Seagrass meadows (Posidonia oceanica) distribution and trajectories of change
| Type | Article | ||||||||
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| Date | 2015-07 | ||||||||
| Language | English | ||||||||
| Author(s) | Telesca Luca1, Belluscio Andrea2, Criscoli Alessandro2, Ardizzone Giandomenico2, Apostolaki Eugenia T.3, Fraschetti Simonetta4, Gristina Michele5, Knittweis Leyla6, Martin Corinne S.7, Pergent Gerard8, Alagna Adriana9, Badalamenti Fabio9, Garofalo Germana5, Gerakaris Vasilis10, Pace Marie Louise11, Pergent-Martini Christine8, Salomidi Maria10 | ||||||||
| Affiliation(s) | 1 : Univ Cambridge, Dept Earth Sci, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, Cambs, England. 2 : Univ Roma La Sapienza, Dept Environm Biol, I-00185 Rome, Italy. 3 : Hellen Ctr Marine Res, Inst Oceanog, Iraklion 71003, Crete, Greece. 4 : Univ Salento CoNISMa, Dept Biol & Environm Sci & Technol, Marine Biol Lab, I-73100 Lecce, Italy. 5 : CNR IAMC, I-91026 Mazara De Vallo, Italy. 6 : Univ Malta, Fac Sci, Dept Biol, MSD-2080 Msida, Malta. 7 : UN, Environm Programme, World Conservat Monitoring Ctr, Cambridge CB3 0DL, Cambs, England. 8 : Univ Corsica, Fac Sci, F-20250 Corte, France. 9 : CNR IAMC, I-91014 Castellammare Del Golfo, Italy. 10 : Hellen Ctr Marine Res, Inst Oceanog, Anavyssos 19013, Greece. 11 : Minist Sustainable Dev Environm & Climate Change, Fisheries Resource Unit, Dept Fisheries & Aquaculture, MRS-3303 Marsa, Malta. |
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| Source | Scientific Reports (2045-2322) (Nature Publishing Group), 2015-07 , Vol. 5 , P. - | ||||||||
| DOI | 10.1038/srep12505 | ||||||||
| WOS© Times Cited | 235 | ||||||||
| Abstract | Posidonia oceanica meadows are declining at alarming rates due to climate change and human activities. Although P. oceanica is considered the most important and well-studied seagrass species of the Mediterranean Sea, to date there has been a limited effort to combine all the spatial information available and provide a complete distribution of meadows across the basin. The aim of this work is to provide a fine-scale assessment of (i) the current and historical known distribution of P. oceanica, (ii) the total area of meadows and (iii) the magnitude of regressive phenomena in the last decades. The outcomes showed the current spatial distribution of P. oceanica, covering a known area of 1,224,707 ha, and highlighted the lack of relevant data in part of the basin (21,471 linear km of coastline). The estimated regression of meadows amounted to 34% in the last 50 years, showing that this generalised phenomenon had to be mainly ascribed to cumulative effects of multiple local stressors. Our results highlighted the importance of enforcing surveys to assess the status and prioritize areas where cost-effective schemes for threats reduction, capable of reversing present patterns of change and ensuring P. oceanica persistence at Mediterranean scale, could be implemented. | ||||||||
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