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Coll, M., Akoglu, E., Arreguín-Sánchez, F., Fulton, E. A., Gascuel, D., Heymans, J. J., et al. (2015). Modelling dynamic ecosystems: venturing beyond boundaries with the Ecopath approach. Rev Fish Biol Fisheries, 25(2), 413–424.
Résumé: Thirty years of progress using the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) approach in different fields such as ecosystem impacts of fishing and climate change, emergent ecosystem dynamics, ecosystem-based management, and marine conservation and spatial planning were showcased November 2014 at the conference “Ecopath 30 years-modelling dynamic ecosystems: beyond boundaries with EwE”. Exciting new developments include temporal-spatial and end-to-end modelling, as well as novel applications to environmental impact analyses, in both aquatic and terrestrial domains. A wide range of plug-ins have been added to extend the diagnostic capabilities of EwE, and the scientific community is applying EwE to a diversified range of topics besides fishing impact assessments, such as the development of scientific advice for management, the analysis of conservation issues, and the evaluation of cumulative impacts of environmental and human activities in marine food webs (including habitat modification and the invasion of alien species). Especially promising is the new potential to include the EwE model in integrated assessments with other models such as those related to climate change research. However, there are still many challenges, including the communication of scientific results in management procedures. In addition, other important scientific issues are how to improve model result validation and perform model quality control. During the conference, the Ecopath International Research and Development Consortium was presented as a way for the EwE user community to become involved in the long-term sustainability of the EwE approach. Overall, exciting times are facing the ecosystem modelling scientific community, and as illustrated by the conference: synergistic cooperation is the future path for the EwE approach.
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Coll, M., Shannon, L. J., Kleisner, K. M., Juan-Jordá, M. J., Bundy, A., Akoglu, A. G., et al. (2016). Ecological indicators to capture the effects of fishing on biodiversity and conservation status of marine ecosystems. Ecological Indicators, 60, 947–962.
Résumé: IndiSeas (“Indicators for the Seas”) is a collaborative international working group that was established in 2005 to evaluate the status of exploited marine ecosystems using a suite of indicators in a comparative framework. An initial shortlist of seven ecological indicators was selected to quantify the effects of fishing on the broader ecosystem using several criteria (i.e., ecological meaning, sensitivity to fishing, data availability, management objectives and public awareness). The suite comprised: (i) the inverse coefficient of variation of total biomass of surveyed species, (ii) mean fish length in the surveyed community, (iii) mean maximum life span of surveyed fish species, (iv) proportion of predatory fish in the surveyed community, (v) proportion of under and moderately exploited stocks, (vi) total biomass of surveyed species, and (vii) mean trophic level of the landed catch. In line with the Nagoya Strategic Plan of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2011–2020), we extended this suite to emphasize the broader biodiversity and conservation risks in exploited marine ecosystems. We selected a subset of indicators from a list of empirically based candidate biodiversity indicators initially established based on ecological significance to complement the original IndiSeas indicators. The additional selected indicators were: (viii) mean intrinsic vulnerability index of the fish landed catch, (ix) proportion of non-declining exploited species in the surveyed community, (x) catch-based marine trophic index, and (xi) mean trophic level of the surveyed community. Despite the lack of data in some ecosystems, we also selected (xii) mean trophic level of the modelled community, and (xiii) proportion of discards in the fishery as extra indicators. These additional indicators were examined, along with the initial set of IndiSeas ecological indicators, to evaluate whether adding new biodiversity indicators provided useful additional information to refine our understanding of the status evaluation of 29 exploited marine ecosystems. We used state and trend analyses, and we performed correlation, redundancy and multivariate tests. Existing developments in ecosystem-based fisheries management have largely focused on exploited species. Our study, using mostly fisheries independent survey-based indicators, highlights that biodiversity and conservation-based indicators are complementary to ecological indicators of fishing pressure. Thus, they should be used to provide additional information to evaluate the overall impact of fishing on exploited marine ecosystems.
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Coll, M., & Steenbeek, J. (2017). Standardized ecological indicators to assess aquatic food webs: The ECOIND software plug-in for Ecopath with Ecosim models. Environ. Modell. Softw., 89, 120–130.
Résumé: Ecological indicators are useful tools to analyse and communicate historical changes in ecosystems and plausible future scenarios while evaluating environmental status. Here we introduce a new plug-in to the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) food web modelling approach, which is widely used to quantitatively describe aquatic ecosystems. The plug-in (ECOIND) calculates standardized ecological indicators. We describe the primary functionality of ECOIND and provide an example of its application in both static and temporal-spatial dynamic modelling, while we highlight several related features including a new taxonomy input database (species traits) and the ability to analyse input uncertainty on output results. ECOIND adds new capabilities to the widely used EwE food web modelling approach and enables broadening its applications into biodiversity and conservation-based frameworks to contribute to integrated ecosystem analyses. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Coll, M., Steenbeek, J., Lasram, F. B., Mouillot, D., & Cury, P. (2015). 'Low-hanging fruit' for conservation of marine vertebrate species at risk in the Mediterranean Sea. Frontiers in Microbiology, 24(2), 226–239.
Résumé: AimConservation priorities need to take the feasibility of protection measures into account. In times of economic pressure it is essential to identify the low-hanging fruit' for conservation: areas where human impacts are lower and biological diversity is still high, and thus conservation is more feasible. LocationWe used the Mediterranean large marine ecosystem (LME) as a case study to identify the overlapping areas of low threats and high diversity of vertebrate species at risk. MethodsThis LME is the first in the world to have a complete regional IUCN Red List assessment of the native marine fish. We augmented these data with distributions of marine mammals, marine turtles and seabirds at risk, and we calculated the spatial distributions of species at risk (IUCN densities). Using cumulative threats we identified priority areas for conservation of species at risk' (PACS), where IUCN diversities are high and threats are low. We assessed whether IUCN diversities and PACS were spatially congruent among taxa and we quantified whether PACS corresponded to current and proposed protected areas. ResultsIUCN densities and PACS were not highly correlated spatially among taxa. Continental shelves and deep-sea slopes of the Alboran Sea, western Mediterranean and Tunisian Plateau/Gulf of Sidra are identified as relevant for fish species at risk. The eastern side of the western Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea are identified as most relevant for endemic fish, and shelf and open sea areas distributed through the LME are most important for marine mammals and turtles at risk, while specific locations of the western Mediterranean Sea and the Aegean and Levantine seas are highlighted for seabirds. Main conclusionsLarge parts of the areas of PACS fell outside current or proposed frameworks to be prioritized for conservation. PACS may be suitable candidates for contributing to the 10% protection target for the Mediterranean Sea by 2020.
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Colléter, M., Gascuel, D., Albouy, C., Francour, P., Tito de Morais, L., Valls, A., et al. (2014). Fishing inside or outside? A case studies analysis of potential spillover effect from marine protected areas, using food web models. Journal of Marine Systems, 139, 383–395.
Résumé: Marine protected areas (MPAs) are implemented worldwide as an efficient tool to preserve biodiversity and protect ecosystems. We used food web models (Ecopath and EcoTroph) to assess the ability of MPAs to reduce fishing impacts on targeted resources and to provide biomass exports for adjacent fisheries. Three coastal MPAs: Bonifacio and Port-Cros (Mediterranean Sea), and Bamboung (Senegalese coast), were used as case studies. Pre-existing related Ecopath models were homogenized and ecosystem characteristics were compared based on network indices and trophic spectra analyses. Using the EcoTroph model, we simulated different fishing mortality scenarios and assessed fishing impacts on the three ecosystems. Lastly, the potential biomass that could be exported from each MPA was estimated. Despite structural and functional trophic differences, the three MPAs showed similar patterns of resistance to simulated fishing mortalities, with the Bonifacio case study exhibiting the highest potential catches and a slightly inferior resistance to fishing. We also show that the potential exports from our small size MPAs are limited and thus may only benefit local fishing activities. Based on simulations, their potential exports were estimated to be at the same order of magnitude as the amount of catch that could have been obtained inside the reserve. In Port Cros, the ban of fishing inside MPA could actually allow for improved catch yields outside the MPA due to biomass exports. This was not the case for the Bonifacio site, as its potential exports were too low to offset catch losses. This insight suggests the need for MPA networks and/or sufficiently large MPAs to effectively protect juveniles and adults and provide important exports. Finally, we discuss the effects of MPAs on fisheries that were not considered in food web models, and conclude by suggesting possible improvements in the analysis of MPA efficiency.
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