• Energy Research
• FR close
• ZENODO close
• European Marine Science close

# Long-term changes in taxonomic and functional composition of European marine fish communities The GitHub linked repository is here: [European_demersal_fish_assemblages (](https://github.com/auroreRECE/European_demersal_fish_assemblages)DOI [10.5281/zenodo.11190119](https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.11190119)) ## Overview This project is dedicated to studying the influence of environmental conditions and fishing on the functional and taxonomic structure of a demersal fish community in Europe. This GitHub repository provides the code of the Receveur et al. (2024) publication in Ecography. ## Data files description ### df\_MFA.csv This file contains the coordinates resulting from the Multiple Factor Analysis (MFA): * X : the row numbers ; * ID_unique : a unique ID number corresponding to the trawls ; * Dim.1 : the coordinate of each trawl on the first MFA dimension ; * Dim.2 : the coordinate of each trawl on the second MFA dimension ; * Dim.3 : the coordinate of each trawl on the third MFA dimension ; ### df\_PCA.csv This file contains the coordinates * X : the row numbers ; * ID_unique : a unique ID number corresponding to the trawls ; * Dim.1 : the coordinate of each trawl on the first PCA dimension ; * Dim.2 : the coordinate of each trawl on the second PCA dimension ; * Dim.3 : the coordinate of each trawl on the third PCA dimension ; ### df\_env.csv This file contains the following environmental parameters: * X : the row numbers ; * ID_unique : a unique ID number corresponding to the trawls ; * Year : the Year of each trawl ; * Quarter : the Quarter of each trawl ; * Ecoregion : the Ecoregion where each trawl has been done; * Survey : the name of the Survey ; * x_my_spatial_id : the longitude of the ICES rectangle where the trawl has been done ; * y_my_spatial_id : the latitude of the ICES rectangle where the trawl has been done ; * my_spatial_id : an ID for the ICES rectangle where the trawl has been done ; * depth : the bottom depth (meters) ; * depth_span : the bottom depth variability (maximum depth of the ICES cell - minimum depth) (meters) ; * chloro_mea: the mean chlorophyll-a concentration (mg/m³) ; * mlotst_mea : the mean mixed layer depth (meters) ; * oxy_bottom_mea : the mean bottom dissolved oxygen (umol/l) ; * oxy_surf_mea : the mean surface dissolved oxygen (umol/l) ; * temp_bottom_mea : the mean bottom temperature (°C) ; * temp_surf_mea : the mean surface temperature (°C) ; * curr_surf_mea : the mean surface current strength (m/s) ; * curr_bottom_mea : the mean bottom current strength (m/s) ; * sal_surf_mea : the mean surface salinity (PSU) ; * chloro_std : the standard deviation of chlorophyll-a concentration (mg/m³) ; * mlotst_std : the standard deviation of mixed layer depth (meters) ; * oxy_bottom_std : the standard deviation of bottom dissolved oxygen (umol/l) ; * oxy_surf_std : the standard deviation of surface dissolved oxygen (umol/l) ; * temp_bottom_std : the standard deviation of bottom temperature (°C) ; * temp_surf_std : the standard deviation of surface temperature (°C) ; * curr_surf_std : the standard deviation of surface current strength (m/s) ; * curr_bottom_std : the standard deviation of bottom current strength (m/s) ; * sal_surf_std : the standard deviation of surface salinity (PSU). ## Raw Data sources ### Biological data Trawls content is publicly available for the North East Atlantic (DATRAS database). Mediterranean data (MEDITS database) are available upon request to Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MARE DATACOLLECTIONFRAMEWORK). The project uses the following surveys: | Survey Code | Survey name | Area | Period | References | | :---------- | :----------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------- | :-------: | :--------: | | BITS | Baltic International Trawl Survey | Baltic Sea | 1994-2019 | 4 | | BTS | Beam Trawl Survey | Celtic Sea; English Channel; North Sea | 1997-2019 | 7 | | BTS-VIII | Beam Trawl Survey – Bay of Biscay | Bay of Biscay | 2011-2019 | 7 | | DWS | Deepwater Survey | Irish Sea | 2006-2007 | 8 | | DYFS | Inshore Beam Trawl Survey | Southern North Sea | 2002-2019 | 7 | | EVHOE | French Southern Atlantic Bottom trawl Survey | Bay of Biscay and Celtic Sea | 2003-2019 | 1 | | FR-CGFS | French Channel ground Survey | English Channel | 1997-2019 | 2 | | IE-IAMS | Irish Anglerfish and megrim Survey | Scottish rockall and Irish Sea | 2016-2019 | 2 | | IE-IGFS | Irish Groundfish | Ireland Shelf Sea | 2003-2019 | 2 | | MEDITS | International bottom trawl survey in the Mediterranean | Mediterranean Sea | 1994-2018 | 9 | | NIGFS | Northern Ireland Groundfish Survey | Irish Sea | 2009-2019 | 2 | | NS-IBTS | North Sea International Bottom Trawl Survey | North Sea | 1997-2019 | 2 | | PT-IBTS | Portuguese International Bottom Trawl Survey | Portugal Shelf Sea | 2003-2017 | 2 | | ROCKALL | Scottish Rockall Survey (until 2010) | Rockall plateau | 2003-2009 | 2 | | SCOROC | Scottish Rockall Survey (from 2011) | Scottish plateau | 2011-2019 | 2 | | SCOWCGFS | Scottish West Coast Groundfish Survey | Scottish west coast | 2011-2019 | 2 | | SNS | Sole Net Survey | Southern North Sea | 2002-2019 | 7 | | SP-ARSA | Spanish Gulf of Cadiz Bottom Trawl Survey | Spain | 2003-2019 | 6 | | SP-NORTH | Spanish North Bottom Trawl Survey | North of Spain | 2003-2019 | 2 | | SP-PORC | Spanish Porcupine Bottom Trawl Survey | Irish Sea | 2003-2019 | 5 | | SWC-IBTS | Scottish West Coast International Bottom Trawl Survey | Scotland Shelf Sea | 1999-2010 | 2 | ### Trait data The complete traits data table is available upon request. It is a combination of the publicly available PANGAEA database, Fishbase information, and inference based on the FISHLIFE project. ### Environmental variables The data used are all publicly available on the Copernicus website. ### Fishing data The data used are all publicly available on the Global Fishing Watch website. ## Recommended Citation Please use the following citation: Receveur, A., Leprieur F., Ellingsen K., Keith D., Kleisner K., McLean M., Mérigot B., Mills K., Mouillot D., Rufino M., Trindade-Santos I., Van Hoey G., Albouy C., Auber A. Data for “Long-term changes in taxonomic and functional composition of European marine fish communities.” Dryad Digital Repository. (2024). doi.org/10.5061/dryad.x69p8czsj ## Acknowledgments This research is a product of the MAESTRO group funded by the synthesis center CESAB of the French Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB). We thank France Filière Pêche (FFP) who founded the MAESTRO project. We also warmly thank all those who have contributed in any way to the scientific surveys and data collection/provision (European Institutions and scientists implicated in DATRAS-BTS, MEDITS, and DCF). ## References 1. ICES. The EVHOE survey (France). ICES Documents. (1997). Available at: https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00036/14707/12013.pdf 2. ICES. Manual of the IBTS North Eastern Atlantic Surveys. Series of ICES Survey Protocols SISP 15 (2017). doi:10.17895/ices.pub.3519 3. ICES. Manual for the International Bottom Trawl Surveys Revision VIII. Series of ICES Survey Protocols SISP 10 - IBTS IX. (2015). 4. https://ices-library.figshare.com/articles/report/SISP_7_-*Manual_for_the_Baltic_International_Trawl_Surveys_BITS*/19050986 5. https://gis.ices.dk/geonetwork/srv/api/records/ce94a257-c8b3-44f7-9fd0-6bd7449ce073 6. http://ices.dk/sites/pub/CM%20Doccuments/2002/D/D0302A.pdf 7. https://ices-library.figshare.com/articles/report/SISP_14_-*Manual_for_the_Offshore_Beam_Trawl_Surveys_WGBEAM*/19051328 8. https://gis.ices.dk/geonetwork/srv/api/records/936b4fb7-9baa-4dbc-abd0-b1b7bda16406 9. https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00117/22783/20585.pdf Evidence of large-scale biodiversity degradation in marine ecosystems has been reported worldwide, yet most research has focused on few species of interest or on limited spatiotemporal scales. Here we assessed the spatial and temporal changes in the taxonomic and functional composition of fish communities in European seas over the last 25 years (1994-2019). We then explored how these community changes were linked to environmental gradients and fishing pressure. We show that the spatial variation in fish species composition is more than two times higher than the temporal variation, with a marked spatial continuum in taxonomic composition and a more homogenous pattern in functional composition. The regions warming the fastest are experiencing an increasing dominance and total abundance of r-strategy fish species (lower age of maturity). Conversely, regions warming more slowly show an increasing dominance and total abundance of K-strategy species (high trophic level and late reproduction). Among the considered environmental variables, sea surface temperature, surface salinity, and chlorophyll-a most consistently influenced communities’ spatial patterns, while bottom temperature and oxygen had the most consistent influence on temporal patterns. Changes in communities’ functional composition were more closely related to environmental conditions than taxonomic changes. Our study demonstrates the importance of integrating community-level species traits across multi-decadal scales and across a large region to better capture and understand ecosystem-wide responses and provides a different lens on community dynamics that could be used to support sustainable fisheries management.

Energy and environmental stability are positively correlated with species richness along broad-scale spatial gradients in terrestrial ecosystems, so their relative importance in generating and preserving diversity cannot be readily disentangled. This study seeks to exploit the negative correlation between energy and stability along the oceanic depth gradient to better understand their relative contribution in shaping broadscale biodiversity patterns. We develop a conceptual framework by simulating speciation and extinction along energy and stability gradients to generate expected patterns of biodiversity for a suite of complementary phylogenetic diversity metrics. Using a time-calibrated molecular phylogeny for New Zealand marine ray-finned fishes and a replicated community ecological sampling design, we then modelled these metrics along large-scale depth and latitude gradients. Our results indicate that energy-rich shallow waters may be an engine of diversity for percomorphs, but also suggest that recent speciation occurs in ancient fish lineages in the deep sea, hence questioning the role of energy as a key driver of speciation. Despite potentially facing high extinction early in their evolution, ancient phylogenetic lineages specialized for the deep-sea were likely preserved by environmental stability during the Cenozoic. Furthermore, intermediate depths might be a “museum” (or zone of overlap) for distinct lineages that occur predominantly in either shallow or deep-sea waters. These intermediate depths (500-900m) may form a “phylogenetic diversity bank”, perhaps providing a refuge during ancient (Mesozoic) extreme anoxic events affecting the deep sea and more recent (Pliocene-Pleistocene) climatic events occurring in shallow ecosystems. Finally, the phylogenetic structures observed in fish communities at intermediate depths suggest other processes might restrict the co-occurrence of closely related species. Overall, by combining a conceptual framework with models of empirical phylogenetic diversity patterns, our study paves the way for understanding the determinants of biodiversity across the largest habitat on earth.

AbstractOcean ecosystems are at the forefront of the climate and biodiversity crises, yet we lack a unified approach to assess their state and inform sustainable policies. This blueprint is designed around research capabilities and cross-sectoral partnerships. We highlight priorities including integrating basin-scale observation, modelling and genomic approaches to understand Atlantic oceanography and ecosystem connectivity; improving ecosystem mapping; identifying potential tipping points in deep and open ocean ecosystems; understanding compound impacts of multiple stressors including warming, acidification and deoxygenation; enhancing spatial and temporal management and protection. We argue that these goals are best achieved through partnerships with policy-makers and community stakeholders, and promoting research groups from the South Atlantic through investment and engagement. Given the high costs of such research (€800k to €1.7M per expedition and €30–40M for a basin-scale programme), international cooperation and funding are integral to supporting science-led policies to conserve ocean ecosystems that transcend jurisdictional borders.

AbstractOcean warming can modify the ecophysiology and distribution of marine organisms, and relationships between species, with nonlinear interactions between ecosystem components potentially resulting in trophic amplification. Trophic amplification (or attenuation) describe the propagation of a hydroclimatic signal up the food web, causing magnification (or depression) of biomass values along one or more trophic pathways. We have employed 3‐D coupled physical‐biogeochemical models to explore ecosystem responses to climate change with a focus on trophic amplification. The response of phytoplankton and zooplankton to global climate‐change projections, carried out with the IPSL Earth System Model by the end of the century, is analysed at global and regional basis, including European seas (NE Atlantic, Barents Sea, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Bay of Biscay, Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea) and the Eastern Boundary Upwelling System (Benguela). Results indicate that globally and in Atlantic Margin and North Sea, increased ocean stratification causes primary production and zooplankton biomass to decrease in response to a warming climate, whilst in the Barents, Baltic and Black Seas, primary production and zooplankton biomass increase. Projected warming characterized by an increase in sea surface temperature of 2.29 ± 0.05 °C leads to a reduction in zooplankton and phytoplankton biomasses of 11% and 6%, respectively. This suggests negative amplification of climate driven modifications of trophic level biomass through bottom‐up control, leading to a reduced capacity of oceans to regulate climate through the biological carbon pump. Simulations suggest negative amplification is the dominant response across 47% of the ocean surface and prevails in the tropical oceans; whilst positive trophic amplification prevails in the Arctic and Antarctic oceans. Trophic attenuation is projected in temperate seas. Uncertainties in ocean plankton projections, associated to the use of single global and regional models, imply the need for caution when extending these considerations into higher trophic levels.

In Europe, the transition from hunter–gatherer–fisher-based communities into societies mainly relying on farming was spread from the southeast towards the north and west during the Holocene. In central Germany, farming was adopted at ~7500 cal. yr BP, whereas the shift is evident at ~6000–5500 cal. yr BP in northern Germany and southern Scandinavia. Consequently, farming techniques were available for more than a millennium. Some studies argue that climate change might have played a role in the onset of farming in those areas. The aim of this study is to reconstruct the mid- to late-Holocene sea surface temperature (SST) evolution in the Skagerrak to document potential regional climatic impacts on changes in human economy. We compare our results with a record of human settlement activity in northern Germany and southern Scandinavia. Prior to ~6300 cal. yr BP, warm SSTs are documented throughout the Skagerrak, suggesting dominance of North Atlantic sourced water inflow providing mild climatic conditions. Between ~6300 and 5400 cal. yr BP, that is, concomitant with the shift in human economy, SSTs in the NE Skagerrak dropped by ~5–6°C, as also documented in mean annual air temperatures in central South Sweden, although less pronounced. The regional cooling suggests outflow of colder Baltic Sea water only affecting the NE Skagerrak and central South Sweden. Probably, numerous severe winters reflecting a continental-dominated atmospheric circulation pattern prevailed over the region. These changes most likely caused a gradual restriction in natural food sources, in particular from the marine realm. We thus suggest that hunter–gatherer–fishers were forced to adopt farming strategies to counter-balance this environmental stress. Our results indicate that regional changes in oceanography probably amplifying North Atlantic climate change in the western Baltic were an important factor that played a role in the adoption of farming in northern Germany and southern Scandinavia.

Suggested citation: Pörtner, H.O., Scholes, R.J., Agard, J., Archer, E., Arneth, A., Bai, X., Barnes, D., Burrows, M., Chan, L., Cheung, W.L., Diamond, S., Donatti, C., Duarte, C., Eisenhauer, N., Foden, W., Gasalla, M. A., Handa, C., Hickler, T., Hoegh-Guldberg, O., Ichii, K., Jacob, U., Insarov, G., Kiessling, W., Leadley, P., Leemans, R., Levin, L., Lim, M., Maharaj, S., Managi, S., Marquet, P. A., McElwee, P., Midgley, G., Oberdorff, T., Obura, D., Osman, E., Pandit, R., Pascual, U., Pires, A. P. F., Popp, A., Reyes-García, V., Sankaran, M., Settele, J., Shin, Y. J., Sintayehu, D. W., Smith, P., Steiner, N., Strassburg, B., Sukumar, R., Trisos, C., Val, A.L., Wu, J., Aldrian, E., Parmesan, C., Pichs-Madruga, R., Roberts, D.C., Rogers, A.D., Díaz, S., Fischer, M., Hashimoto, S., Lavorel, S., Wu, N., Ngo, H.T. 2021. IPBES-IPCC co-sponsored workshop report on biodiversity and climate change; IPBES and IPCC, DOI:10.5281/zenodo.4782538 This report presents the main conclusions of the first-ever IPCC-IPBES co-sponsored workshop which took place in December 2020. The workshop explored diverse facets of the interaction between climate and biodiversity, from current trends to the role and implementation of nature-based solutions and the sustainable development of human society. This report is underpinned by the Scientific Outcome, which includes seven sections, the complete references and the report glossary. You can find the Scientific Outcome here https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4659158

Space available for aquaculture, in Europe as elsewhere, is in limited supply and high demand. Additional tools are required to support the identification of potential new sites and to assess their suitability and sustainability for various aquaculture segments. In this report, various aquaculture indicators that were derived using satellite Earth Observation and modelling approaches as part of Tools for Assessment and Planning of Aquaculture Sustainability (TAPAS) are presented. These cover far-field, regional ecosystem-scale coastal and offshore aquaculture segments in different parts of Europe. Indicators specific to shellfish and finfish biology and farms are presented, as are more general biogeochemical indicators, and include the identification of current and forecasted future opportunities for aquaculture, as well as environmental risks to the industry. Specifically, satellite ocean-colour observations are used to produce maps of optical water types and suspended particulate matter extremes for the North East Atlantic and Mediterranean, and of harmful algal bloom risk in north-western European waters for the current period (Section 2; PML). Output from a 3D hydrodynamic-biogeochemical ocean model (POLCOMS-ERSEM) is used to produce indicators of current (early-century) and future (mid- and late-century) aquaculture suitability for the Mediterranean Sea and the North West European shelf sea, notably water temperature, phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass, and degree day modelled maps of Pacific oyster spawning and metamorphosis potential, under different climate scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and 8.5; Section 3; PML). Section 3 output is used in further pan-European modelling of Pacific oyster growth potential via dynamic energy budget (DEB) theory, transformed into industry-relevant indicators for the early- and late-century scenarios (Section 4; UN). The evaluation of Mediterranean finfish Aquaculture Allocated Zone carrying capacity, through the modelling of near-surface currents, chlorophyll-a, and dissolved inorganic nutrients used to calculate environmental indicators and an overall environmental index, also made use of Section 3 outputs (Section 5; HCMR). Additional 3D hydrodynamic-biogeochemical ocean modelling (A20) outputs have been used for macro-siting of offshore salmon and mussel aquaculture in the North Atlantic and Nordic Seas, using thresholds of several output variables to establish and map environmental suitability indices for each (Section 6; NIVA). The compiled approaches and proposed indicators are relevant to diverse European aquaculture segments and situations, and could be individually selected or mix-and-matched to best respond to the particular context or question. Using far-field models, large-scale zones of interest are highlighted for broad aquaculture planning and policy development, which can be then considered in higher resolution at subsequent planning and decision-making steps. Long-term sustainability and uncertainties were considered through the implementation of various climate and management scenarios in modelled forecasting of indicators. Such consideration of different scenarios helps zones of interest to be identified, and also serves to highlight which factors are expected have the greatest impact on the given aquaculture sector. This study has received funding from the EU H2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 678396. This is Deliverable 6.6 from the TAPAS project (Tools for Assessment and Planning of Aquaculture Sustainability). Refer to this document as: Palmer, S., Barillé, L., Gernez, P., Ciavatta, S., Evers-King, H., Kay, S., Kurekin, A., Loveday, B., Miller, P.I., Simis, S., Wilson, R., Tsiaras, K., Wallhead, P., Kristiansen, T., Staalstrøm, A., Dale, T., Bellerby R., 2019. Earth Observation and model-derived aquaculture indicators report. TAPAS project Deliverable 6.6 report. 65 pp. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.3581506