of forest degradation and deforestation because of the weak recognition to local ecological knowledge (LEK) or traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). We assessed that it is important to elaborate the attributes of LEK and TEK as a way to describe why and how the local community clears the forest, as well as its relation to local practices, named parak and rimbo. Our research uses case study method to describe the local practices in Simancuang community, Alam Pauh Duo Village, South Solok District, West Sumatra Province. We conducted unstructured interviews, observations, and documents selection which were analyzed through categorization and codification as well as complemented with history analysis, spatial analysis, and related document analysis. The results showed that Simancuang community knowledge can describe the attributes of LEK and TEK as a unified whole of local knowledge for sustaining their livelihoods. Therefore, the forest clearing by Simancuang people is one of the livelihoods strategies, but they were not the main driver of forest degradation and deforestation in South Solok District.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernesto Azzurro ◽  
Valerio Sbragaglia ◽  
Jacopo Cerri ◽  
Michel Bariche ◽  
Luca Bolognini ◽  
...  

A major problem worldwide is the rapid change in species abundance and distribution, which is rapidly restructuring the biological communities of many ecosystems under changing climates. Tracking these transformations in the marine environment is crucial but our understanding is often hampered by the absence of historical data and by the practical challenge of survey large geographical areas. Here we focus on the Mediterranean Sea, a region which is warming faster than the rest of the global ocean, tracing back the spatio-temporal dynamic of species, which are emerging the most in terms of increasing abundances and expanding distributions. To this aim, we accessed the Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) of small-scale and recreational fishers reconstructing the dynamics of fish perceived as ‘new’ or increasing in different fishing area. Over 500 fishers across 95 locations and 9 different countries were interviewed and semi-quantitative information on yearly changes in species abundance was collected. Overall, 75 species were mentioned by the respondents, being the most frequent citations related to warm-adapted species of both, native and exotic origin. Respondents belonging to the same biogeographic sectors described coherent spatio-temporal dynamics, and gradients along latitudinal and longitudinal axes were revealed. This information provides a more complete understanding of recent bio-geographical changes in the Mediterranean Sea and it also demonstrates that adequately structured LEK methodology might be applied successfully beyond the local scale, across national borders and jurisdictions. Acknowledging this potential through macro-regional coordination, could pave the ground for future large-scale aggregations of individual observations, increasing our potential for integrated monitoring and conservation planning at the regional or even global level.


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