Social equity and marine protected areas: Perceptions of small-scale fishermen in the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract Global conservation policy requires the scaling up of effectively and equitably managed networks of marine protected areas (MPAs). While progress has been made on spatial coverage, the fundamental aspects of effectiveness and equity are falling short. Past research has focused on management effectiveness in MPAs, but less attention has been given to social equity though it is an ethical imperative and instrumental to conservation. This study assessed the perceptions of SSF regarding recognitional, procedural and distributional dimensions of social equity using quantitative surveys in 11 MPAs across 6 countries on the Mediterranean Sea. To do so, we developed individual indicators f…

Analisi preliminare delle risposte della comunità intertidale a variazioni di pCO2 e temperatura

La principale conseguenza delle emissioni atmosferiche di CO2 di origine antropica è l’incremento dell’effetto serra, che sta conducendo al fenomeno del riscaldamento globale. Una parte di queste emissioni viene sequestrata dagli oceani causando profondi cambiamenti nella chimica dei carbonati, un processo noto come acidificazione degli oceani. La temperatura ed il pH possono interagire fra loro inducendo cambiamenti nelle risposte delle comunità marine. Questo studio si propone di valutare sperimentalmente la risposta del biofilm a cambiamenti indotti di temperatura e pCO2 lungo un gradiente di chimica dei carbonati nell’Isola di Vulcano (Isole Eolie).

Global and local stressors on community succession in the Mediterranean intertidal zone

Warming and acidification effects on biofilm/grazer interaction in an early-stage rocky intertidal community

Anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are increasing greenhouse effects and changing seawater carbonate chemistry, leading to ocean warming and acidification. Increasing temperature and decreasing seawater pH can potentially interact to cause changes in species interactions and community shifts. To understand how ocean warming and acidification may affect the early stages of an intertidal community in the Mediterranean, we set up an in situ experiment and assessed potential changes in grazer density andbiofilm composition by manipulating temperature on bare rock plots (10x10cm)in two locations along a natural coastal CO2 gradient (Low pH: 7.8 pH, and Ambient:8.1 pH) off Vulcano Islan…