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Boussarie G, Kopp D, Lavialle G, Mouchet M, Morfin M. Marine spatial planning to solve increasing conflicts at sea: A framework for prioritizing offshore windfarms and marine protected areas. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 339:117857. [PMID: 37031598 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures on biodiversity and ecosystems are expected to lower the provided ecosystem services (ES) in the near future. To limit these impacts, protected areas will be implemented as part of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. Simultaneously, as an answer to climate change, renewable energies are being rapidly developed on a worldwide scale, leading to a significant increase in space use in the coming decades. Sharing space is an increasingly complex task, especially because of the high rate of emergence of such competitors for space. In fisheries-dominated socio-ecosystems, acceptability of offshore windfarms (OWFs) and marine protected areas (MPAs) is usually very low, partly due to an underrepresentation of fisheries in spatial plans and poor attention to equity in the spatial distribution of restrictive areas. Here we developed a framework with a marine spatial planning case study in the Bay of Biscay represented by the socio-ecosystem of the Grande Vasière, a mid-shelf mud belt spanning over 21,000 km2. We collected biological, environmental, and anthropogenic data to model the distribution of 62 bentho-demersal species, 7 regulating ES layers related to nutrient cycling, life cycle maintenance and food web functioning, as well as provisioning ES of 18 commercial species and 82 fisheries subdivisions. We used these spatial layers and a prioritization algorithm to explore siting scenarios of OWFs and two types of MPAs (benthic and total protection), aimed at conserving species, regulating and provisioning ES, while also ensuring that fisheries are equitably impacted. We demonstrate that equitable scenarios are not necessarily costlier and provide alternative spatial prioritizations. We emphasize the importance of exploring multiple targets with a Shiny app to visualize results and stimulate dialogue among stakeholders and policymakers. Overall, we show how our flexible, inclusive framework with particular attention to equity could be an ideal discussion tool to improve management practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Germain Boussarie
- UMR MNHN-SU-CNRS 7204 CESCO, 43 rue Buffon, CP 135, 75005 Paris, France.
| | - Dorothée Kopp
- UMR IFREMER-INRAE-Institut Agro DECOD, 8 rue François Toullec, CS60012, 56325 Lorient Cedex, France
| | - Gaël Lavialle
- UMR MNHN-SU-CNRS 7204 CESCO, 43 rue Buffon, CP 135, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Maud Mouchet
- UMR MNHN-SU-CNRS 7204 CESCO, 43 rue Buffon, CP 135, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Marie Morfin
- UMR IFREMER-INRAE-Institut Agro DECOD, 8 rue François Toullec, CS60012, 56325 Lorient Cedex, France
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Giménez J, Cañadas A, de Stephanis R, Ramírez F. Expanding protected areas to encompass the conservation of the endangered common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) in the Alboran Sea. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2021; 168:105305. [PMID: 33773411 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Revised: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The Natura 2000 network is the centerpiece of the European Union conservation strategy to safeguard priority species and habitats. The question of whether other co-occurring species of conservation concern may also benefit from this network, however, remains largely unknown. Here, we used a systematic approach (MARXAN) for i) evaluating if the current Natura 2000 network in the Alboran Sea (western Mediterranean Sea), initially proposed to protect the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and priority habitats, is also spatially protecting the endangered common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), and ii) identifying additional marine areas that should be protected to reach adequate conservation targets for the common dolphin. While the current Natura 2000 network encompass ca. 22% of predicted abundances for common dolphins, this percentage might be enhanced by protecting coastal areas nearby the Strait of Gibraltar. However, dolphins and fisheries largely overlap spatially nearby the coastline, and only segregate in offshore areas that represent the marginal distribution of the species. Thus, conservation decision-makers must achieve a trade-off between cetacean conservation and fisheries by combining an area-based approach (i.e., new protected areas close to the Strait of Gibraltar) together with a basin-wide threat-based approach (e.g., regulation of fisheries).
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan Giménez
- MaREI Centre, Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences (BEES), University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Américo Vespucio 26, Isla de la Cartuja, 41092, Sevilla, Spain.
| | - Ana Cañadas
- ALNILAM Research & Conservation, Pradillos 29, 28491 Navacerrada, Madrid, Spain; Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Nicholas School of Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Renaud de Stephanis
- Conservation, Information and Research on Cetaceans (CIRCE), Cabeza de Manzaneda 3, 11390 Pelayo-Algeciras, Cádiz, Spain; Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Centro Oceanográfico de Santander, Promontorio San Martín s/n 39004, Santander-Cantabria, Spain
| | - Francisco Ramírez
- Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC), Department of Renewable Marine Resources, Passeig Maritim de la Barceloneta, 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
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Abstract
The conservation field is experiencing a rapid increase in the amount, variety, and quality of spatial data that can help us understand species movement and landscape connectivity patterns. As interest grows in more dynamic representations of movement potential, modelers are often limited by the capacity of their analytic tools to handle these datasets. Technology developments in software and high-performance computing are rapidly emerging in many fields, but uptake within conservation may lag, as our tools or our choice of computing language can constrain our ability to keep pace. We recently updated Circuitscape, a widely used connectivity analysis tool developed by Brad McRae and Viral Shah, by implementing it in Julia, a high-performance computing language. In this initial re-code (Circuitscape 5.0) and later updates, we improved computational efficiency and parallelism, achieving major speed improvements, and enabling assessments across larger extents or with higher resolution data. Here, we reflect on the benefits to conservation of strengthening collaborations with computer scientists, and extract examples from a collection of 572 Circuitscape applications to illustrate how through a decade of repeated investment in the software, applications have been many, varied, and increasingly dynamic. Beyond empowering continued innovations in dynamic connectivity, we expect that faster run times will play an important role in facilitating co-production of connectivity assessments with stakeholders, increasing the likelihood that connectivity science will be incorporated in land use decisions.
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Giménez J, Cardador L, Mazor T, Kark S, Bellido JM, Coll M, Navarro J. Marine protected areas for demersal elasmobranchs in highly exploited Mediterranean ecosystems. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2020; 160:105033. [PMID: 32907736 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Revised: 05/22/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Marine ecosystems are complex socio-ecological systems where sustainable solutions can be best gained by satisfying both conservation and socioeconomic demands. Concretely, the Mediterranean Sea is facing a huge demand of resources and marine activities while hosting abundant and unique biodiversity. It is considered an important elasmobranch hotspot where seventy-two elasmobranch species are present in the basin. Despite the recognised importance of elasmobranchs as umbrella species, to date only a small number of marine protected areas have been designated towards their protection. The paucity of spatially-explicit abundance data on elasmobranchs often precludes the designation of these areas to protect these marine predators. Here, we aimed to identify marine areas to protect elasmobranch species by means of a systematic spatial planning approach. We first estimated the spatial distribution of five elasmobranch species (three sharks and two rays) in the western Mediterranean Sea and then applied Marxan decision support tools to find priority marine conservation areas. We found that the five elasmobranchs are distributed in coastal and slope areas of the southern waters of the study area while in the northern region they are abundant in the continental slope and towards offshore waters. Conservation priority areas were identified in the southern part of the western Mediterranean. Adding more complex cost layers and zoning to the analysis did not alter conservation priority areas, confirming such areas are highly consistent and highly important for elasmobranch protection. The marine conservation priority areas identified here can contribute to designate a proactive area-based protection strategy towards elasmobranch conservation, related species and the habitats that they depend in the western Mediterranean Sea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan Giménez
- Institut de Ciències del Mar - CSIC, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003, Barcelona, Spain; MaREI Centre, Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences (BEES), University College Cork, Distillery Fields, North Mall, Cork, Ireland.
| | - Laura Cardador
- Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF), Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Spain
| | - Tessa Mazor
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Salit Kark
- The Biodiversity Research Group, The School of Biological Sciences, Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - José Maria Bellido
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Centro Oceanográfico de Murcia, Calle Varadero 1, Apdo. 22, San Pedro del Pinatar, 30740, Murcia, Spain
| | - Marta Coll
- Institut de Ciències del Mar - CSIC, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Joan Navarro
- Institut de Ciències del Mar - CSIC, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
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Vassallo P, Paoli C, Aliani S, Cocito S, Morri C, Bianchi CN. Benthic diversity patterns and predictors: A study case with inferences for conservation. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2020; 150:110748. [PMID: 31784263 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2019] [Revised: 09/08/2019] [Accepted: 11/18/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Understanding which drivers cause diversity patterns is a key issue in conservation. Here we applied a spatially explicit model to predict marine benthic diversity patterns according to environmental factors in the NW Mediterranean Sea. While most conservation-oriented diversity studies consider species richness only and neglect equitability, we measured separately species richness, equitability, and 'overall' diversity (i.e., the Shannon-Wiener H' function) on a dataset of 890 benthic species × 209 samples. Diversity values were predicted by means of Random Forest regression, on the basis of 10 factors: depth, distance from the coast, distance from the shelf break, latitude, sea-floor slope, sediment grain size, sediment sorting, distance from harbours and marinas, distance from rivers, and sampling gear. Predictions by Random Forests were accurate, the main predictors being latitude, sediment grain size, depth and distance from the coast. Based on predicted values, diversity hotspots were identified as those localities where indices were in the 15% top segment of ranked values. Only a minority of the diversity hotspots was included within the boundaries of the protection institutes established in the region. Marine protected areas are often created in sites harbouring important coastal habitats, which risks neglecting the diversity hidden in the sedimentary seafloor. We suggest that marine protected areas should accommodate portions of sedimentary habitat within their boundaries to improve diversity conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Vassallo
- DiSTAV (Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences), University of Genoa, Corso Europa 26, I-16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Chiara Paoli
- DiSTAV (Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences), University of Genoa, Corso Europa 26, I-16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Stefano Aliani
- ISMAR (Institute of Marine Sciences), CNR, Forte Santa Teresa, I-19036 Pozzuolo di Lerici, SP, Italy
| | - Silvia Cocito
- ENEA (Italian Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development), Marine Environment Research Centre, I-19100 La Spezia, Italy
| | - Carla Morri
- DiSTAV (Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences), University of Genoa, Corso Europa 26, I-16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Carlo Nike Bianchi
- DiSTAV (Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences), University of Genoa, Corso Europa 26, I-16132 Genova, Italy.
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