Diversity, structure and spatial distribution of megabenthic communities in Cap de Creus continental shelf and submarine canyon (NW Mediterranean)

Domínguez-Carrió, Carlos; Riera, Joan Lluís; Robert, Katleen; Zabala, Míkel; Requena, Susana; Gori, Andrea; Orejas, C.; Iacono, Claudio Lo; Estournel, Claude; Corbera, Guillem; Ambroso, Stefano; Uriz, María Jesús; López–González, Pablo J.; Sardá, Rafael; Gili, Josep-Marı́a

doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2022.102877

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 165 publications

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“…The shoal hosts almost half (44%) of the total Ligurian mesophotic megabenthic diversity. The biodiversity values, taxa composition, and abundances (Figure 2a,b) are comparable with those of other Mediterranean sites explored with ROVs at similar depths, including the Maledetti shoal (W Ligurian Sea) [69], the Cap de Creus (Gulf of Lions) [68], the Menorca Channel (Balearic Sea) [70], the Gulf of St. Eufemia (SE Tyrrhenian Sea) [55], and the Seco de Los Olivos Seamount (Alboran Sea) [71]. Many species reported on the deep shoal of Punta del Faro are canopy-forming organisms, including sponges, hydrozoans, anthozoans, polychaetes, and bryozoans.…”

Section: Peculiar Attributes Of the Shoal At A Regional Scalesupporting

confidence: 76%

“…The random forest algorithm was chosen to predict the spatial distribution of the megabenthic communities inhabiting the eastern sector of the Portofino Promontory, including the deep shoal of Punta del Faro. This algorithm has gained in popularity in the past years as one of the most powerful tools with which to map shallow and deep-sea species and habitats [68]. In the present study, the model always explained with high accuracy (>70%) the outcomes of the nine investigated benthic habitats, generating a high degree of confidence.…”

Section: The Deep Shoal Of Punta Del Faro In the Context Of The Porto...supporting

confidence: 64%

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High Megabenthic Complexity and Vulnerability of a Mesophotic Rocky Shoal Support Its Inclusion in a Mediterranean MPA

Enrichetti,

Bavestrello,

Cappanera

et al. 2023

Diversity

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The deep shoal of Punta del Faro (Ligurian Sea, Mediterranean Sea) is a mesophotic rocky elevation hosting complex animal forests threatened by fishing activities. To identify appropriate conservation measures and set a reference example for similar cases, we present a detailed characterization of its megabenthic communities and a quantification of the fishing pressure. The results highlight the high natural value of the area, presenting high biodiversity (111 megabenthic and demersal species) and diverse types of animal forest, predominantly dominated by cnidarians. The tridimensional seascape is among the most complex in the eastern Ligurian Sea, but the long-term evaluation of its environmental status suggested consistent affects due to the high abundance of lost fishing gear (0.65 items m−2) directly entangled with structuring cnidarians. The artisanal and recreational fishing pressure are currently moderate. However, the use of bottom-contact fishing gear causes significant modifications to the seafloor’s integrity. This study emphasizes the high conservation value and vulnerability of the shoal, highlighting the importance of its protection through its inclusion in the Portofino MPA, whose external perimeter is 200 m from the study area. A critical discussion of the advantages and disadvantages is provided with a map of the possible extension of the MPA boundaries.

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Section: Peculiar Attributes Of the Shoal At A Regional Scalesupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: The Deep Shoal Of Punta Del Faro In the Context Of The Porto...supporting

confidence: 64%

High Megabenthic Complexity and Vulnerability of a Mesophotic Rocky Shoal Support Its Inclusion in a Mediterranean MPA

Enrichetti,

Bavestrello,

Cappanera

et al. 2023

Diversity

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“…Animal species predominantly dominate most circalittoral rocky substrates due to the diminished light conditions. The number of species living on these seabeds can be highly variable, influenced by geographical factors, seabed geomorphology, and various environmental elements ( Dominguez-Carrió et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Underwater vehicles generate a large amount of in situ , non-destructive, representative, and potentially repeatable samples. This allows not only a complete characterization of benthic diversity but could also lay the groundwork for long-term monitoring initiatives ( Dominguez-Carrió et al, 2022 ). However, processing this information has encountered bottlenecks, primarily attributed to the time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly nature of annotating visual data ( Weinstein, 2018 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-resolution density assessment assisted by deep learning of Dendrophyllia cornigera (Lamarck, 1816) and Phakellia ventilabrum (Linnaeus, 1767) in rocky circalittoral shelf of Bay of Biscay

Gayá-Vilar,

Cobo,

Abad-Uribarren

et al. 2024

PeerJ

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This study presents a novel approach to high-resolution density distribution mapping of two key species of the 1170 “Reefs” habitat, Dendrophyllia cornigera and Phakellia ventilabrum, in the Bay of Biscay using deep learning models. The main objective of this study was to establish a pipeline based on deep learning models to extract species density data from raw images obtained by a remotely operated towed vehicle (ROTV). Different object detection models were evaluated and compared in various shelf zones at the head of submarine canyon systems using metrics such as precision, recall, and F1 score. The best-performing model, YOLOv8, was selected for generating density maps of the two species at a high spatial resolution. The study also generated synthetic images to augment the training data and assess the generalization capacity of the models. The proposed approach provides a cost-effective and non-invasive method for monitoring and assessing the status of these important reef-building species and their habitats. The results have important implications for the management and protection of the 1170 habitat in Spain and other marine ecosystems worldwide. These results highlight the potential of deep learning to improve efficiency and accuracy in monitoring vulnerable marine ecosystems, allowing informed decisions to be made that can have a positive impact on marine conservation.

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“…Collaborative actions were carried out including interviews and exchanges of information with the purpose of collecting all the knowledge required for conducting the actions of the projects. This study shows the results of the assessment throughout five years (2017)(2018)(2019)(2020)(2021)(2022) of cooperative work and highlights how crucial it is to develop long-term and revisable ocean literacy strategies for ensuring a sustainable ocean governance. An ocean literacy test evaluated the scientific knowledge of fishers at the end of the projects and…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

An urgent call for more ambitious ocean literacy strategies in marine protected areas: a collaboration project with small-scale fishers as a case study

Salazar,

Gómez,

Vendrell-Simón

et al. 2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Cold-Water Corals play a paramount role in marine benthic ecosystems, increasing their complexity and providing spawning and nursery habitats to many species. However, due to their sessile lifestyle and ramified shape they are commonly entangled in nets and even by-caught during the practice of bottom-contact fishing, which includes impacts from both large-scale activities such as trawling and small-scale fishing (e.g., trammel nets or pots). In this context, passive and active restoration measures are crucial to avoid their damage and disappearance, which might cause the consequent loss of complexity and biodiversity of marine benthic communities. With the aim of modifying these fishing practices in the Marine Protected Area of Cap de Creus (North-Western Mediterranean), small-scale fishers and scientists (marine biologists) started a Participatory Process in which they agreed to develop a joint marine conservation program combining two distinct projects: a restoration project of the Cold-Water Corals incidentally captured on fishing nets for their subsequent reintroduction at sea (RESCAP project) and also a project on mitigation of fishing impacts on marine benthic communities (MITICAP project). Collaborative actions were carried out including interviews and exchanges of information with the purpose of collecting all the knowledge required for conducting the actions of the projects. This study shows the results of the assessment throughout five years (2017-2022) of cooperative work and highlights how crucial it is to develop long-term and revisable ocean literacy strategies for ensuring a sustainable ocean governance. An ocean literacy test evaluated the scientific knowledge of fishers at the end of the projects and revealed that despite all the efforts applied, still more work is needed, which reinforces the importance of improving the strategies of knowledge transfer for MPA management. Under the coordination of marine social anthropologists, a Cultural Consensus Analysis was conducted with the fishers. Results revealed a protoculture that should be characterized and considered when developing management strategies in the area. Additionally, the Personal Network Analysis showed that fishers have become agents of change and transmitted the learnings of the projects to their communities, fishers from nearby guilds, local educational centers and even the press. Furthermore, a list of recommendations is provided to optimize the multisector opportunities emerging from collaborative projects with marine scientists and fishers in MPAs.

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Diversity, structure and spatial distribution of megabenthic communities in Cap de Creus continental shelf and submarine canyon (NW Mediterranean)

Cited by 13 publications

References 165 publications

High Megabenthic Complexity and Vulnerability of a Mesophotic Rocky Shoal Support Its Inclusion in a Mediterranean MPA

High Megabenthic Complexity and Vulnerability of a Mesophotic Rocky Shoal Support Its Inclusion in a Mediterranean MPA

High-resolution density assessment assisted by deep learning of Dendrophyllia cornigera (Lamarck, 1816) and Phakellia ventilabrum (Linnaeus, 1767) in rocky circalittoral shelf of Bay of Biscay

An urgent call for more ambitious ocean literacy strategies in marine protected areas: a collaboration project with small-scale fishers as a case study

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