Bottom trawling affects trophic niche diversity of red mullet in muddy bottoms of the Mediterranean continental shelf.

Bottom trawling causes detrimental effects on marine ecosystems, and significantly alter benthic communities, potentially affecting the diet and trophic role of benthic feeders. The ban on bottom trawling is a common spatial fishing restriction that has been implemented in tropical and temperate regions to restore overexploited marine resources and ecosystems. In northern Sicily (central Mediterranean Sea) two trawl ban areas, the Gulf of Castellammare and the Gulf of Patti, were established in 1990.

Comparison of the reproductive cycles of two cryptic soles in the Adriatic Sea.

In the Adriatic Sea, two congeneric and cryptic soles coexist and share the same habitats. They are the common sole, Solea solea, one of the main Mediterranean fishery resources, and the Egyptian sole, Solea aegyptiaca. The present study investigated and compared their reproductive biology to obtain updated and original information useful for explaining their coexistence as distinct and reproductively isolated species and supporting stock assessment and management measures.

Trophic Ecology of the Pyjama Shark (Gmelin, 1789) Elucidated by Stable Isotopes.

Sharks may occupy both intermediate and upper levels of marine food webs. They are overfished worldwide and constitute one of the largest portions of the bycatch. The removal of top-predator species has negative cascading effects on the entire food web, causing the "mesopredator release" phenomenon, which leads to an increase in mesopredators with consequent changes in the ecosystem's energetic balance.

Resource Partitioning among "Ancillary" Pelagic Fishes ( spp., spp.) in the Adriatic Sea.

The Mediterranean is one of the most overfished seas of the world where mesopredators are severely threatened. The trophic strategies of four pelagic species that inhabit the Adriatic Sea ( spp. and spp.

Correction: Lopez-Vazquez et al. Video Image Enhancement and Machine Learning Pipeline for Underwater Animal Detection and Classification at Cabled Observatories. 2020, , 726.

The authors wish to correct the following error in the original paper [...

Seasonal Trophic Ecology and Diet Shift in the Common Sole in the Central Adriatic Sea.

The common sole, , is one the most important commercial species in Europe and, within the Mediterranean, the Adriatic basin is the most crucial area for its production. Although the species is overexploited in the basin, data on its trophic ecology are fragmentary, even though this is one of the most important features within the Ecosystem Approach to Fishery. Here, we analysed temporal variations in the feeding ecology of the species by using an integrated approach of stomach contents and stable isotope analyses coupled with the analysis of some condition indices such as the gonadosomatic and the hepatosomatic indices.

Effects of Local Acidification on Benthic Communities at Shallow Hydrothermal Vents of the Aeolian Islands (Southern Tyrrhenian, Mediterranean Sea).

The Aeolian Islands (Mediterranean Sea) host a unique hydrothermal system called the "Smoking Land" due to the presence of over 200 volcanic CO-vents, resulting in water acidification phenomena and the creation of an acidified benthic environment. Here, we report the results of a study conducted at three sites located at ca. 16, 40, and 80 m of depth, and characterized by CO emissions to assess the effects of acidification on meio- and macrobenthic assemblages.

Carbon and nitrogen isotopes to distinguish sources of sedimentary organic matter in a Caribbean estuary.

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope compositions (δ13C and δ15N) of organic matter (OM) and total organic carbon to total nitrogen ratio (Corg/TN) in a sediment core collected in Sagua estuary (Cuba), were investigated to elucidate the origin of the Sedimentary OM (SOM) and changes in its main sources, over the last 100 years. Results showed almost constant values in the elemental and isotope composition of SOM from 1908 to 1970 with an abrupt change after 1970. From 1970 to 2005, δ13C increased from -21.

Towards Naples Ecological REsearch for Augmented Observatories (NEREA): The NEREA-Fix Module, a Stand-Alone Platform for Long-Term Deep-Sea Ecosystem Monitoring.

Deep-sea ecological monitoring is increasingly recognized as indispensable for the comprehension of the largest biome on Earth, but at the same time it is subjected to growing human impacts for the exploitation of biotic and abiotic resources. Here, we present the Naples Ecological REsearch (NEREA) stand-alone observatory concept (NEREA-fix), an integrated observatory with a modular, adaptive structure, characterized by a multiparametric video-platform to be deployed in the Dohrn canyon (Gulf of Naples, Tyrrhenian Sea) at ca. 650 m depth.

Deep-sea litter in the Gulf of Cadiz (Northeastern Atlantic, Spain).

This study describes the distribution and composition of litter from the Gulf of Cadiz (Northeastern Atlantic, Spain), a region of confluence between the Atlantic and Mediterranean, with intense maritime traffic. Several geological features, such as canyons, open slopes and contourite furrows and channels, were surveyed by remotely operated vehicle (ROV) observations between depths of 220 and 1000 m. Marine litter was quantified by grouping the observations into six categories.

Ecological variables for developing a global deep-ocean monitoring and conservation strategy.

The deep sea (>200 m depth) encompasses >95% of the world's ocean volume and represents the largest and least explored biome on Earth (<0.0001% of ocean surface), yet is increasingly under threat from multiple direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures. Our ability to preserve both benthic and pelagic deep-sea ecosystems depends upon effective ecosystem-based management strategies and monitoring based on widely agreed deep-sea ecological variables.

Video Image Enhancement and Machine Learning Pipeline for Underwater Animal Detection and Classification at Cabled Observatories.

An understanding of marine ecosystems and their biodiversity is relevant to sustainable use of the goods and services they offer. Since marine areas host complex ecosystems, it is important to develop spatially widespread monitoring networks capable of providing large amounts of multiparametric information, encompassing both biotic and abiotic variables, and describing the ecological dynamics of the observed species. In this context, imaging devices are valuable tools that complement other biological and oceanographic monitoring devices.

Climate change, biological invasions, and the shifting distribution of Mediterranean fishes: A large-scale survey based on local ecological knowledge.

Climate change and biological invasions are rapidly reshuffling species distribution, restructuring the biological communities of many ecosystems worldwide. Tracking these transformations in the marine environment is crucial, but our understanding of climate change effects and invasive species dynamics is often hampered by the practical challenge of surveying large geographical areas. Here, we focus on the Mediterranean Sea, a hot spot for climate change and biological invasions to investigate recent spatiotemporal changes in fish abundances and distribution.

New High-Tech Flexible Networks for the Monitoring of Deep-Sea Ecosystems.

Increasing interest in the acquisition of biotic and abiotic resources from within the deep sea (e.g., fisheries, oil-gas extraction, and mining) urgently imposes the development of novel monitoring technologies, beyond the traditional vessel-assisted, time-consuming, high-cost sampling surveys.

Annual rhythms of temporal niche partitioning in the Sparidae family are correlated to different environmental variables.

The seasonal timing of recurring biological processes is essential for organisms living in temperate regions. While ample knowledge of these processes exists for terrestrial environments, seasonal timing in the marine environment is relatively understudied. Here, we characterized the annual rhythm of habitat use in six fish species belonging to the Sparidae family, highlighting the main environmental variables that correlate to such rhythms.

Tracking Fish Abundance by Underwater Image Recognition.

Marine cabled video-observatories allow the non-destructive sampling of species at frequencies and durations that have never been attained before. Nevertheless, the lack of appropriate methods to automatically process video imagery limits this technology for the purposes of ecosystem monitoring. Automation is a prerequisite to deal with the huge quantities of video footage captured by cameras, which can then transform these devices into true autonomous sensors.

Fish mitigate trophic depletion in marine cave ecosystems.

Dark marine habitats are often characterized by a food-limited condition. Peculiar dark habitats include marine caves, characterized by the absence of light and limited water flow, which lead to reduced fluxes of organic matter for cave-dwelling organisms. We investigated whether the most abundant and common cave-dwelling fish Apogon imberbis has the potential to play the role of trophic vector in Mediterranean marine caves.

Sewage pollution impact on Mediterranean rocky-reef fish assemblages.

The effects of sewage outfalls on subtidal fish assemblages were studied along the NW coasts of Malta (Sicily channel, Mediterranean Sea) by means of underwater visual census. The presence of two spatially distinct outfalls discharging untreated wastewaters allowed to use a balanced symmetrical after control/impact (ACI) design that consisted of two putatively impacted locations and two controls, with four sites nested in each location. Surveys were performed in 2006 at two random dates.