The Status of Coastal Benthic Ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea: Evidence From Ecological Indicators
The Mediterranean Sea is subject to multiple human pressures increasingly threatening its unique biodiversity. Spatially explicit information on the ecological status of marine ecosystems is therefore key to an effective maritime spatial planning and management, and to help the achievement of enviro...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-06-01
|
Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2020.00475/full |
id |
doaj-afa8ce9ce55341d5b0f37f00b1130159 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-afa8ce9ce55341d5b0f37f00b11301592020-11-25T03:14:04ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452020-06-01710.3389/fmars.2020.00475540608The Status of Coastal Benthic Ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea: Evidence From Ecological IndicatorsStanislao Bevilacqua0Stanislao Bevilacqua1Stelios Katsanevakis2Fiorenza Micheli3Enric Sala4Gil Rilov5Gianluca Sarà6Dania Abdul Malak7Ameer Abdulla8Vasilis Gerovasileiou9Elena Gissi10Antonios D. Mazaris11Carlo Pipitone12Maria Sini13Vanessa Stelzenmüller14Antonio Terlizzi15Antonio Terlizzi16Antonio Terlizzi17Valentina Todorova18Simonetta Fraschetti19Simonetta Fraschetti20Simonetta Fraschetti21Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, ItalyConsorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Scienze del Mare, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Marine Sciences, School of Environment, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, GreeceHopkins Marine Station and Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, United StatesNational Geographic Society, Washington, DC, United StatesNational Institute of Oceanography, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, Haifa, IsraelDepartment of Earth and Marine Science, University of Palermo, Palermo, ItalyEuropean Topic Centre, University of Malaga, Málaga, SpainEuropean Topic Centre, University of Malaga, Málaga, SpainInstitute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Heraklion, Greece0Department of Architecture and Arts, University Iuav of Venice, Venice, Italy1Department of Ecology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece2Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche – Istituto per lo Studio degli Impatti Antropici e Sostenibilità in Ambiente Marino, Palermo, ItalyDepartment of Marine Sciences, School of Environment, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, Greece3Thünen Institute, Institute of Sea Fisheries, Bremerhaven, GermanyDepartment of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, ItalyConsorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Scienze del Mare, Rome, Italy4Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy5Institute of Oceanology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Varna, BulgariaConsorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Scienze del Mare, Rome, Italy4Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy6Department of Biology, Polytechnic and Basic Sciences School, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, ItalyThe Mediterranean Sea is subject to multiple human pressures increasingly threatening its unique biodiversity. Spatially explicit information on the ecological status of marine ecosystems is therefore key to an effective maritime spatial planning and management, and to help the achievement of environmental targets. Here, we summarized scientific data on the ecological status of a selection of marine ecosystems based on a set of ecological indicators in more than 700 sites of the Mediterranean Sea. For Posidonia oceanica seagrass beds, rocky intertidal fringe, and coastal soft bottoms, more than 70% of investigated sites exhibited good to high ecological conditions. In contrast, about two-thirds of sites for subtidal rocky reefs were classified to be in moderate to bad conditions, stressing the need for prioritizing conservation initiatives on these productive and diverse environments. Very little quantitative information was available for the southern Mediterranean Sea, thus monitoring programs and assessments in this area are essential for a representative assessment of the health of marine coastal ecosystems in the whole basin. This overview represents a first step to implement a baseline that, through georeferenced data on ecological status, could help identifying information gaps, directing future research priorities, and supporting improvements to spatial models of expected cumulative impacts on marine ecosystems.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2020.00475/fullecological quality ratiorocky intertidalrocky subtidal reefsseagrass bedssoft bottoms |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Stanislao Bevilacqua Stanislao Bevilacqua Stelios Katsanevakis Fiorenza Micheli Enric Sala Gil Rilov Gianluca Sarà Dania Abdul Malak Ameer Abdulla Vasilis Gerovasileiou Elena Gissi Antonios D. Mazaris Carlo Pipitone Maria Sini Vanessa Stelzenmüller Antonio Terlizzi Antonio Terlizzi Antonio Terlizzi Valentina Todorova Simonetta Fraschetti Simonetta Fraschetti Simonetta Fraschetti |
spellingShingle |
Stanislao Bevilacqua Stanislao Bevilacqua Stelios Katsanevakis Fiorenza Micheli Enric Sala Gil Rilov Gianluca Sarà Dania Abdul Malak Ameer Abdulla Vasilis Gerovasileiou Elena Gissi Antonios D. Mazaris Carlo Pipitone Maria Sini Vanessa Stelzenmüller Antonio Terlizzi Antonio Terlizzi Antonio Terlizzi Valentina Todorova Simonetta Fraschetti Simonetta Fraschetti Simonetta Fraschetti The Status of Coastal Benthic Ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea: Evidence From Ecological Indicators Frontiers in Marine Science ecological quality ratio rocky intertidal rocky subtidal reefs seagrass beds soft bottoms |
author_facet |
Stanislao Bevilacqua Stanislao Bevilacqua Stelios Katsanevakis Fiorenza Micheli Enric Sala Gil Rilov Gianluca Sarà Dania Abdul Malak Ameer Abdulla Vasilis Gerovasileiou Elena Gissi Antonios D. Mazaris Carlo Pipitone Maria Sini Vanessa Stelzenmüller Antonio Terlizzi Antonio Terlizzi Antonio Terlizzi Valentina Todorova Simonetta Fraschetti Simonetta Fraschetti Simonetta Fraschetti |
author_sort |
Stanislao Bevilacqua |
title |
The Status of Coastal Benthic Ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea: Evidence From Ecological Indicators |
title_short |
The Status of Coastal Benthic Ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea: Evidence From Ecological Indicators |
title_full |
The Status of Coastal Benthic Ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea: Evidence From Ecological Indicators |
title_fullStr |
The Status of Coastal Benthic Ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea: Evidence From Ecological Indicators |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Status of Coastal Benthic Ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea: Evidence From Ecological Indicators |
title_sort |
status of coastal benthic ecosystems in the mediterranean sea: evidence from ecological indicators |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
issn |
2296-7745 |
publishDate |
2020-06-01 |
description |
The Mediterranean Sea is subject to multiple human pressures increasingly threatening its unique biodiversity. Spatially explicit information on the ecological status of marine ecosystems is therefore key to an effective maritime spatial planning and management, and to help the achievement of environmental targets. Here, we summarized scientific data on the ecological status of a selection of marine ecosystems based on a set of ecological indicators in more than 700 sites of the Mediterranean Sea. For Posidonia oceanica seagrass beds, rocky intertidal fringe, and coastal soft bottoms, more than 70% of investigated sites exhibited good to high ecological conditions. In contrast, about two-thirds of sites for subtidal rocky reefs were classified to be in moderate to bad conditions, stressing the need for prioritizing conservation initiatives on these productive and diverse environments. Very little quantitative information was available for the southern Mediterranean Sea, thus monitoring programs and assessments in this area are essential for a representative assessment of the health of marine coastal ecosystems in the whole basin. This overview represents a first step to implement a baseline that, through georeferenced data on ecological status, could help identifying information gaps, directing future research priorities, and supporting improvements to spatial models of expected cumulative impacts on marine ecosystems. |
topic |
ecological quality ratio rocky intertidal rocky subtidal reefs seagrass beds soft bottoms |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2020.00475/full |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT stanislaobevilacqua thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT stanislaobevilacqua thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT stelioskatsanevakis thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT fiorenzamicheli thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT enricsala thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT gilrilov thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT gianlucasara thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT daniaabdulmalak thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT ameerabdulla thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT vasilisgerovasileiou thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT elenagissi thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT antoniosdmazaris thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT carlopipitone thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT mariasini thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT vanessastelzenmuller thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT antonioterlizzi thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT antonioterlizzi thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT antonioterlizzi thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT valentinatodorova thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT simonettafraschetti thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT simonettafraschetti thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT simonettafraschetti thestatusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT stanislaobevilacqua statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT stanislaobevilacqua statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT stelioskatsanevakis statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT fiorenzamicheli statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT enricsala statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT gilrilov statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT gianlucasara statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT daniaabdulmalak statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT ameerabdulla statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT vasilisgerovasileiou statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT elenagissi statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT antoniosdmazaris statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT carlopipitone statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT mariasini statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT vanessastelzenmuller statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT antonioterlizzi statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT antonioterlizzi statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT antonioterlizzi statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT valentinatodorova statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT simonettafraschetti statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT simonettafraschetti statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators AT simonettafraschetti statusofcoastalbenthicecosystemsinthemediterraneanseaevidencefromecologicalindicators |
_version_ |
1724644686060060672 |