Search results for "Marine conservation"
showing 10 items of 34 documents
Genetic population structure in Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) and its relevance to fishery management
2017
Exploited marine resources can be managed more effectively when accurate information on geographic population structure is available. Genetic markers offer a powerful tool for fisheries management, because they reveal biologically sound management units. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) markers derived from restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) were developed and used to investigate the stock structure of Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides). A total of 96 SNPs were analyzed from 384 individuals and eight locations across the Atlantic. Our results suggest a subdivision of Greenland halibut into two populations, an eastern Atlantic population and a western At…
Effectiveness of European Atlanto-Mediterranean MPAs: Do they accomplish the expected effects on populations, communities and ecosystems?
2008
The success of MPAs in conserving fishing resources and protecting marine biodiversity relies strongly on how well they meet their planned (or implicit) management goals. From a review of empirical studies aiming at assessing the ecological effects of Mediterranean and Macaronesian MPAs, we conclude that establishing an MPA is successful for (i) increasing the abundance/biomass, (ii) increasing the proportion of larger/older individuals, and (iii) enhancing the fecundity of commercially harvested populations; also, MPAs demonstrated to be effective for (iv) augmenting local fishery yields through biomass exportation from the protected area, and (v) inducing shifts in fish assemblage structu…
Identifying small pelagic Mediterranean fish schools from acoustic and environmental data using optimized artificial neural networks
2019
Abstract The Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union aims to exploit fish stocks at a level of Maximum Sustainable Yield by 2020 at the latest. At the Mediterranean level, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) has highlighted the importance of reversing the observed declining trend of fish stocks. In this complex context, it is important to obtain reliable biomass estimates to support scientifically sound advice for sustainable management of marine resources. This paper presents a machine learning methodology for the classification of pelagic species schools from acoustic and environmental data. In particular, the methodology was tuned for the recognition of an…
Multi-zone marine protected areas: Assessment of ecosystem and fisheries benefits using multiple ecosystem models
2020
12 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, 1 appendix supplementary data https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2020.105232
Moving Toward a Strategy for Addressing Climate Displacement of Marine Resources: A Proof-of-Concept
2020
Realistic predictions of climate change effects on natural resources are central to adaptation policies that try to reduce these impacts. However, most current forecasting approaches do not incorporate species-specific, process-based biological information, which limits their ability to inform actionable strategies. Mechanistic approaches, incorporating quantitative information on functional traits, can potentially predict species- and population-specific responses that result from the cumulative impacts of small-scale processes acting at the organismal level, and can be used to infer population-level dynamics and inform natural resources management. Here we present a proof-of-concept study…
Predicting marine species distributions: complementarity of food-web and Bayesian hierarchical modelling approaches
2019
16 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables, 1 appendix
Extending full protection inside existing marine protected areas, or reducing fishing effort outside, can reconcile conservation and fisheries goals
2020
Most fish stocks world-wide are fished at maximum sustainable yield (MSY) or overfished, as many fisheries management strategies have failed to achieve sustainable fishing. Identifying effective fisheries management strategies has now become urgent. Here, we developed a spatially explicit metapopulation model accounting for population connectivity in the north-western Mediterranean Sea, and parameterized it for three ecologically and economically important coastal fish species: the white seabream Diplodus sargus, the two-banded seabream Diplodus vulgaris and the dusky grouper Epinephelus marginatus. We used the model to assess how stock biomass and catches respond to changes in fishing mort…
Spatial genetic structure in the saddled sea bream (Oblada melanura [Linnaeus, 1758]) suggests multi-scaled patterns of connectivity between protecte…
2016
Marine protected areas (MPAs) and networks of MPAs are advocated worldwide for the achievement of marine conservation objectives. Although the knowledge about population connectivity is considered fundamental for the optimal design of MPAs and networks, the amount of information available for the Mediterranean Sea is currently scarce. We investigated the genetic structure of the saddled sea bream (Oblada melanura) and the level of genetic connectivity between protected and unprotected locations, using a set of 11 microsatellite loci. Spatial patterns of population differentiation were assessed locally (50–100 km) and regionally (500–1000 km), considering three MPAs of the Western Mediterran…
Mediterranean monk seal hunting in the regional Epipalaeolithic of Southern Iberia. A study of the Nerja Cave site (Málaga, Spain)
2019
Abstract During the Late Glacial–Early Holocene transition Southern Iberia has an extensive record of Palaeolithic coastal sites, wich have been preserved due thanks to the morphology of the continental shelf. This is was a period with rapid palaeoclimatic oscillations and changes in sea level. However, the sites show an apparent continuity in technology and subsistence trends, although human groups made increasingly intense use of marine resources. In this paper we will focus on the study of Mediterranean seal remains from the Vestibulo hall of Cueva de Nerja (Malaga, Spain), unit NV4, dated 12,990–11,360 cal. BP. The presence of these bones at the site are interpreted as direct exploitati…
The effects of marine protected areas on ecosystem recovery and fisheries using a comparative modelling approach
2020
17 pages, 11 figures, 1 table, supporting information https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3368.-- This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Daniel Vilas, Marta Coll, Xavier Corrales, Jeroen Steenbeek, Chiara Piroddi, Antonio Calò, Antonio Di Franco, Toni Font, Paolo Guidetti, Alessandro Ligas, Josep Lloret, Giulia Prato, Rita Sahyoun, Paolo Sartor, Joachim Claudet, The effects of marine protected areas on ecosystem recovery and fisheries using a comparative modelling approach, Aquatic Conservation - Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 30(10):1885-1901(2020), which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3368. This article may be used for non-commercial purpose…