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Location map of Lampedusa Island and bathymetric map of area acquired in 2015 (2.5 × 2.5 m pixel resolution, after [79]).
Source publication
Seafloor topography and grain size distribution are pivotal features in marine and coastal environments, able to influence benthic community structure and ecological processes at many spatial scales. Accordingly, there is a strong interest in multiple research disciplines to obtain seafloor geological and/or habitat maps. The aim of this study was...
Citations
... Marine litter together with dolphin proximity to vessels are variables that can be monitored also by engaging citizens. On the contrary, the Ecological variables density abundance Fortuna, 2006;Holcer, 2012; sex (Genov et al., 2019;Fortuna, 2006) age (Herrman et al., 2020 and references therein) recruitment rate (Currey et al., 2009;Currey et al., 2011) spatial distribution Holcer, 2012;Fortuna et al., 2018; dispersal (Natoli et al., 2005;Nykänen et al., 2018; emigration rate (Wells and Scott, 1990) immigration rate (Wells and Scott, 1990) genetic diversity (Natoli et al., 2005;Gaspari et al., 2013; prey abundance (Bearzi et al., 2004;Bearzi et al., 2005 population size (Fortuna, 2006; dolphin behavior metrics (Fortuna et al., 1996;Bearzi and Notarbartolo di Sciara, 1999;Bearzi 2005) birth growth and mortality rate/mortality rate from incidental by-catch or incidents with boats Ecological variables biomass (Peŕez and Romero, 1994) cover (Marbà et al., 2014) growth rate (Peŕez and Romero, 1994;Marba and Duarte, 2010) leaf elongation rate (Peŕez and Romero, 1994) net primary productivity (Koopmans et al., 2020) erosion-recolonization rate (Duarte and Jensen, 1990;Bonamano et al., 2021) spatial distribution (Tragonos and Reinartz, 2018) patch size (Duarte and Jensen, 1990) biometric measures (Cox et al., 2016) phenological measures (Buia and Mazzella, 1991) genetic diversity (Procaccini et al., 2001) habitat characterization (Letourneur et al., 2003;Brown et al., 2011;Innangi et al., 2022) density of herbivores (Meńdez et al., 2017) abundance of herbivores (Tomas et al., 2005) biomass of epiphytes (Nesti et al., 2009) density of reproductive shoots (Balestri and Cinelli, 2003) biomass of reproductive shoots (Balestri et al., 2006) reproductive rate (Balestri and Cinelli, 2003) flowering frequency (Buia and Mazzella, 1991) shoot density (Marba and Duarte, 2010) number of leaves per shoot (Peŕez and Romero, 1994) composition and abundance of associated organisms (Como et al., 2008;Mascart et al., 2013) presence/abundance of invasive species percentage cover of invasive species Oceanographic variables temperature (Buia and Mazzella, 1991;Marba and Duarte, 2010) salinity (Sanchez Lizaso et al., 2008) PAR (Gonzaĺez-Correa et al., 2005) wave exposure (Tuya et al., 2014) depth (Marba and Duarte, 2010) current velocity (Binzer et al., 2005) current direction (Tuya et al., 2014) sediment type (Gonzaĺez-Correa et al., 2005) sedimentation rate (Cabaco et al., 2008) nutrient concentration in water (Burkholder et al., 2007) nutrient concentration in sediments (Burkholder et al., 2007;Boscutti et al., 2015) organic matter in sediments (Gonzaĺez-Correa et al., 2005) chlorophyll a (Apostolaki et al., 2007) dissolved oxygen (Binzer et al., 2005) transparency (Gonzaĺez-Correa et al., 2005) pH (Boscutti et al., 2015) redox potential of sediments (Boscutti et al., 2015) oxygen concentration in sediments (Koch 2001 and references therein) ...
Implementing effective marine monitoring to detect and track ecosystem shifts, biodiversity alteration, and habitat loss is one of the most crucial challenges to meet the objectives set out by the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework and by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The lack of coordinated and harmonized monitoring frameworks at different spatial scales and their weakness in accounting for ecological processes, due to incomplete sets of monitoring variables, strongly hinder the achievement of conservation objectives. Here, we propose an approach to build a coherent ecosystem-based system of monitoring variables for target marine species and habitats. The approach is designed to integrate the existing monitoring frameworks set up by the Water and the Marine Strategy Framework directives, and the Essential Ocean and Biodiversity Variables, with the aim to contribute to their harmonization and implementation. Furthermore, by embracing a holistic vision, it aims to incorporate ecological processes and socio-ecological aspects, considering the benefits of public engagement through citizen science, and of the ecosystem services approach for policies’ implementation. The study stems from the Ecological Observing System of the Adriatic Sea (ECOAdS), which was developed in the framework of the Interreg Italy-Croatia project ECOSS, using as exemplary monitoring test cases two relevant conservation targets for Natura 2000 sites of the Adriatic Sea, the common bottlenose dolphin and seagrass meadows. We test the potential of this approach in guiding the prioritization of monitoring variables under ecosystem-based criteria, and provide insights into the benefits delivered by an integrated system of observatories’ networks and monitoring frameworks to support marine conservation at both local and regional scales. The proposed approach can be transferred to other contexts and scales to help build a common knowledge and monitoring framework for conservation and management strategies, saving costs by relying on available resources and on consolidated and long-lasting approaches that might converge towards global initiatives.
