6533b85efe1ef96bd12bfcc5
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Assessing the spatiotemporal persistence of fish distributions: a case study on two red mullet species (Mullus surmuletus and M. barbatus) in the western Mediterranean
David ConesaIosu ParadinasIosu ParadinasMaria Grazia PenninoAntonio EstebanAntonio López-quílezJosé María BellidoL. M. Martín Lópezsubject
0106 biological sciencesMediterranean climateRed mulletMullus surmuletusSpatiotemporalAquatic Science01 natural sciencesPersistence (computer science)010104 statistics & probabilityFisheries managementSpecies distribution modellingFisheries-restricted areasCentro Oceanográfico de MurciaPesquerías0101 mathematicsEcology Evolution Behavior and SystematicsEcologybiology010604 marine biology & hydrobiologyMarine spatial planningbiology.organism_classificationMarine spatial planningEnvironmental niche modellingFisheryGeographyFish <Actinopterygii>Fisheries managementdescription
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 Mullidae species, the striped red mulletMullus surmuletusand the red mulletM. barbatus, were analysed. The occurrence of each species, its conditional-to-presence abundance and median length were analysed using Mediterranean trawl survey data from the western Mediterranean between 2000 and 2016. Results demonstrate that there are various common hotspots of both species distributed along the Iberian coast. The convenient persistent spatiotemporal distribution of these hotspots facilitates the configuration of a network of connected FRAs for red mullets in the study area.
year | journal | country | edition | language |
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2020-06-25 |