0000000000696973

AUTHOR

Maria Grazia Pennino

Current and Future Influence of Environmental Factors on Small Pelagic Fish Distributions in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea

Managing for the Future: Understanding the Relative Roles of Climate and Fishing on Structure and Dynamics of Marine Ecosystems.-- 20 pages, 15 figures, supplementary material https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00622/full#supplementary-material

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Abundance and Distribution Patterns of Thunnus albacares in Isla del Coco National Park through Predictive Habitat Suitability Models

Information on the distribution and habitat preferences of ecologically and commercially important species is essential for their management and protection. This is especially important as climate change, pollution, and overfishing change the structure and functioning of pelagic ecosystems. In this study, we used Bayesian hierarchical spatial-temporal models to map the Essential Fish Habitats of the Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) in the waters around Isla del Coco National Park, Pacific Costa Rica, based on independent underwater observations from 1993 to 2013. We assessed if observed changes in the distribution and abundance of this species are related with habitat characteristics, fis…

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Modelagem espacial bayesiana para riqueza de elasmobrânquios do extremo sul do Brasil

Compreender a distribuição espacial de espécies vulneráveis a exploração pesqueira pode subsidiar ações de manejo e conservação. O objetivo deste estudo foi mapear possíveis habitats essenciais para riqueza de elasmobrânquios no sul do Brasil. Os dados são oriundos de cruzeiro científico realizado em fevereiro de 2005 entre o arroio Chuí (33°45'S) e o Cabo de Santa Marta Grande (28°36'S). As informações disponíveis são posições georeferenciadas de 64 estações oceanográficas, a quantificação das capturas de elasmobrânquios e teleósteos com pesca de arrasto de fundo e o registro dos parâmetros ambientais de profundidade, temperatura e salinidade. Os dados foram ajustados a um Modelo Linear Ge…

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Evidence for spatiotemporal shift in demersal fishery management priority areas in the western Mediterranean

14 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables, 1 appendix

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Modeling the distribution of thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) in the southern Grand Banks (Newfoundland, Canada)

Globally, commercial fisheries have had a strong impact on elasmobranch populations directly through high catch rates and indirectly through bycatch. Consequently, the abundance of many species is declining to the extent that some are considered under threat of extinction. Regionally, this negative trend is also evident in the international waters of the southern Grand Banks (off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada), where the occurrence of the thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) has declined by nearly 70% in recent decades. This study used Bayesian species distribution models to investigate the habitat preference and biomass trends of the thorny skate during a 14-year period (2003–2017), linki…

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Bayesian analysis improves experimental studies about temporal patterning of aggression in fish.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-12-11T17:15:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2017-12-01 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) This study aims to describe a Bayesian Hierarchical Linear Model (HLM) approach for longitudinal designs in fish's experimental aggressive behavior studies as an alternative to classical methods In particular, we discuss the advantages of Bayesian analysis in dealing with combined variables, non-statistically significant results and required sample size using an experiment of angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare) species as case study. Groups of 3 individuals were subjected to daily observations recorded for 10 min durin…

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The use of a spatial model of economic efficiency to predict the most likely outcomes under different fishing strategy scenarios

The current European Union has been progressively implementing since January 2014 a discard ban which includes the obligation to land unwanted catch for certain regulated species and sizes. Although a full enforcement of the landing obligation has a direct impact on discard reduction through more responsible and selective fishing, fishers argue that it will prompt both a decrease in incomes and an increase in working time onboard. Thus, the measure is in a hold in south-western waters due to the difficulties to implement the ban in mixed fisheries This paper analyzes some possible scenarios which fishers could face under the landing obligation. It is shown the construction of a spatial bio-…

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Habitat modeling for cetacean management: Spatial distribution in the southern Pelagos Sanctuary (Mediterranean Sea)

International audience; Effective management and conservation of wild populations requires knowledge of their habitats, especially by mean of quantitative analyses of their spatial distributions. The Pelagos Sanctuary is a dedicated marine protected area for Mediterranean marine mammals covering an area of 90,000km2 in the north-western Mediterranean Sea between Italy, France and the Principate of Monaco. In the south of the Sanctuary, i.e. along the Sardinian coast, a range of diverse human activities (cities, industry, fishery, tourism) exerts several current ad potential threats to cetacean populations. In addition, marine mammals are recognized by the EU Marine Strategy Framework Direct…

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Ingestion of microplastics and occurrence of parasite association in Mediterranean anchovy and sardine

10 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, supplementary data https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111399

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Bayesian spatio-temporal approach to identifying fish nurseries by validating persistence areas

Spatial and temporal closures of fish nursery areas to fishing have recently been recognized as useful tools for efficient fisheries management, as they preserve the reproductive potential of populations and increase the recruitment of target species. In order to identify and locate potential nursery areas for spatio-temporal closures, a solid understanding of species− environment relationships is needed, as well as spatial identification of fish nurseries through the application of robust analyses. One way to achieve knowledge of fish nurseries is to analyse the persistence of recruitment hotspots. In this study, we propose the comparison of different spatiotemporal model structures to ass…

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On the Role of Perception: Understanding Stakeholders’ Collaboration in Natural Resources Management through the Evolutionary Theory of Innovation

Natural resources management deals with highly complex socioecological systems. This complexity raises a conundrum, since wide-ranging knowledge from different sources and types is needed, but at the same time none of these types of knowledge is able by itself to provide the basis for a viable productive system, and mismatches between the two of them are common. Therefore, a growing body of literature has examined the integration of different types of knowledge in fisheries management. In this paper, we aim to contribute to this ongoing debate by integrating the evolutionary theory of innovation—and specifically the concept of proximity—and the theory of perception. We set up a theoretical …

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Shift in Tuna Catches due to Ocean Warming.

Ocean warming is already affecting global fisheries with an increasing dominance of catches of warmer water species at higher latitudes and lower catches of tropical and subtropical species in the tropics. Tuna distributions are highly conditioned by sea temperature, for this reason and their worldwide distribution, their populations may be a good indicator of the effect of climate change on global fisheries. This study shows the shift of tuna catches in subtropical latitudes on a global scale. From 1965 to 2011, the percentage of tropical tuna in longliner catches exhibited a significantly increasing trend in a study area that included subtropical regions of the Atlantic and western Pacifi…

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Discard ban: A simulation-based approach combining hierarchical Bayesian and food web spatial models

12 pages, 6 figures, 6 tables, 2 appendixes, supplementary data https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103703

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Modelling spatially sampled proportion processes​​

Many ecological processes are measured as proportions and are spatially sampled. In all these cases the standard procedure has long been the transformation of proportional data with the arcsine square root or logit transformation, without considering the spatial correlation in any way. This paper presents a robust regression model to analyse this kind of data using a beta regression and including a spatially correlated term within the Bayesian framework. As a practical example, we apply the proposed approach to a spatio-temporally sampled fishery discard dataset.

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Bayesian longitudinal models for exploring European sardine fishing in the Mediterranean Sea

In the Mediterranean Sea, catches are dominated by small pelagic fish, representing nearly the 49\% of the total harvest. Among them, the European sardine (Sardina pilchardus) is one of the most commercially important species showing high over-exploitation rates in recent last years. In this study we analysed the European sardine landings in the Mediterranean Sea from 1970 to 2014. We made use of Bayesian longitudinal linear mixed models in order to assess differences in the temporal evolution of fishing between and within countries. Furthermore, we modelled the subsequent joint evolution of artisanal and industrial fisheries. Overall results confirmed that Mediterranean fishery time series…

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A Marine Spatial Planning Approach to Minimize Discards: Challenges and Opportunities of the Landing Obligation in European Waters

A sensible approach to minimize discards is to avoid areas or seasons where unwanted catch may be present. The implementation of a Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) approach to discard management requires the understanding of marine biological processes, as well as fishing conditions at a defined spatial scale. Mathematical models that analyze the spatio-temporal conditions of selected fishing areas allow the definition of different scenarios where discards are minimized by avoiding fishing for unwanted species and/or illegal specimens. Here we show some examples of how particular spatial models can be used for advice on MSP for discards. We introduce a geoserver GIS platform developed to produ…

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Implementing ecosystem approach to fishery management: advances and new tools

Desde la antigüedad, la pesca ha sido una fuente importante de alimentos para la humanidad, así como fuente de empleo y beneficios económicos para quienes se dedican a esta actividad. Sin embargo, con el aumento de los conocimientos científicos y la evolución dinámica de la pesca se hizo evidente de que los recursos acuáticos, aunque renovables, no eran infinitos y era necesario gestionar adecuadamente su contribución al bienestar nutricional, económico y el bienestar social de la población mundial para un crecimiento y desarrollo sostenible. En los últimos años, la pesca mundial se ha convertido en un sector dinámico y de desarrollo de la industria alimentaria. Los estados costeros han pro…

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Seasonality of spatial patterns of abundance, biomass and biodiversity in a demersal community of the NW Mediterranean Sea

14 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables

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Integrating spatial management measures into fisheries: The Lepidorhombus spp. case study

Most fisheries management systems rely on a set of regulatory measures to achieve desired objectives. Controls on catch and effort are usually supplemented with gear restrictions, minimum landing sizes, and in the framework of the new common fisheries policy, limitation of discards and by-catch. However, the increasing use of spatial management measures such as conservation areas or spatial and temporal area closures faces new challenges for fishery managers. Here we present an integrated spatial framework to identify areas in which undersized commercial species are more abundant. Once these areas are identified they could be avoided by fishers, minimizing the fishing impact over the immatu…

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Predictive habitat suitability models to aid the conservation of elasmobranchs in Isla del Coco National Park (Costa Rica)

Abstract Worldwide there is increasing concern for elasmobranch species given that their biological and ecological characteristics make them highly vulnerable to fishing pressure. The disappearance of these species could affect the structure and function of marine ecosystems, which would induce changes in trophic interactions at the community level. For effective conservation and management of elasmobranchs detailed knowledge of their habitat preferences is essential. Yet, there is a poor understanding of their spatial ecology. Isla del Coco National Park is an oceanic island in Pacific Costa Rica and renowned for being a sanctuary for migratory pelagic species, such as elasmobranchs and ot…

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The Bias of combining variables on fish's aggressive behavior studies.

Made available in DSpace on 2019-10-06T16:27:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2019-07-01 Quantifying animal aggressive behavior by behavioral units, either displays or attacks, is a common practice in animal behavior studies. However, this practice can generate a bias in data analysis, especially when the variables have different temporal patterns. This study aims to use Bayesian Hierarchical Linear Models (B-HLMs) to analyze the feasibility of pooling the aggressive behavior variables of four cichlids species. Additionally, this paper discusses the feasibility of combining variables by examining the usage of different sample sizes and family distributions to aggressive …

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Spatio-Temporal Assessment of the European Hake (Merluccius merluccius) Recruits in the Northern Iberian Peninsula

14 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables.-- This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY)

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Illegal fishing in Isla del Coco National Park: Spatial-temporal distribution and the economic trade-offs

Abstract The Isla del Coco National Park, located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, is rich in biodiversity and has a high concentration of pelagic species. This high marine biodiversity makes the Isla del Coco National Park (PNIC) a very attractive place for illegal fishers. We analyzed a dataset covering 8 years (2003–2010) of patrol records from PNIC with the aim of determining, a) the spatial-temporal distribution of illegal fishing, b) other areas that could be prone to illegal fishing but are currently undetected, c) the most profitable areas for this activity and d) the economic trade-offs of this illegal activity in relation to potential gains and the costs. Residuals Autocovariat…

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Assessing the spatiotemporal persistence of fish distributions: a case study on two red mullet species (Mullus surmuletus and M. barbatus) in the western Mediterranean

Understanding the spatiotemporal persistence of fish distributions is key to defining fish hotspots and effective fisheries-restricted areas (FRAs). Hierarchical Bayesian spatiotemporal models provide an excellent framework to understand these distributions, as they can accommodate different spatiotemporal behaviour in the data, primarily due to their flexibility. The aim of this research was to characterize the fundamental behavioural patterns of fish as persistent, opportunistic or progressive by comparing different spatiotemporal model structures in order to provide better information for marine spatial planning. To illustrate this method, the spatiotemporal distributions of 2 sympatric …

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Small-scale shrimp fisheries bycatch: a multi-criteria approach for data-poor situations

Abstract Bycatch and discards from small-scale fisheries (SSF) are usually ignored when compared with industrial fisheries, not only by policy-makers, but also by scientists. Therefore, SSF social, economic and ecological impacts are poorly known and especially in the context of incidental catches, regardless of whether they become bycatch or discards. Such neglect is worrisome due to the role that SSF play in food security and poverty alleviation, particularly in coastal and rural communities in developing countries. In this study, a combination of sampling data and the fishers' behavior (specifically the basis of their decision on where to fish) were used. Bayesian models were applied to …

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Social-ecological trends: managing the vulnerability of coastal fishing communities

The loss of biodiversity, including the collapse of fish stocks, affects the vulnerability of social-ecological systems (SESs) and threatens local livelihoods. Incorporating community-centered indicators and SES drivers and exposures of change into coastal management can help anticipate and mitigate human and/or coastal vulnerability. We have proposed a new index to measure the social-ecological vulnerability of coastal fishing communities (Index of Coastal Vulnerability [ICV]) based on species, ecosystem, and social indicators. The ICV varies from 0 (no vulnerability) to 1 (very high vulnerability) and is composed of 3 components: species vulnerability, i.e., fish biological traits; ecosys…

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