Monitoring rural-urban transformation in the coastal region of Rabat-Sale-Kenitra, Morocco

Worldwide urbanization drives rural-urban transformation (RUT) which has major consequences in many countries of the Global South where there is an urgent need to better understand and manage the underlying processes and consequences for ecosystem services. To fill existing knowledge gaps on the extent and time course of RUT in Morocco, this study focused on (i) analyzing the spatial patterns of rural-urban transformation in the Rabat-Sale-Kenitra (RSK) region from 1972 to 2020, (ii) identifying key mechanisms of change, and (iii) defining the main driving forces behind the spatial transformation patterns. To this end, we processed data of the Landsat free archive, historical grayscale Corona images, and nighttime lights datasets on Google Earth Engine (GEE) using machine learning classifiers and LandTrendr spectral-temporal segmentation algorithms. With an overall accuracy (OA) ranging from 88-95%, the results revealed that during the study period the RSK region experienced a 473% growth of horizontal built-up reflected in an area increase from 63.4 km2 to 299.9 km2. The main changes occurred along the Kenitra-Rabat-Temara axis and in central cities connected to the main road network. The horizontal expansion of large and medium-sized cities led to the formation of a Rural-Urban Interface (RUI) on the outskirts. The urban sprawl of some cities has affected the surrounding rural lands within the RUI. Environmental, social, economic, and political forces have interacted in shaping the changes in rural-urban landscapes.

Microplastic ingestion by Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) in the North and central Moroccan Atlantic coast between Larache (35°30'N) and Boujdour (26°30'N)

Horse mackerel is a semi-pelagic species found in abundance in the Moroccan coasts and occupies the first ranks in the catches landed by the coastal fleet. In this study, we investigated the ingestion of Polyamide, Acrylic and Polystyrene by Atlantic horse mackerel, in the Moroccan Atlantic coastal area located between Larache (35°30'N) and Boujdour (26°30'N). The objective is to map the spatial distribution of horse Mackerel containing microplastics (MPs) in their stomachs and identify hot spot areas. We also aim to verify the most ingested polymer by this fish characterized by significant daily vertical migrations. The results show that the three studied polymers were detected in the stomach contents of more than 73% of studied fishes. The hot spot areas are located more in the northern part where urbanization and fishing activity are important. Polyamide, the densest polymer, is the most abundant (86% of cases), followed by acrylic. These two polymers were found in association in 47% of cases. No correlation between the presence of MPs in the stomach contents and the size of the individual fishes was noted. Interestingly, the group of mature specimens ingested more MPs than the immature group.

Quantity and spatial distribution of seafloor marine debris in the Moroccan Mediterranean Sea

This paper qualifies, quantifies and localizes seafloor marine debris (SMD) in the Moroccan portion of the Mediterranean Sea. Six scientific trawl surveys were conducted by the Moroccan Institute of Fisheries Research from 2012 to 2015 between Cape Spartel (5°W) and Saidia (2°W), during which a total of 497 kg of SMD has been collected. Statistical analysis show that the mean abundance differed between surveys, generally ranging from 26 ± 68 to 80 ± 133 kg/km². A typology of SMD indicates that plastic represented 73% of the debris collected, followed by rubber (12%), textile (8%), metal (3%), glass (0.32%), and some unidentified materials (2.70%). Analysis of results shows that the abundance and the distribution of SMD were strongly influenced by the local anthropogenic activities and by rivers inputs. The movements and accumulations in the open sea were also shown to be influenced by the geomorphology and the hydrodynamics of the basin.

Spatial distribution of marine debris on the seafloor of Moroccan waters

Marine debris pollution is considered as a worldwide problem and a direct threat to the environment, economy and human health. In this paper, we provide the first quantitative assessment of debris on the seafloor of the southern part of the economic exclusive waters of Morocco. The data were collected in a scientific trawl survey carried out from 5 to 25 October 2014 between (26N) to (21N) covering different stratums of depths (from 10 to 266m) and following a sampling network of 100 stations distributed randomly in the study area. A total of 603kg of debris was collected and sorted into five main categories: plastic, metal, rubber, textiles and glass. Over 50% of collected items was made by plastic, 94% of them are the plastic fishing gear used to capture the Octopus vulgaris. The analysis of the distribution shows that anthropogenic debris is present in the majority of the prospected area (∼ 47,541km²) with different densities ranging from 0 to 1768 (± 298,15)kg/km². The spatial autocorrelation approach using GIS shows that the concentration of this debris is correlated very well with a set of factors such as the proximity to fishing activity sites. Moreover, the mechanism of transportation and dispersion was influenced by the hydrodynamic properties of the region.