Benthic Fish Communities Associated with Posidonia oceanica Beds May Reveal the Fishing Impact and Effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas: Two Case Studies in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea

The effectiveness of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) is strongly related to its zoning design, management, and surveillance, and fish communities are considered indicators of conservation effects. Posidonia oceanica beds and fish assemblages were studied here to evaluate the fishing impacts and the effectiveness of the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) of Santa Maria di Castellabate (SMC) and Costa degli Infreschi e della Masseta (CIM) in the South Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy. P. oceanica characteristics were estimated counting and collecting shoots, while fish communities were investigated by visual census. Multivariate analyses were performed to detect differences in fish assemblages among the MPA protection levels and seagrass characteristics. Significant differences in fish communities were observed between the depth and protection levels. The latter are probably due to the zoning design at SMC, which does not allow a spillover effect, and to fishing activities, as showed by the ABC curve results. Trophic analyses suggested the use of longlines at SMC, due to the dominance of planktivorous fish species, and of trammel nets at CIM, due to the great heterogeneity of the fish trophic groups. Shoot density and leaf length were significantly correlated with fish communities. CCA analyses showed omnivorous species, mostly belonging to the Sparidae family, correlated with the highest shoot densities, with their feeding habits mostly directed to crustaceans, while macro- and microinvertivores, mainly belonging to the Serranidae and Labridae families, correlated with the highest leaf lengths, where they sough shelter and feed. In conclusion, the data suggest that a zoning redesign at SMC and an increase in the surveillance of fishing activities at CIM might enhance the effectiveness of these MPAs, highlighting the role of fish community studies in identifying MPA efficiency issues and providing trustful guidelines for their management.

[1]  G. Russo,et al.  The Lush Fucales Underwater Forests off the Cilento Coast: An Overlooked Mediterranean Biodiversity Hotspot , 2023, Plants.

[2]  I. Alberico,et al.  Present-day infralittoral prograding wedges (IPWs) in Central-Eastern Tyrrhenian Sea: Critical issues and challenges to their use as geomorphological indicators of sea level , 2022, Marine Geology.

[3]  F. Ferrigno,et al.  Different Métiers Affect Fish Catches Accounting in Marine Protected Areas: A Pilot Investigation Method , 2022, Journal of Environmental Accounting and Management.

[4]  E. K. Pikitch,et al.  The MPA Guide: A framework to achieve global goals for the ocean , 2021, Science.

[5]  C. Kruschel,et al.  Seascape Context as a Driver of the Fish Community Structure of Posidonia oceanica Meadows in the Adriatic Sea , 2021, Croatian Journal of Fisheries.

[6]  P. P. Franzese,et al.  Trends and Evolution in the Concept of Marine Ecosystem Services: An Overview , 2021, Water.

[7]  D. Koutsoubas,et al.  Structure and Diversity of the Demersal Fish Assemblages off Psara Island (Central Aegean Sea) Caught by Experimental Bottom Trawling , 2021, Thalassas: An International Journal of Marine Sciences.

[8]  J. Anadón,et al.  Exceptionally high but still growing predatory reef fish biomass after 23 years of protection in a Marine Protected Area , 2021, PloS one.

[9]  B. D. Hardesty,et al.  The Intersection Between Illegal Fishing, Crimes at Sea, and Social Well-Being , 2020, Frontiers in Marine Science.

[10]  P. P. Franzese,et al.  Assessing natural capital value in the network of Italian marine protected areas: a comparative approach , 2020 .

[11]  P. P. Franzese,et al.  The use of remote sensing for monitoring Posidonia oceanica and Marine Protected Areas: A systemic review , 2020 .

[12]  I. Catalán,et al.  Changes in the juvenile fish assemblage of a Mediterranean shallow Posidonia oceanica seagrass nursery area after half century , 2019, Mediterranean Marine Science.

[13]  Y. Shin,et al.  An End-to-End Model Reveals Losers and Winners in a Warming Mediterranean Sea , 2019, Front. Mar. Sci..

[14]  G. Russo,et al.  A new approach to assess marine opportunity costs and monetary values-in-use for spatial planning and conservation; the case study of Gulf of Naples, Mediterranean Sea, Italy , 2018 .

[15]  Anthony D. M. Smith,et al.  Effect of fishing intensity and selectivity on trophic structure and fishery production , 2017 .

[16]  F. Micheli,et al.  Ecological effects of full and partial protection in the crowded Mediterranean Sea: a regional meta-analysis , 2017, Scientific Reports.

[17]  G. Russo,et al.  Does full protection count for the maintenance of β‐diversity patterns in marine communities? Evidence from Mediterranean fish assemblages , 2017 .

[18]  C. Kruschel,et al.  Predators structure fish communities in Posidonia oceanica meadows: meta-analysis of available data across the Mediterranean basin , 2017 .

[19]  Simone Simeone,et al.  Biogeomorphology of the Mediterranean Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows , 2017 .

[20]  Anthony D. M. Smith,et al.  Moving beyond trophic groups: evaluating fishing‑induced changes to temperate reef food webs , 2017 .

[21]  D. Gascuel,et al.  Assessing interacting impacts of artisanal and recreational fisheries in a small Marine Protected Area (Portofino, NW Mediterranean Sea) , 2016 .

[22]  C. Walters,et al.  Predictions from simple predator-prey theory about impacts of harvesting forage fishes , 2016 .

[23]  R. Cabella,et al.  Seagrass on the rocks: Posidonia oceanica settled on shallow-water hard substrata withstands wave stress beyond predictions , 2016 .

[24]  L. Rodwell,et al.  Evaluating the social acceptability of Marine Protected Areas , 2016 .

[25]  M. Verlaque,et al.  The necromass of the Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadow: fate, role, ecosystem services and vulnerability , 2016, Hydrobiologia.

[26]  T. Dawson,et al.  Reef Fishes at All Trophic Levels Respond Positively to Effective Marine Protected Areas , 2015, PloS one.

[27]  L. Piazzi,et al.  Patterns of spatial variability of mobile macro-invertebrate assemblages within a Posidonia oceanica meadow , 2015 .

[28]  V. Trenkel,et al.  Evaluating the potential impact of fishing on demersal species in the Bay of Biscay using simulations and survey data , 2014 .

[29]  K. Stergiou,et al.  Diet and feeding habits of Spicara maena and S. smaris (Pisces, Osteichthyes, Centracanthidae) in the North Aegean Sea , 2014 .

[30]  F. Micheli,et al.  Large-Scale Assessment of Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas Effects on Fish Assemblages , 2014, PloS one.

[31]  C. Lombardi,et al.  Settlement pattern of Posidonia oceanica epibionts along a gradient of ocean acidification: an approach with mimics , 2014 .

[32]  J. Rossiter,et al.  What makes a “successful” marine protected area? The unique context of Hawaii′s fish replenishment areas , 2014 .

[33]  T. K. Kar,et al.  Sustainable use of prey species in a prey-predator system: Jointly determined ecological thresholds and economic trade-offs , 2014 .

[34]  C. Edwards,et al.  A comparison of approaches used for economic analysis in marine protected area network planning in California , 2013 .

[35]  A. Molinari,et al.  Rocky reef fish assemblages at six Mediterranean marine protected areas: broad-scale patterns in assemblage structure, species richness and composition , 2013 .

[36]  G. Kokkoris,et al.  Effects of habitat and substrate complexity on shallow sublittoral fish assemblages in the Cyclades Archipelago, North-eastern Mediterranean Sea , 2013 .

[37]  Didier Gascuel,et al.  Modeling trophic interactions to assess the effects of a marine protected area: case study in the NW Mediterranean Sea , 2012 .

[38]  F. Simard,et al.  Reconsidering the Consequences of Selective Fisheries , 2012, Science.

[39]  S. Jentoft,et al.  What Stakeholders Think About Marine Protected Areas: Case Studies from Spain , 2012 .

[40]  B. Mohammad,et al.  Application of Abundance Biomass Curve in Ecological Health Assessment of Khure-Mussa (Northwest of the Persian Gulf) , 2012 .

[41]  Thomas Kirk Sørensen,et al.  Ecosystem-based marine spatial management: Review of concepts, policies, tools, and critical issues , 2011 .

[42]  J. Dulčić,et al.  Long-term trends in the structure of eastern Adriatic littoral fish assemblages: Consequences for fisheries management , 2011 .

[43]  H. Wennhage,et al.  Diversity, structure and function of fish assemblages associated with Posidonia oceanica beds in an area of the eastern Mediterranean Sea and the role of non-indigenous species. , 2010, Journal of fish biology.

[44]  A. Punt,et al.  Ecosystem-based fisheries management requires a change to the selective fishing philosophy , 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[45]  J. Bayle-Sempere,et al.  Effects of a marine protected area on fish assemblage associated with Posidonia oceanica seagrass beds: temporal and depth variations , 2009 .

[46]  P. Guidetti,et al.  Evaluating effects of total and partial restrictions to fishing on Mediterranean rocky-reef fish assemblages , 2009 .

[47]  M. Chiantore,et al.  BACI design reveals the decline of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica induced by anchoring. , 2008, Marine pollution bulletin.

[48]  M. Harmelin-Vivien,et al.  Gradients of abundance and biomass across reserve boundaries in six Mediterranean marine protected areas : Evidence of fish spillover? , 2008 .

[49]  Marti J. Anderson,et al.  Scales of spatial variation in Mediterranean subtidal sessile assemblages at different depths , 2007 .

[50]  B. Morales-Nin,et al.  Multi-scale spatial variability in fish assemblages associated with Posidonia oceanica meadows in the Western Mediterranean Sea , 2006 .

[51]  Charles E. Heckler,et al.  Applied Multivariate Statistical Analysis , 2005, Technometrics.

[52]  D. Jouffre,et al.  Assessing the impact of fisheries on demersal fish assemblages of the Mauritanian continental shelf, 1987-1999, using dominance curves , 2005 .

[53]  Daniel Pauly,et al.  FISHING DOWN MARINE FOOD WEB: IT IS FAR MORE PERVASIVE THAN WE THOUGHT , 2005 .

[54]  Konstantinos I. Stergiou,et al.  Feeding habits and trophic levels of Mediterranean fish , 2004, Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries.

[55]  B. Halpern,et al.  Review Paper. Matching marine reserve design to reserve objectives , 2003, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[56]  Marti J. Anderson,et al.  CANONICAL ANALYSIS OF PRINCIPAL COORDINATES: A USEFUL METHOD OF CONSTRAINED ORDINATION FOR ECOLOGY , 2003 .

[57]  S. Sartoretto,et al.  Environmental and benthic habitat factors structuring the spatial distribution of a summer infralittoral fish assemblage in the north-western Mediterranean Sea , 2003, Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

[58]  Marti J. Anderson,et al.  Permutation tests for multi-factorial analysis of variance , 2003 .

[59]  C. Bianchi,et al.  Seasonal grazing and food preference of herbivores in a Posidonia oceanica meadow , 2001 .

[60]  P. Francour,et al.  A review of marine protected areas in the northwestern Mediterranean region: siting, usage, zonation and management , 2001 .

[61]  Marti J. Anderson,et al.  Permutation tests for univariate or multivariate analysis of variance and regression , 2001 .

[62]  Marti J. Anderson,et al.  A new method for non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance in ecology , 2001 .

[63]  P. Guidetti.  Differences Among Fish Assemblages Associated with Nearshore Posidonia oceanica Seagrass Beds, Rocky–algal Reefs and Unvegetated Sand Habitats in the Adriatic Sea , 2000 .

[64]  Carlos M. Duarte,et al.  Seagrass Biomass And Production: A Reassessment , 1999 .

[65]  M. Vacchi,et al.  An Analysis of the Coastal Fish Assemblage of the Ustica Island Marine Reserve (Mediterranean Sea) , 1999 .

[66]  Patrice Francour,et al.  Fish assemblages of Posidonia oceanica beds at port-cros (France, NW Mediterranean) : Assessment of composition and long-term fluctuations by visual census , 1997 .

[67]  C. Boudouresque,et al.  Utilisation de l'herbier à Posidonia oceanica comme indicateur biologique de la qualité du milieu littoral en Méditerranée : état des connaissances , 1995 .

[68]  G. Pergent,et al.  Primary production of Posidonia oceanica in the Mediterranean Basin , 1994, Marine Biology.

[69]  V. Zupo,et al.  Depth and Seasonal Distribution of Some Groups of the Vagile Fauna of the Posidonia oceanica Leaf Stratum: Structural and Trophic Analyses , 1992 .

[70]  J. Harmelin.  Structure et variabilité de I'ichtyofaune d'une zone rocheuse protégée en Méditerranée (Pare national de Port‐Cros, France) , 1987 .

[71]  F. Blanc,et al.  Evaluation visuelle des peuplements et populations de poissons : méthodes et problèmes , 1985, Revue d'Écologie (La Terre et La Vie).

[72]  M. Harmelin-Vivien,et al.  Fish fauna of French Mediterranean Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows. II: feeding habits , 1983 .

[73]  J. Ott.  Growth and Production in Posidonia Oceanica (L.) Delile , 1980 .

[74]  G. Giraud.  Essai de classement des herbiers de Posidonia oceanica (Linné) Delile. , 1977 .