TY - JOUR T1 - Environmental drivers explain regional variation of changes in fish and invertebrate functional groups across the Mediterranean Sea from 1994 to 2012 A1 - Brind'Amour,Anik A1 - Rochet,Marie-Joelle A1 - Ordines,Francesc A1 - Hosack,Geoff A1 - Berthele,Olivier A1 - Merigot,Bastien A1 - Carbonara,Pierluigi A1 - Follesa,Maria Cristina A1 - Jadaud,Angelique A1 - Lefkaditou,Evgenia A1 - Maiorano,Porzia A1 - Peristeraki,Panagiota A1 - Mannini,Alessandro A1 - Rabiller,Manuella A1 - Spedicato,Maria Teresa A1 - Tserpes,George A1 - Trenkel,Verena AD - IFREMER, Unite Ecol & Modeles Halieut, Rue lIle dYeu,BP 21105, F-44311 Nantes 3, France. AD - Ctr Oceanog Balears, Inst Espanol Oceanog, Moll de Ponent S-N, Palma De Mallorca 07015, Spain. AD - CSIRO, Marine Labs, GPO Box 1538, Hobart, Tas 7001, Australia. AD - Univ Montpellier, UMR MARBEC, Stn Ifremer, Ave Jean Monnet,BP 171, F-34203 Sete, France. AD - COISPA Tecnol & Ric, Stn Sperimentale Studio Risorse Mare, Viadei Trulli 18-20, I-70126 Bari, Torre A Mare, Italy. AD - Univ Cagliari, Dept Life Sci & Environm, Via T Fiorelli 1, I-09126 Cagliari, Italy. AD - IFREMER, Lab Halieut Mediterranee, UMR MARBEC, Ave Jean Monnet,BP 171, F-34203 Sete, France. AD - Hellen Ctr Marine Res, Inst Marine Biol Resources & Inland Waters, POB 712, Anavissos 19013, Greece. AD - Univ Bari Aldo Moro, Dept Biol, Via Orabona 4, I-70125 Bari, Italy. AD - Univ Crete, Dept Biol, Iraklion 71003, Crete, Greece. AD - Univ Genoa, Dip Te Ris, Viale Benedetto 15,3, I-16132 Genoa, Italy. UR - https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00363/47382/ DO - 10.3354/meps11912 KW - Morphological traits KW - Community models KW - Functional network KW - Functional groups KW - Mediterranean Sea KW - Temporal trends KW - Fish KW - Shellfish N2 - Functional groups are sets of species that play a similar role in a food web. We defined functional groups of fish species based on their morphological characteristics, while using expert knowledge for invertebrates. We measured 9 morphological traits of 72 fish species, and carried out multivariate analyses to assign fish species to functional groups. The analysis identified 9 trait-based fish functional groups to which were added 3 expert-based invertebrate functional groups. The habitat (position in the water column) and potential diet of each group were identified from the literature. Using the MEDITS bottom trawl survey data collected at 10 to 800 m depth, we calculated relative change in the 12 fish and invertebrate functional group biomasses for 12 Mediterranean areas over the period 1994 to 2012. Multiple regression trees identified 4 regions with similar changes: (1) the Adriatic and the Ionian Sea; (2) the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Strait of Sicily; (3) the Balearic Islands and other enclosed areas such as the Gulf of Lions and Aegean Sea; and (4) the Ligurian Sea and Sardinia. The biomass of all functional groups increased or remained stable in the first 2 regions, while around half the functional group biomasses decreased in the other 2 regions. These regional differences in functional group biomass changes were mainly associated with regional variations in the time trends of bottom water temperature (37%), bottom water dissolved oxygen (23%) and mean catch levels (9%). This study contributes to the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive by proposing food web indicators based on morphologically and habitat defined functional groups. Y1 - 2016/12 PB - Inter-research JF - Marine Ecology Progress Series SN - 0171-8630 VL - 562 SP - 19 EP - 35 ID - 47382 ER -