• Energy Research

Historical exploitation of the Mediterranean Sea and the absence of rigorous baselines makes it difficult to evaluate the current health of the marine ecosystems and the efficacy of conservation actions at the ecosystem level. Here we establish the first current baseline and gradient of ecosystem structure of nearshore rocky reefs at the Mediterranean scale. We conducted underwater surveys in 14 marine protected areas and 18 open access sites across the Mediterranean, and across a 31-fold range of fish biomass (from 3.8 to 118 g m(-2)). Our data showed remarkable variation in the structure of rocky reef ecosystems. Multivariate analysis showed three alternative community states: (1) large fish biomass and reefs dominated by non-canopy algae, (2) lower fish biomass but abundant native algal canopies and suspension feeders, and (3) low fish biomass and extensive barrens, with areas covered by turf algae. Our results suggest that the healthiest shallow rocky reef ecosystems in the Mediterranean have both large fish and algal biomass. Protection level and primary production were the only variables significantly correlated to community biomass structure. Fish biomass was significantly larger in well-enforced no-take marine reserves, but there were no significant differences between multi-use marine protected areas (which allow some fishing) and open access areas at the regional scale. The gradients reported here represent a trajectory of degradation that can be used to assess the health of any similar habitat in the Mediterranean, and to evaluate the efficacy of marine protected areas.

Studies aimed at describing habitats and mapping their distributions are pivotal to implementing management plans and to effectively guide conservation measures. We developed a novel approach of data collection and entry (CAT-LIT) to establish a detailed cartography of the littoral habitats found along the Catalan coast (Spain). Field data were recorded using coded, two-digit hierarchical lists (e.g. Aa, Ab, etc.) of horizons found at each point along the coast, called catenas. The horizons were either dominated by species (on the rocky bottoms) or sediment types (on the beaches) and corresponded to LPRE, EUNIS and CORINE habitats. Catenas were transferred into a database and calculations about the extent of bottom types, habitats, and catenas themselves along the coast were carried out with GIS tools. In addition, habitat link richness was calculated and represented using network analysis programs. The application of CAT-LIT to the Catalan coast showed that the habitats dominated by the lichen Verrucaria amphibia and the flattened barnacle Euraphia depressa and those dominated by the barnacle Chthamalus spp. were almost ubiquitous. Those dominated by the red alga Corallina elongata, the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and the red alga Rissoella verruculosa were also common. Because of the frequency of their connections, those habitats formed a huge hub of links in the networks. By using catenas, the habitats can be viewed using GIS based programs keeping the catena as the main informational and ecological unit. The catenas allow maximum compactness when vertically distributed habitats are to be shown on a 2D map. The complete cartography and dataset on the spatial distribution of the littoral habitats from Catalonia is valuable for coastal management and conservation to study changes in the habitat distribution and relate such changes to anthropogenic pressures. Furthermore, the CAT-LIT can be easily adapted to shores of other seas and oceans to obtain accurate cartographies of the spatiallyreduced and highly vulnerable littoral habitats. Financial support came from the projects “Cartografia dels H abitats Litorals a Catalunya” (Departament de Territori i Sosteniblitat and Institut Cartogr afic, Generalitat de Catalunya) and INTRAMURAL CSIC 201330E065. This study is also a contribution of GRACCIE (C5D2007-00067) and CoCoNET (FP7 Grant Agreement: 287844) projects. 12 páginas, 9 figuras, 1 tabla. Peer reviewed

The boundary between land and sea, i.e. the littoral zone, is home to a large number of habitats whose distribution is primarily driven by the distance to the sea level but also by other environmental factors such as littoral's geomorphological features, wave exposure, water temperature or orientation. Here we explore the relative importance of those major environmental factors that drive the presence of littoral rocky habitats along 1100 Km of Catalonia's shoreline (Spain, NW Mediterranean) by using Geographic Information Systems and Generalized Linear Models. The distribution of mediolittoral and upper infralittoral habitats responded to different environmental factors. Mediolittoral habitats showed regional differences drawn by sea-water temperature and substrate type.Wave exposure (hydrodynamism), slope and geological features were only relevant to those mediolittoral habitats with specific environmental needs. We did not find any regional pattern of distribution in upper infralittoral habitats, and selected factors only played a moderate role in habitat distribution at the local scale. This study shows for the first time that environmental factors determining habitat distribution differ within the mediolittoral and the upper infralittoral zones and provides the basis for further development of models oriented at predicting the distribution of littoral marine habitats. Financial support for this work was provided by projects INTRAMURAL CSIC 0065 “Estudios para la implementaci on de las Directivas Europeas H abitats, Marco del Agua y Estrategia Marina en el Mediterr aneo Español”. 12 páginas, 4 figuras, 4 tablas Peer reviewed

Vertical variation in the distribution of rocky shore assemblages is greater than horizontal variation, as shown by univariate and multivariate analysis performed with data obtained along 1000 km of shoreline and covering from the upper supralittoral to the upper infralittoral zone ( 1 m). Consequently, vertical littoral zonation is a consistent pattern at a regional scale within the same biogeographical zone. While their distribution varies at the same shore height, marine species and assemblages from rocky shores show a specific vertical sequence known as zonation. A key question in ecology is how consistent is zonation along large spatial scales. The aim of this study is to show distribution patterns of littoral assemblages at a regional scale and to identify the most relevant abiotic factors associated to such patterns. The study is based on a detailed and extensive survey at a regional scale on a tideless rocky shore. Benthic macroflora and macrofauna of 750 relev es were described along the vertical axis of 143 transects distributed across the shoreline of Catalonia (NW Mediterranean). The Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) first axis is highly related to the height on the shore: species, relev es, and assemblages grade from lower to upper height (infralittoral to supralittoral). As observed in nature, different assemblages co-occur at the same height at different sites, which is shown along DCA second axis. The abiotic variables that best explain the assemblage distribution patterns are: height (75% of the model inertia), longitude (14.6%), latitude (7.2%) and transect slope (2.9%). The Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) first axis is related to height on the shore and explains four times more variance than CCA second axis, which is related to the horizontal gradient. Generalized Lineal Model (GLM) results show that height on the shore is the factor explaining most of the variance in species presence. Most studied species show distribution patterns related to latitude and longitude, but always in a much smaller proportion than to height. Financial support for this work was provided by projects “Cartography of the littoral habitats of Catalonia” (Departament de Medi Ambient & Institut Cartogr afic, Generalitat de Catalunya), GRACCIE (C5D2007-00067), CoCoNET (FP7 Grant Agreement: 287844) and INTRAMURAL CSIC 201330E065. Emma Cebrian was involved in the writing and acquisition of the project and provided initial support. 10 páginas, 5 figuras, 1 tabla. Peer reviewed