Human activities and resultant pressures on key European marine habitats: An analysis of mapped resources

Abstract

Human activities exert a wide range of pressures on species, habitats, and ecosystems. In many cases human activities result to the degradation of marine ecosystems and our ability to restore them from past damage and limit future impacts is hindered by a lack of knowledge of the extent, duration and severity of the pressures on marine ecosystems. Central to the development of effective policy and conservation interventions is an understanding of where and when such activities and pressures occur. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of mapped human activities and pressures acting on the marine environment in European seas through an exhaustive review of published records, web resources, and grey literature compiled by the EU H2020 project "Marine Ecosystem Restoration in Changing European Seas" (MERCES). The results highlighted a number of limitations and gaps, including: (a) limited geographic coverage both at the regional and sub-regional levels; (b) insufficient spatial resolution and accuracy in recorded data for the planning of conservation and restoration actions; (c) the lack of access to the background data and metadata upon which maps are based, thus limiting the potential for synthesis of multiple data sources. Based on the findings, several recommendations for future marine research initiatives arise, most importantly the need for coordinated, geographically extended baseline assessments of activities and pressures, complying with high-level standardisation regarding methodological approaches and the treatment of produced data.

Twelve Recommendations for Advancing Marine Conservation in European and Contiguous Seas

“…The latest European Environment Agency report provides a grim picture of the status of European seas (European Environment Agency [EEA], 2015). European seas fall below a "healthy" status, their exploitation is unsustainable, and most ecosystem characteristics are in poor condition with deteriorating trends (Dailianis et al, 2018). In a recent assessment of the vulnerability of marine habitats in the European Union (EU) and adjacent regions (Gubbay et al, 2016), 18% of habitats were Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable.…”

A Marine Biodiversity Observation Network for Genetic Monitoring of Hard-Bottom Communities (ARMS-MBON)

“…Such knowledge is critical as human pressures increase and accumulate, especially in coastal zones, from a combination of factors including traffic, wastewater discharges, energy production, aquaculture and fisheries, recreation, and tourism (Lotze et al, 2006;Worm et al, 2006;OSPAR, 2009). A key limitation to improved understanding of the impact of human activities on marine ecosystems is the ability to generate comparative biological time-series data at a large spatial scale (Richardson and Poloczanska, 2008;Dailianis et al, 2018;Guidi et al, 2020). There is therefore strong pressure on biological monitoring programs to implement standardized and scalable methods to assess status and change in marine biological communities in order to support marine research and policy (Bourlat et al, 2013;Borja et al, 2016;Danovaro et al, 2016;Bean et al, 2017;Bevilacqua et al, 2020).…”

You cannot conserve a species that has not been found: The case of the marine sponge Axinella polypoides in Liguria, Italy

“…Human activities are negatively impacting the biodiversity of the world’s oceans, causing species extinction at an unprecedented rate, with largely unknown consequences (Worm et al, 2006). Marine habitat health is currently threatened by a number of pressures, including pollution, exploitation, habitat destruction, overfishing and global warming (Dailianis et al, 2018; Montefalcone et al, 2017; Montefalcone et al, 2011; Thrush et al, 2009). All of these pressures are affecting ecosystem functioning through changes in species diversity and other impacts (Lubchenco et al, 2003).…”