The operational sex ratio of the sea urchinParacentrotus lividuspopulations: the case of the Mediterranean marine protected area of Ustica Island (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy)

Biological invasions are considered one of the main threats for biodiversity. In the last decades, more than 60 macroalgae have been introduced in the Mediterranean Sea, causing serious problems in coastal areas. Nevertheless, the impacts of alien macroalgae in deep subtidal systems have been poorly studied, especially in the coralligenous habitats of the eastern coast of Sicily (Italy). Therefore, within the framework of the programme “Progetto Operativo di Monitoraggio (P.O.M.)” of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the aim of the present study was to gain knowledge on the alien macroalgae present in coralligenous habitats of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Isole Ciclopi, along the Ionian coast of Sicily. By Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) videos and destructive samples analysed in the laboratory, five alien species were identified: Caulerpa cylindracea, Antithamnion amphigeneum, Asparagopsis armata, Bonnemaisonia hamifera, and Lophocladia lallemandii. Since A. amphigeneum was previously reported only in the western Mediterranean and Adriatic Sea, the present report represents the first record of this species in the eastern Mediterranean. The ROV surveys showed that the alien species do not have a high coverage and do not appear to be invasive in the coralligenous area of the MPA. Since ocean temperatures are predicted to increase as climate change continues and alien species are favoured by warming of the Mediterranean Sea, the risk of biotic homogenisation caused by the spread of alien species is realistic. Therefore, further studies are needed to assess the incidence and invasiveness of alien species in phytobenthic assemblages of coralligenous in the MPA.

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Summer aggregation of common eagle ray, Myliobatis aquila (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatidae), in the Marine Protected Area of the Egadi Islands (southwestern Tyrrhenian Sea)

Biogeographia – The Journal of Integrative Biogeography ◽

10.21426/b636051230 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 36 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Desiree Grancagnolo ◽

Marco Arculeo

Keyword(s):

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Tyrrhenian Sea

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Marine protected area design patterns in the Mediterranean Sea: Implications for conservation

Marine Pollution Bulletin ◽

10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.06.044 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 110 (1) ◽

pp. 335-342 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

D. Rodríguez-Rodríguez ◽

J. Rodríguez ◽

J.M. Blanco ◽

D. Abdul Malak

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Protected Area ◽

Design Patterns ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

The Mediterranean

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Sublittoral soft bottom assemblages within a Marine Protected Area of the northern Alboran Sea

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315414002082 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 95 (5) ◽

pp. 871-884 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Pablo Marina ◽

José L. Rueda ◽

Javier Urra ◽

Carmen Salas ◽

Serge Gofas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Geographic Location ◽

Fine Sand ◽

Alboran Sea ◽

Faunal Assemblages ◽

Soft Bottoms ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Alborán Sea

The composition and structure of sublittoral faunal assemblages inhabiting soft bottoms (15–72 m depth) within the Marine Protected Area ‘Acantilados y Fondos Marinos de Calahonda-Castell de Ferro’ in southern Spain (North Alboran Sea, Mediterranean) have been studied in relation to sediment and water column variables. Three assemblages were identified and corresponded to mixed bottom, unstable bottom and coastal detritic bottom assemblages, based on Pérès & Picard's (1964) benthic classification. A total of 14,318 individuals were collected and 218 species identified, molluscs being the best represented group (141 species). Species richness displayed significant differences with depth and transect, with the highest values observed in the medium to very fine sand and muddy bottoms with bioclasts located at the shallowest sampling stations. The presence of some rare and poorly known invertebrates that are scarce in other areas of the Mediterranean Sea is remarkable, such as the crustacean decapods Bythocaris cosmetops and Pagurus mbizi, Atlantic species with no records in the Mediterranean Sea, and the bathyal molluscs Poromya granulata and Alvania testae, collected at shallow depths. The spatial distribution of faunal assemblages was mainly related to depth and percentage of gravel and clay according to the canonical correspondence analysis. The geographic location of the area, the heterogeneity of soft bottoms and the presence of upwellings in the area may favour the high biodiversity found in the studied soft bottoms. This study increases the scarce knowledge of the circalittoral fauna of sedimentary habitats of the Alboran Sea, providing a baseline for the management of this interesting SCI and for the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

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The Case of a Rudderfish Highlights the Role of Natural History Museums as Sentinels of Bio-invasions

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4254.3.8 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4254 (3) ◽

pp. 382 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

SABRINA LO BRUTTO

Keyword(s):

Natural History ◽

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Natural History Museums ◽

History Museums ◽

Western Sicily ◽

Kyphosus Vaigiensis ◽

The Mediterranean

In September 2013 fishermen captured a rudderfish—Kyphosus vaigiensis—off Favignana Island, one of the islands of the Egadi Islands Marine Protected Area (MPA) in western Sicily (Mannino et al., 2015). This species is rarely sampled in the Mediterranean Sea.

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Marine protected area governance: Prospects for co-management in the European Mediterranean

Advances in Oceanography and Limnology ◽

10.4081/aiol.2013.5346 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 241 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Katie Hogg ◽

Pedro Noguera-Méndez ◽

María Semitiel-García ◽

María Giménez-Casalduero

Keyword(s):

Social Capital ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Marine Protected Areas ◽

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Participatory Approach ◽

Top Down ◽

Management Processes ◽

The Mediterranean

Marine protected areas (MPAs) raise serious challenges in terms of their governance. By applying a participatory approach co-management can help in overcoming many of the deficiencies of top-down management processes. Yet, despite benefits of co-management, it is still found to be the exception in the Mediterranean. This paper provides a review of co-management and the prospects for decentralisation in the European Mediterranean. The role of social capital (SC) in co-management is discussed and a framework for SC and participation to attain effective co-management is proposed.

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Effects of global warming on Mediterranean coral forests

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-00162-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Giovanni Chimienti ◽

Diana De Padova ◽

Maria Adamo ◽

Michele Mossa ◽

Antonella Bottalico ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Global Warming ◽

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Warming Trend ◽

Tyrrhenian Sea ◽

Central Mediterranean ◽

Paramuricea Clavata ◽

Basin Scale ◽

Tropical Areas

AbstractThe effects of global warming have been addressed on coral reefs in tropical areas, while it is still unclear how coral forests are reacting, particularly at temperate latitudes. Here we show how mesophotic coral forests are affected by global warming in the Mediterranean Sea. We highlight how the current warming trend is causing the lowering of the thermocline and it is enhancing mucilaginous blooms. These stressors are facilitating a massive macroalgal epibiosis on living corals, here reported for the first time from different areas in the Western and Central Mediterranean Sea. We provide a focus of this phenomenon at Tremiti Islands Marine Protected Area (Adriatic Sea), were the density of the endemic red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata decreased of up to 47% in 5 years, while up to the 96% of the living corals showed signs of stress and macroalgal epibiosis. Only populations deeper than 60 m depth were not touched by this emerging phenomenon. Spot observations performed at Tuscan Archipelago and Tavolara Marine Protected Area (Tyrrhenian Sea) suggest that this this combination of stressors is likely widespread at basin scale.

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Presence of Remora remora on Mobula birostris in Revillagigedo National Park, Mexico

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf19089 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 71 (3) ◽

pp. 414

Author(s):

E. E. Becerril-García ◽

M. A. Gutiérrez-Ortiz ◽

P. A. Preciado-González ◽

A. Ayala-Bocos

Keyword(s):

Sex Ratio ◽

Protected Area ◽

National Park ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Eastern Pacific ◽

Tropical Eastern Pacific ◽

Area Data ◽

Photographic Records

The ecology of mantas and echeneids in the Tropical Eastern Pacific is poorly understood. In this study we describe the frequency of interactions between the vulnerable Mobula birostris and its symbiont Remora remora based on observations of scientists and tourists in a marine protected area. Data were obtained by analysing underwater photographs of observed mantas with remoras over 139 diving days at sea during the period 2016–17. In all, there were 271 photographic records of this symbiosis, corresponding to 207 mantas, with a mean (±s.d.) of 1.6±0.6 remoras per manta. This study is the first to provide information regarding the sex ratio, length, morphotype frequency and echeneids per manta of M. birostris in the Tropical Eastern Pacific.

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SfM-Based Method to Assess Gorgonian Forests (Paramuricea clavata (Cnidaria, Octocorallia))

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs10071154 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 1154 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Marco Palma ◽

Monica Casado ◽

Ubaldo Pantaleo ◽

Gaia Pavoni ◽

Daniela Pica ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Population Structure ◽

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Marine Habitats ◽

Paramuricea Clavata ◽

Maximal Height ◽

Maximal Width ◽

The Mediterranean

Animal forests promote marine habitats morphological complexity and functioning. The red gorgonian, Paramuricea clavata, is a key structuring species of the Mediterranean coralligenous habitat and an indicator species of climate effects on habitat functioning. P. clavata metrics such as population structure, morphology and biomass inform on the overall health of coralligenous habitats, but the estimation of these metrics is time and cost consuming, and often requires destructive sampling. As a consequence, the implementation of long-term and wide-area monitoring programmes is limited. This study proposes a novel and transferable Structure from Motion (SfM) based method for the estimation of gorgonian population structure (i.e., maximal height, density, abundance), morphometries (i.e., maximal width, fan surface) and biomass (i.e., coenenchymal Dry Weight, Ash Free Dried Weight). The method includes the estimation of a novel metric (3D canopy surface) describing the gorgonian forest as a mosaic of planes generated by fitting multiple 5 cm × 5 cm facets to a SfM generated point cloud. The performance of the method is assessed for two different cameras (GoPro Hero4 and Sony NEX7). Results showed that for highly dense populations (17 colonies/m2), the SfM-method had lower accuracies in estimating the gorgonians density for both cameras (60% to 89%) than for medium to low density populations (14 and 7 colonies/m2) (71% to 100%). Results for the validation of the method showed that the correlation between ground truth and SfM estimates for maximal height, maximal width and fan surface were between R2 = 0.63 and R2 = 0.9, and R2 = 0.99 for coenenchymal surface estimation. The methodological approach was used to estimate the biomass of the gorgonian population within the study area and across the coralligenous habitat between −25 to −40 m depth in the Portofino Marine Protected Area. For that purpose, the coenenchymal surface of sampled colonies was obtained and used for the calculations. Results showed biomass values of dry weight and ash free dry weight of 220 g and 32 g for the studied area and to 365 kg and 55 Kg for the coralligenous habitat in the Marine Protected Area. This study highlighted the feasibility of the methodology for the quantification of P. clavata metrics as well as the potential of the SfM-method to improve current predictions of the status of the coralligenous habitat in the Mediterranean sea and overall management of threatened ecosystems.

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