Anthropic pressure due to lost fishing gears and marine litter on different rhodolith beds off the Campania Coast (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/EQ.2020.027Keywords
deep biogenic habitats, coralline red algae, ROV, habitat degradation, human impacts, marine debris, Mediterranean SeaAbstract
Impact of fishing gears and marine litter is a recognized global socio-ecological issue. Little is known about the extent of the problem in the Mediterranean seabed; even less information is available regarding litter distribution and its effects on deep rhodolith beds. Indeed, Mediterranean rhodolith beds are often remote and not yet sufficiently explored habitats, despite being internationally protected and recognized among the most important benthic communities for biodiversity maintenance. In this study, a quantitative assessment of marine litter and lost fishing gears, observed using a remotely operated vehicle, was carried out in 6 sites off the Campania Coast (Tyrrhenian Sea) characterized by different rhodolith covers. A negative correlation between abundance and richness of both marine litter and abandoned fishing gears with respect to the rhodolith cover was detected, suggesting that indirect human pressure along the coasts and direct effect of fishing activities might negatively damage these habitats. In fact, a lot of abandoned fishing gears and litter were recorded in all the 4 sites of the Gulf of Naples, confirming the high impact of maritime activities in this overcrowded area. Particularly, the Secchitiello site showed a very low mean cover of rhodoliths (<5%) in concurrence with the highest abundance of lost fishing gears and litter. On the contrary, the lowest abundance of fishing gears and litter was recorded in the 2 sites along the Cilento coast, possibly due to the relatively low maritime activities in this poorly inhabited area. In conclusion, this work gives new insights into the anthropic pressure due to marine litter and fishing on deep Mediterranean rhodolith beds, and provides useful data for their management and conservation.
References
Aguilar R., Pastor X., Torriente A., Garcia S., 2009, Deep-sea coralligenous beds observed with ROV on four seamounts in the western Mediterranean. In UNEP-MAP-RAC/SPA, Proceedings of the 1st Mediterranean symposium on the conservation of the coralligenous and others calcareous bio-concretions. Tabarka, Tunis: CAR/ASP publishing: 147-149.
Anderson M., 2001, A new method for non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance. Austral ecology 26(1): 32-46.
Angiolillo M., di Lorenzo B., Farcomeni A., Bo M., Bavestrello G., Santangelo G., Cau A., Mastascusa V., Cau A. Sacco F., Canese S., 2015, Distribution and assessment of marine debris in the deep Tyrrhenian Sea (NW Mediterranean Sea, Italy). Marine pollution bulletin 92(1-2): 149-159.
Appolloni, L., Sandulli, R., Vetrano, G., Russo, G.F., 2018, A new approach to assess marine opportunity costs and monetary values-in-use for spatial planning and conservation; the case study of Gulf of Naples, Mediterranean Sea, Italy. Ocean & coastal management 152: 135-144.
Appolloni L., Ferrigno F., Russo G.F., Sandulli R., 2020, β-Diversity of morphological groups as indicator of coralligenous community quality status. Ecological Indicators 109: 105840.
Babbini L., Bressan G., Massa-Gallucci A., Buia M.C., Gambi M.C., 2006, Segnalazione di una faciesa mäerl (Rhodophyta, Corallinales) lungo le coste dell’isola d’Ischia. Biologia Marina Mediterranea 13(1).
Ballesteros E., 2006, Mediterranean coralligenous assemblages: a synthesis of present knowledge. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review 44: 123–195.
Basso D., Babbini L., Kaleb S., Falace A., Bracchi V.A., 2014, A protocol for the monitoring of Mediterranean rhodolith beds. In Proceedings of the 2nd Mediterranean Symposium on the conservation of Coralligenous and other Calcareous Bio-Concretions (Portorož, Slovenia, 29-30 October 2014).
Basso D., Babbini L., Kaleb S., Bracchi V., Falace A., 2016, Monitoring deep Mediterranean rhodolith beds. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 26(3): 549-561.
Basso D., Babbini L., Ramos-Esplá A.A., Salomidi M., 2017, Mediterranean Rhodolith Beds. In: Riosmena-Rodríguez R., Nelson W., Aguirre J. (eds) Rhodolith/Maërl Beds: A Global Perspective. Coastal Research Library, vol 15. Springer, Cham.
Bauer L.J., Kendall M.S., Jeffrey C.F.G., 2008, Incidence of marine debris and its relationships with benthic features in Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary, Southeast USA. Marine pollution bulletin 56: 402–413.
Bergmann M., Klages M., 2012, Increase of litter at the Arctic deep-sea observatory, HAUSGARTEN. Marine pollution bulletin 64: 2734–2741.
Bianchi C.N., Boero F., Carobene L., Carpaneto G., Fraschetti S., Morri C., Peccenini S., 2004, Problemi di conservazione e gestione. In: Cosentino, A., La Posta, A., Morandini, C., Muscio, G. (Eds.), Quaderni Habitat 7, Coste marine rocciose – La vita tra roccia e salsedine: 135–142.
Blake C., Maggs C.A., 2003, Comparative growth rates and internal banding periodicity of maerl species (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) from northern Europe. Phycologia 42(6): 606-612.
Blanchard F., LeLoc’h F. Hily C., Boucher J., 2004, Fishing effects on diversity, size and community structure of the benthic invertebrate and fish megafauna on the Bay of Biscay coast of France. Marine Ecology Progress Series 280: 249-260.
Bo M., Bava S., Canese S., Angiolillo M., Cattaneo-Vietti R., Bavestrello G., 2014, Fishing impact on deep Mediterranean rocky habitats as revealed by ROV investigation. Biological Conservation 171: 167-176.
Bordehore C., Borg J.A., Lanfranco E., Ramos-Esplá A., Rizzo M., Schembri P.J., 2000, Trawling as a major threat to Mediterranean maerl beds. In Symposium on marine vegetation (Ajaccio, 3-4 October 2000): 105.
Bordehore C., Ramos‐Esplá A.A., Riosmena‐Rodríguez R., 2003, Comparative study of two maerl beds with different otter trawling history, southeast Iberian Peninsula. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 13(S1): S43-S54.
Brown J., Macfadyen G., 2007, Ghost fishing in European waters: impacts and management responses. Marine Policy 31(4): 488-504.
Buonocore E., Picone F., Russo G.F., Franzese P.P., 2018. The scientific research on natural capital: A bibliometric network analysis. Journal of Environmental Accounting and Management 6 (4): 381-91.
Buonocore E., Picone F., Donnarumma L., Russo G.F., Franzese P.P., 2019. Modeling matter and energy flows in marine ecosystems using emergy and eco-exergy methods to account for natural capital value. Ecological Modelling 392: 137-46.
Buonocore E., Appolloni L., Russo G.F., Franzese P.P., 2020. Assessing natural capital value in marine ecosystems through an environmental accounting model: A case study in Southern Italy. Ecological Modelling 419: 108958.
Buonocore E., Donnarumma L., Appolloni L., Miccio A., Russo G.F., Franzese P.P., 2020. Marine natural capital and ecosystem services: An environmental accounting model. Ecological Modelling 424: 109029.
Castriota L., Gambi M.C., Zupo V., Sunseri G., 2003, Structure and trophic ecology of a population of Lysidice ninetta (Polychaeta) associated to rhodoliths off the island 112 of Ustica (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea). Biologia Marina Mediterrannea 10(2): 517-520.
Castriota L., Agamennone F., Sunseri, G., 2005, The mollusc community associated with maerl beds of Ustica Island (Tyrrhenian Sea). Cahiers de biologie marine 46(3): 289-297.
Carr A., 1987, Impact of non degradable marine debris on the ecology and survival outlook of sea turtles. Marine Pollution Bulletin 18(6): 352-356.
Cattaneo-Vietti R., Bo M., Cannas R., Cau A., Follesa C., Meliadò E., Russo G.F., Sandulli R., Bavestrello G., 2016, An overexploited Italian treasure: past and present distribution and exploitation of the precious red coral Corallium rubrum (L., 1758) (Cnidaria: Anthozoa). Italian Journal of Zoology 83(4): 443-455.
Chiappone, M., Swanson, D.W., Miller, S.L., Dienes, H., 2004, Spatial distribution of lost fishing gear on fished and protected offshore reefs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Caribbean Journal of Science 40: 312–326.
Chiappone M., Dienes H., Swanson D.W., Miller S.L., 2005, Impacts of lost fishing gear on coral reef sessile invertebrates in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Biological Conservation 121: 221–230.
Clark M.R., Koslow, J., 2007, Impacts of fisheries on seamounts. In: Pitcher, T., Morato, T., Hart, P., Clark, M., Haggan, N., Santos, R. (Eds.), Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries, and Conservation, Blackwell Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Series 12. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK: 413-441.
Clark M.R., Althaus F., Schlacher T.A., Williams A., Bowden D.A., Rowden A.A., 2016, The impacts of deep-sea fisheries on benthic communities: a review. ICES Journal of Marine Science 73: i51-i69.
Council of the European Union, 2006, Council Regulation No. 1967/2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea, amending Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1626/94. Official Journal of the European Union 409(30.12).
Daskalov G.M., Grishin A.N., Rodionov S., Mihneva V., 2007, Trophic cascades triggered by overfishing reveal possible mechanisms of ecosystem regime shifts. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104(25): 10518-10523.
De Grave S., 1999, The influence of sedimentary heterogeneity on within maërl bed differences in infaunal crustacean community. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 49(1): 153-163.
Donnarumma L., Lombardi C., Cocito S., Gambi M.C., 2014, Settlement pattern of Posidonia oceanica epibionts along a gradient of ocean acidification: an approach with mimics. Mediterranean Marine Science 15(3): 498-509.
Donnarumma L., Sandulli R., Appolloni L., Di Stefano F., Russo, G.F., 2018, Morpho-structural and ecological features of a shallow vermetid bioconstruction in the Tyrrhenian Sea (Mediterranean Sea, Italy). Journal of Sea Research 131: 61-68.
Donohue M.J., Boland R.C., Sramek C.M., Antonelis G.A., 2001, Derelict fishing gear in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands: diving surveys and debris removal in 1999 confirm threat to coral reef ecosystems. Marine pollution bulletin 42:1301–1312.
European Commission, 2010, Commission decision of 1 September 2010 on criteria and methodological standards on good environmental status of marine waters. Official Journal of the European Union L 232/14.
European Parliament, Council of the European Union, 2008, Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of marine environmental policy (Marine Strategy Framework Directive). Official Journal of the European Union L 1.
Ferrigno F., Russo G.F., Sandulli R., 2017, Coralligenous Bioconstructions Quality Index (CBQI): a synthetic indicator to assess the status of different types of coralligenous habitats. Ecological Indicators 82: 271-279.
Ferrigno F., Appolloni L., Russo G.F., Sandulli R., 2018, Impact of fishing activities on different coralligenous assemblages of Gulf of Naples (Italy). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 98(1): 41-50.
Ferrigno F., Appolloni L., Rendina F., Donnarumma L., Russo G.F., Sandulli R., 2020, Red coral (Corallium rubrum) populations and coralligenous characterization within “Regno di Nettuno MPA” (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy). The European Zoological Journal 87(1): 203-213.
Fosså J.H., Mortensen P.B., Furevik D.M., 2002, The deep-water coral Lophelia pertusa in Norwegian waters: distribution and fishery impacts. Hydrobiologia 471: 1-12.
Foster M.S., Filho G.M.A., Kamenos K.A., Riosmena-Rodríguez R., Steller D.L., 2013, Rhodoliths and rhodolith beds. Research and Discoveries: Research and Discoveries: The Revolution of Science Through SCUBA: 143-155.
Franzese P.P., Buonocore E., Donnarumma L., Russo G.F., 2017. Natural capital accounting in marine protected areas: The case of the islands of Ventotene and S. Stefano (Central Italy). Ecological Modelling 360: 290-299.
Galgani F., Hanke G., Maes T., 2015, Global distribution, composition and abundance of marine litter. In Marine anthropogenic litter. Springer, Cham.: 29-56.
Galgani F., Leaute J.P., Moguedet P., Souplet A., Verin Y., Carpentier A., Goraguer H., Latrouite D., Andral B., Cadiou Y., Mahe J.C., Poulard J.C., Nerisson P., 2000, Litter on the sea floor along European coasts. Marine pollution bulletin 40: 516–527.
Galil B.S., Golik A., Türkay M., 1995, Litter at the bottom of the sea: a sea bed survey in the Eastern Mediterranean. Marine pollution bulletin 30: 22–24.
Gall S.C., Thompson R.C., 2015, The impact of debris on marine life. Marine pollution bulletin 92(1-2): 170-179.
Gambi M.C., Buia M.C., Massa-Gallucci A., Cigliano M., Lattanzi L., Patti F.P., 2009. The “pink mile”: benthic assemblages of rhodolith and mäerl beds (Corallinales) off the Island of Ischia (Tyrrhenian Sea). In: Proceedings of the 1st Mediterranean symposium on the conservation of the coralligenous and others calcareous bio-concretions (Tabarka, 15-16 January 2009). RAC/SPA publ., Tunis: 197-200.
Gilman E., Chaloupka M., Read A., Dalzell P., Holetschek J., Curtice C., 2012, Hawaii longline tuna fishery temporal trends in standardized catch rates and length distributions and effects on pelagic and seamount ecosystems. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 22(4): 446-488.
Guidetti P., Baiata P., Ballesteros E., Di Franco A., Hereu B., Macpherson E., Micheli F., Pais A., Panzalis P., Rosenberg A.A., Zabala M., Sala E., 2014, Large-scale assessment of Mediterranean marine protected areas effects on fish assemblages. PLoS One 9(4): e91841.
Hall-Spencer J.M., Moore P.G., 2000, Scallop dredging has profound, long-term impacts on maërl habitats. ICES Journal of Marine Science 57: 1407–1415.
Hall-Spencer J.M., Allain V., Helge Fosså J., 2002, Trawling damage to Northeast Atlantic ancient coral reefs. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences 269(1490): 507-511.
Hall‐Spencer J.M., Grall J., Moore P.G., Atkinson R.J.A., 2003, Bivalve fishing and maerl‐bed conservation in France and the UK-retrospect and prospect. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 13(S1): S33-S41.
Hall-Spencer J.M., White N., Gillespie E., Gillham K., Foggo A., 2006, Impact of fish farms on maërl beds in strongly tidal areas. Marine Ecology Progress Series 326: 1-9.
Hammer Ø., Harper D.A.T., Ryan P.D., 2001, Past: palaeontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. Palaeontologia electronica 4(1): 1-9.
Harris A.N., Poiner I. R., 1991, Changes in species composition of demersal fish fauna of Southeast Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia, after 20 years of fishing. Marine Biology 111(3): 503-519.
Hess N.A., Ribic C.A., Vining I., 1999, Benthic marine debris, with an emphasis on fishery-related items, surrounding Kodiak Island, Alaska, 1994–1996. Marine pollution bulletin 38: 885–890.
Kaiser J., Collie J., Hall S., Jennings S., Poiner I.R., 2001, Impacts of fishing gears on marine benthic habitats. In: Proc. Reykjavik Conf. Resp. Fish. Mar. Ecosys. Reykjavik, Iceland.
Kamenos N.A., Moore P., Hall-Spencer J., 2003, Substratum heterogeneity of dredged vs un-dredged maerl grounds. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 83(2): 411-413.
Laist D.W., 1987, Overview of the biological effects of lost and discarded plastic debris in the marine environment. Marine pollution bulletin 18: 319–326.
Law K.L., Morét-Ferguson S., Maximenko N.A., Proskurowski G., Peacock E.E., Hafner J., Reddy, C.M., 2010, Plastic Accumulation in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre. Science 329: 1185–1188.
Löhr A., Savelli H., Beunen R., Kalz M., Ragas A., Van Belleghem F., 2017, Solutions for global marine litter pollution. Current opinion in environmental sustainability 28: 90-99.
Mannino A.M., Castriota L., Beltrano A.M., Sunseri G., 2002, The epiflora of a rhodolith bed from the island of Ustica (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea). Flora Mediterranea 12: 11-28.
MacDonald D.S., Little M., Eno M.C., Hiscock K., 1996, Disturbance of benthic species by fishing activities: a sensitivity index. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 6(4): 257-268.
Marrack E.C., 1999, The relationship between water motion and living rhodolith beds in the southwestern Gulf of California, Mexico. Palaios: 159-171.
Martin S., Gattuso J.P., 2009, Response of Mediterranean coralline algae to ocean acidification and elevated temperature. Global Change Biology 15: 2089-2100.
Matsuoka T., Nakashima T., Nagasawa N., 2005, A review of ghost fishing: scientific approaches to evaluation and solutions. Fisheries Science 71(4): 691-702.
Miyake H., Shibata H., Furushima Y., 2011, Deep-Sea Litter Study Using Deep-Sea Observation Tools. In: Omori, K., Guo, X., Yoshie, N., Fujii, N., Handoh, I.C., Isobe, A., Tanabe, S. (Eds.), Interdisciplinary Studies on Environmental Chemistry- Marine Environmental Modeling & Analysis: 261–269.
Mordecai G., Tyler P.A., Masson D.G., Huvenne V.A.I., 2011, Litter in submarine canyons off the west coast of Portugal. Deep-Sea Research Part II 58: 2489–2496.
Peña V., Barbara I., 2010, Seasonal patterns in the mäerl community of shallow European Atlantic beds and their use as a baseline for monitoring studies. European Journal of Phycology 45: 327-342.
Ragazzola F., Foster L.C., Form A., Anderson P.S., Hansteen T.H., Fietzke J., 2012, Ocean acidification weakens the structural integrity of coralline algae. Global change biology 18(9): 2804-2812.
Ragazzola F., Foster L.C., Jones C.J., Scott T.B., Fietzke J., Kilburn M.R., Schmidt D.N., 2016, Impact of high CO2 on the geochemistry of the coralline algae Lithothamnion glaciale. Scientific reports 6(1): 1-9.
Rendina F., Bouchet P.J., Appolloni L., Russo G.F., Sandulli R., Kolzenburg R., Putra A., Ragazzola F., 2019, Physiological response of the coralline alga Corallina officinalis L. to both predicted long-term increases in temperature and short-term heatwave events. Marine environmental research 150: 104764.
Renzi M., Blašković A., Bernardi G., Russo G.F., 2018, Plastic litter transfer from sediments towards marine trophic webs: a case study on holothurians. Marine pollution bulletin 135: 376-385.
Renzi M., Blašković A., Broccoli A., Bernardi G., Grazioli E., Russo, G.F., 2020, Chemical composition of microplastic in sediments and protected detritivores from different marine habitats (Salina Island). Marine Pollution Bulletin 152: 110918.
Rindi F., Braga J., Martin S., Peña V., Le Gall L., Caragnano A., Aguirre, J., 2019, Coralline algae in a changing Mediterranean Sea: how can we predict their future, if we do not know their present?. Frontiers in Marine Science 6: 723.
Russo G.F., Ascione M., Franzese P.P., 2004, Analisi emergetica della Riserva marina di Punta Campanella: valutazione ecologico-economica del comparto pesca. Biologi Italiani 11: 63-70.
Saldanha H.J., Sancho G., Santos M.N., Puente E., Gaspar M.B., Bilbao A., Monteiro C.C., Gomez E., Arregi L., 2003, The use of biofouling for ageing lost nets: a case study. Fisheries Research 64: 141–150.
Sanz-Lázaro C., Belando M.D., Lázaro Marín-Guirao L., Navarrete-Mier F., Arnaldo M.A., 2011, Relationship between sedimentation rates and benthic impact on Maërl beds derived from fish farming in the Mediterranean. Marine Environmental Research 71: 22-30.
Savini A., Basso D., Bracchi V.A., Corselli C., Pennetta M., 2012, Maerl-bed mapping andcarbonate quantification on submerged terraces offshore the Cilento peninsula (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy). Geodiversitas 34(1): 77-98.
Sbrescia L., Di Stefano F., Russo M., Russo G.F., 2008, Influenza della pesca sportiva sulle gorgonie nell’AMP di Punta Campanella. Biologia Marina Mediterranea 15: 172-173.
Schiaparelli S., Chiantore M., Novelli F., Drago N., Cattaneo-Vietti R., Albertelli G., 2001, Stable deep-sea benthos not so stable: long-term changes in a bathyal community in the Ligurian Sea. In: Faranda, F.M., Guglielmo, L., Spezie, G. (Eds.), Mediterranean Ecosystems: Structure and Processes. Springer Verlag, Italia: 340-346.
Soto J., 1990, Vegetación algal sobre sustrato móvil de la zona circalitoral del sureste de la Península Ibérica: una aproximación. Folia Botanica Miscellanea 7: 43-49.
Steller D.L., Riosmena-Rodriguez R., Foster M.S., Roberts C.A., 2003, Rhodolith bed diversity in the Gulf of California: the importance of rhodolith structure and consequences of disturbance. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 13: S5-S20.
Templado J., Calvo M., García-Carrascosa A.M., Boisset F., Jiménez J., 2002, Flora y fauna de la Reserva Marina de las Islas Columbretes. Secretaría Gral. Pesca Marítima. M° Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC: 263.
Terlizzi A., Anderson M.J., Fraschetti S., Benedetti-Cecchi L., 2007, Scales of spatial variation in Mediterranean subtidal sessile assemblages at different depths. Marine Ecology Progress Series 332: 25-39.
Toscano F., Vigliotti M., Simone L., 2006, Variety of coralline algal deposits (rhodalgal facies) from the Bays of Naples and Pozzuoli (northern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy). Geological Society, London, Special Publications 255(1): 85-94.
Vassallo P., Paoli C., Buonocore E., Franzese P.P., Russo G.F., Povero P., 2017. Assessing the value of natural capital in marine protected areas: A biophysical and trophodynamic environmental accounting model. Ecological Modelling 355: 12-17.
Vieira R.P., Raposo I.P., Sobral P., Gonçalves J.M., Bell K.L., Cunha M.R., 2015, Lost fishing gear and litter at Gorringe Bank (NE Atlantic). Journal of sea research 100: 91-98.
Watling L., Norse E.A., 1998, Disturbance of the seabed by mobile fishing gear: a comparison to forest clear cutting. Conservation Biology 12: 1180-1197.
Watters D.L., Yoklavich M.M., Love M.S., Schroeder D.M., 2010, Assessing marine debris in deep seafloor habitats off California. Marine Pollution Bulletin 60: 131-138.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Stats
Number of views and downloads: 1463
Number of citations: 12
