Stability of the relationships among demersal fish assemblages and environmental-trawling drivers at large spatio-temporal scales in the northern Mediterranean Sea

Bastien Mérigot; Jean Claude Gaertner; Anik Brind’Amour; Pierluigi Carbonara; Antonio Esteban; Cristina Garcia-Ruiz; Michele Gristina; Taha Imzilen; Angélique Jadaud; Aleksandar Joksimovic; Stefanos Kavadas; Jerina Kolitari; Irida Maina; Porzia Maiorano; Chiara Manfredi; Reno Micallef; Panagiota Peristeraki; Giulio Relini; Mario Sbrana; Maria Teresa Spedicato; Ioannis Thasitis; Stefania Vittori; Nedo Vrgoc

doi:10.3989/scimar.04954.30A

Authors

Bastien Mérigot MARBEC - Université de Montpellier, CNRS https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5264-4324
Jean Claude Gaertner Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR 241 Ecosystèmes Insulaire Océanique (EIO), Université de Polynésie française https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9248-6260
Anik Brind’Amour Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer (Ifremer), Département Ecologie et Modèles pour l’Halieutique (EMH) https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4072-2588
Pierluigi Carbonara COISPA Tecnologia e Ricerca, Stazione Sperimentale per lo Studio delle Risorse del Mare https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2529-2535
Antonio Esteban Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Centro Oceanográfico de Murcia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2896-7972
Cristina Garcia-Ruiz Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2767-4200
Michele Gristina Institute of Anthropic Impacts and Sustainability in marine environment (CNR) https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3639-7655
Taha Imzilen MARBEC - Université de Montpellier, CNRS https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8257-9113
Angélique Jadaud MARBEC - Université de Montpellier, CNRS https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6858-3570
Aleksandar Joksimovic Institute of Marine Biology, University of Montenegro https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0796-4641
Stefanos Kavadas Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3473-9084
Jerina Kolitari Aquaculture and Fishery Laboratory Durres, Agricultural University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6116-8726
Irida Maina Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5244-2722
Porzia Maiorano Department of Biology, University of Bari Aldo Moro https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5737-3025
Chiara Manfredi Laboratorio di Biologia Marina e Pesca di Fano, Dipto. B.E.S., Università di Bologna https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2852-4856
Reno Micallef Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change (MSDEC) https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1921-508X
Panagiota Peristeraki Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Hellenic Center for Marine Research - University of Crete, Biology Department https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8608-078X
Giulio Relini Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell’Ambiente e della Vita (DISTAV) https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2502-5581
Mario Sbrana Consorzio per il Centro Interuniversitario di Biologia Marina ed Ecologia Applicata https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9562-8372
Maria Teresa Spedicato COISPA Tecnologia e Ricerca, Stazione Sperimentale per lo Studio delle Risorse del Mare https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9939-9426
Ioannis Thasitis Department of Fisheries and Marine Research, Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0940-2212
Stefania Vittori Dipartimento di Scienze della vita e dell’ambiente, Università di Cagliari https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6857-0470
Nedo Vrgoc Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5208-4512

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.04954.30A

Keywords:

species composition, stability, demersal assemblages, environment, fishing pressure, large scale, co-inertia analysis, STATICO-CoA

Abstract

Trawling pressure and environmental changes may affect the composition of fish assemblages. Our knowledge on large spatio-temporal patterns of demersal fish composition remains incomplete for the Mediterranean Sea. We investigated (1) the spatio-temporal stability of demersal assemblages, (2) the relationships between these assemblages and potential structuring factors (trawling pressure and environmental conditions) in order to assess the dynamic of the assemblage structure at the scale of the northern Mediterranean Sea. We analysed a dataset of 18062 hauls from 10 to 800 m depth performed annually during the last two decades across 17 Geographical Sub-Areas (GSAs) (MEDITS program). A multi-table analysis (STATICO-CoA) evidenced a strong inter-GSAs stability in the organization of assemblages, with specificities for some GSAs. The most stable structuring factors were linked to combined gradients of chlorophyll a, phytoplancton carbon biomass and temperature, inversely correlated with depth, salinity and nutrient gradients (axis 1 of the STATICO-CoA compromise, 93.74% of the total variability). A common pattern linking the distribution of species to these environmental gradients was evidenced for most of the 17 GSAs. Estimate of trawling pressure showed a minor role in the organization of the assemblages for the spatial scale and years investigated (axis 2, 4.67%).

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