The Pyrenean marine coastline has a high biological connectivity between fish populations that move around different habitats at a regional scale, according to the
The
A high biological connectivity in the north-western Mediterranean
The Pyrenean marine coastline is an area in the north-western Mediterranean which has emblematic species and ecosystem services of economic interest (fishing, tourism, leisure, etc). The team in
The results in ESMED show that the movement of many species creates a great connectivity of populations between the different protected marine areas: the marine reserve of Cerbere-Banyuls, the natural park of Cap de Creus, the
'This biological connectivity will allow us to understand this region as a network of marine reserves, which are connected by the movement of the species between the habitats that act as ecological corridors', notes
As strategic action tools,
Habitats of high ecological value without spatial protection
The movement and use of habitats of the studied species varies over the different phases of the fish life cycle. There is a great diversity of movement strategies in different species of coastal fish species of fishing interest, which can move hundreds of kilometers along the coast. 'Many of the studied species show seasonal movement patterns linked to reproduction, and we identified the existence of reproductive aggregations for several species in certain areas and seasons (groupers, gilthead bream, sea bass, black seabream)', says Hereu.
River mouths and final stretches of rivers or coastal lagoons -even the meadows of the phanerogam Cymodocea nodosa- are described as biological connectors and habitats of great ecological value for the reproduction and conservation of various species. 'However, even today, they are still not under any kind of spatial protection', warns the expert.
It would also be important to protect sheltered coves -essential for the survival of juveniles- and harbours and breakwaters, artificial habitats with a high density of fish which was little known about until now. Seabass regularly move around harbour areas, while other species are resident, such as mullets, and other fish (gulfweed, two-banded seabeam and saddled seabream) use these areas in their juvenile stages.
Outside large MPAs, significant overfishing has been detected even in sectors within the same reserves. Sedentary species (groupers, corbs, red scorpionfish, etc.) are protected within MPAs, while more mobile fish (sea bass and sea bream, with a larger movement area) are caught outside the reserves. 'The buffer zones of marine reserves have proved to be small in terms of species movement, and connectivity makes them ineffective', says
In a broader context, the set of proposals of the
Along these lines, the Catalan Aquatic Fauna Marking and Monitoring Network is being developed, in which the hydrophone network will be extended along the entire Catalan coast within the framework of collaboration between all the actors and users of the territory.
The
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