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Pere Puig - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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spatial distribution of sedimentation rate increases in blanes canyon caused by technification of Bottom Trawling fleet
Progress in Oceanography, 2018Co-Authors: Sarah Paradis, Pere Puig, Antoni Calafat, Pere Masqué, Anna Sanchezvidal, Jordi Garciaorellana, Miquel CanalsAbstract:Abstract A detailed study of 15 sediment cores from Blanes Canyon and its immediate surroundings (NW Mediterranean Sea) was conducted to compare historic sedimentation rates and evaluate the possible impact of Bottom-Trawling intensification on the sedimentary regimes over the past 50 years. The canyon axis and flanks, as well as the adjacent open slope, were sampled at water depths ranging from 300 m to 2200 m. Grain size, dry bulk density, and 210Pb concentration profiles were measured to assess possible changes in sedimentation rates over the last century and their temporal and spatial relationship to Bottom Trawling effort. Sedimentation rates in the upper canyon axis (900–1200 m) had the highest rates of 0.9–2.1 cm·yr−1, quantified since the 1970s. Farther downcanyon, sedimentation rates increased two to five times after the 1970s, from 0.1–0.2 cm·yr−1 to 0.2–0.8 cm·yr−1, which coincides with a rapid growth of the total engine power of the fishing fleet operating in the study area. The enhanced sedimentation rates occur downslope of the main fishing grounds and decrease downcanyon as the distance from Trawling grounds increases. These results highlight the ability of Bottom Trawling to resuspend Bottom sediments, leading to net erosion of the canyon rims and flanks. In turn, large volumes of sediment are advected towards the canyon’s interior, ultimately increasing sediment deposition along the canyon axis. Natural sedimentation rates at similar along-canyon distance from shore in the untrawled continental slope (900–1500 m) and in the lower canyon axis (1500–2200 m) are comparable (0.08–0.20 cm·yr−1), suggesting distance from coastal sediment sources as the main control on regional sedimentation in deeper parts of the margin. While submarine canyons have been regarded as preferential cross-margin conduits for sediment dispersal, they can also potentially function as modern depocenters for Trawling-induced sedimentation.
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corrigendum Bottom Trawling along submarine canyons impacts deep sedimentary regimes
Scientific Reports, 2017Co-Authors: Sarah Paradis, Jacobo Martín, Pere Puig, Pere Masqué, Xenia Juandiaz, Albert PalanquesAbstract:Scientific Reports 7: Article number: 43332; published online: 24 February 2017; updated: 20 October 2017. This Article contains an error in Figure 3, where the sedimentation rate from Besos-3 ‘0.078 cm/y’ is incorrectly given as ‘0.39 cm/y’. The correct Figure 3 appears below as Figure 1.
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numerical modeling of Bottom Trawling induced sediment transport and accumulation in la fonera submarine canyon northwestern mediterranean sea
Marine Geology, 2017Co-Authors: Jacobo Martín, Pere Puig, Miquel Canals, Marta Payopayo, Ricardo Silva Jacinto, Galderic Lastras, Marina Rabineau, Nabil SultanAbstract:Bottom Trawling leads to recurrent sediment resuspension events over fishing grounds. Recent studies have shown how Bottom Trawling can drive seascape reshaping at large spatial scales and enhance sediment transport in submarine canyons, which subsequently impacts deep-sea ecosystems. Present knowledge on the transfer and accumulation of sediment flows triggered by Bottom Trawling is based on localized and infrequent measurements whilst a more complete picture of the process is needed. The present work focuses on the modeling of sediment transport and accumulation resulting from Trawling activities in La Fonera submarine canyon, northwestern Mediterranean Sea, thus contributing to an improved assessment of Trawling impacts. Based on mooring data within a canyon gully, we use an inverse model to retrieve the unknown time series of resuspension due to Trawling over the fishing grounds. This resuspension is later used as forcing for the direct problem: we simulate Trawling-induced flows through the canyon and provide a 3D visualization of potential Trawling impacts on sediment dynamics, including the identification of the propagation patterns of sediments resuspended by Trawling. Flows coming from shallower fishing grounds are funneled through canyon flank gullies towards the canyon axis, with part of the resuspended sediment reaching the continental rise out of the canyon across the open continental slope. Trawling-induced sediment flows promote sediment accumulation beyond the canyon mouth. Given the wide geographical distribution of Bottom Trawling, our results have far-reaching implications that go much beyond La Fonera submarine canyon. Our study represents a starting point for the assessment of the sedimentary impact of Bottom Trawling in deep continental margins.
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Bottom-Trawling along submarine canyons impacts deep sedimentary regimes.
Scientific Reports, 2017Co-Authors: Sarah Paradis, Jacobo Martín, Pere Puig, Pere Masqué, Xènia Juan-díaz, Albert PalanquesAbstract:Many studies highlight that fish Trawling activities cause seafloor erosion, but the assessment of the remobilization of surface sediments and its relocation is still not well documented. These impacts were examined along the flanks and axes of three headless submarine canyons incised on the Barcelona continental margin, where Trawling fleets have been operating for decades. Trawled grounds along canyon flanks presented eroded and highly reworked surface sediments resulting from the passage of heavy Trawling gear. Sedimentation rates on the upper canyon axes tripled and quadrupled its natural (i.e. pre-industrialization) values after a substantial increase in total horsepower of the operating Trawling fleets between 1960 s and 1970 s. These impacts affected the upper canyon reaches next to fishing grounds, where sediment resuspended by Trawling can be transported towards the canyon axes. This study highlights that Bottom Trawling has the capacity to alter natural sedimentary environments by promoting sediment-starved canyon flanks, and by enhancing sedimentation rates along the contiguous axes, independently of canyons’ morphology. Considering the global mechanisation and offshore expansion of Bottom Trawling fisheries since the mid-20th century, these sedimentary alterations may occur in many trawled canyons worldwide, with further ecological impacts on the trophic status of these non-resilient benthic communities.
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increasing sediment accumulation rates in la fonera palamos submarine canyon axis and their relationship with Bottom Trawling activities
Geophysical Research Letters, 2015Co-Authors: Pere Puig, Jacobo Martín, Pere Masqué, Albert PalanquesAbstract:Previous studies conducted in La Fonera (Palamos) submarine canyon (NW Mediterranean) found that Trawling activities along the canyon flanks cause resuspension and transport of sediments toward the canyon axis. 210Pb chronology supported by 137Cs dating applied to a sediment core collected at 1750 m in 2002 suggested a doubling of the sediment accumulation rate since the 1970s, coincident with the rapid industrialization of the local Trawling fleet. The same canyon area has been revisited a decade later, and new data are consistent with a sedimentary regime shift during the 1970s and also suggest that the accumulation rate during the last decade could be greater than expected, approaching ~2.4 cm yr−1 (compared to ~0.25 cm yr−1 pre-1970s). These results support the hypothesis that commercial Bottom Trawling can substantially affect sediment dynamics and budgets on continental margins, eventually initiating the formation of anthropogenic depocenters in submarine canyon environments.
Jacobo Martín - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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corrigendum Bottom Trawling along submarine canyons impacts deep sedimentary regimes
Scientific Reports, 2017Co-Authors: Sarah Paradis, Jacobo Martín, Pere Puig, Pere Masqué, Xenia Juandiaz, Albert PalanquesAbstract:Scientific Reports 7: Article number: 43332; published online: 24 February 2017; updated: 20 October 2017. This Article contains an error in Figure 3, where the sedimentation rate from Besos-3 ‘0.078 cm/y’ is incorrectly given as ‘0.39 cm/y’. The correct Figure 3 appears below as Figure 1.
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numerical modeling of Bottom Trawling induced sediment transport and accumulation in la fonera submarine canyon northwestern mediterranean sea
Marine Geology, 2017Co-Authors: Jacobo Martín, Pere Puig, Miquel Canals, Marta Payopayo, Ricardo Silva Jacinto, Galderic Lastras, Marina Rabineau, Nabil SultanAbstract:Bottom Trawling leads to recurrent sediment resuspension events over fishing grounds. Recent studies have shown how Bottom Trawling can drive seascape reshaping at large spatial scales and enhance sediment transport in submarine canyons, which subsequently impacts deep-sea ecosystems. Present knowledge on the transfer and accumulation of sediment flows triggered by Bottom Trawling is based on localized and infrequent measurements whilst a more complete picture of the process is needed. The present work focuses on the modeling of sediment transport and accumulation resulting from Trawling activities in La Fonera submarine canyon, northwestern Mediterranean Sea, thus contributing to an improved assessment of Trawling impacts. Based on mooring data within a canyon gully, we use an inverse model to retrieve the unknown time series of resuspension due to Trawling over the fishing grounds. This resuspension is later used as forcing for the direct problem: we simulate Trawling-induced flows through the canyon and provide a 3D visualization of potential Trawling impacts on sediment dynamics, including the identification of the propagation patterns of sediments resuspended by Trawling. Flows coming from shallower fishing grounds are funneled through canyon flank gullies towards the canyon axis, with part of the resuspended sediment reaching the continental rise out of the canyon across the open continental slope. Trawling-induced sediment flows promote sediment accumulation beyond the canyon mouth. Given the wide geographical distribution of Bottom Trawling, our results have far-reaching implications that go much beyond La Fonera submarine canyon. Our study represents a starting point for the assessment of the sedimentary impact of Bottom Trawling in deep continental margins.
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Bottom-Trawling along submarine canyons impacts deep sedimentary regimes.
Scientific Reports, 2017Co-Authors: Sarah Paradis, Jacobo Martín, Pere Puig, Pere Masqué, Xènia Juan-díaz, Albert PalanquesAbstract:Many studies highlight that fish Trawling activities cause seafloor erosion, but the assessment of the remobilization of surface sediments and its relocation is still not well documented. These impacts were examined along the flanks and axes of three headless submarine canyons incised on the Barcelona continental margin, where Trawling fleets have been operating for decades. Trawled grounds along canyon flanks presented eroded and highly reworked surface sediments resulting from the passage of heavy Trawling gear. Sedimentation rates on the upper canyon axes tripled and quadrupled its natural (i.e. pre-industrialization) values after a substantial increase in total horsepower of the operating Trawling fleets between 1960 s and 1970 s. These impacts affected the upper canyon reaches next to fishing grounds, where sediment resuspended by Trawling can be transported towards the canyon axes. This study highlights that Bottom Trawling has the capacity to alter natural sedimentary environments by promoting sediment-starved canyon flanks, and by enhancing sedimentation rates along the contiguous axes, independently of canyons’ morphology. Considering the global mechanisation and offshore expansion of Bottom Trawling fisheries since the mid-20th century, these sedimentary alterations may occur in many trawled canyons worldwide, with further ecological impacts on the trophic status of these non-resilient benthic communities.
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increasing sediment accumulation rates in la fonera palamos submarine canyon axis and their relationship with Bottom Trawling activities
Geophysical Research Letters, 2015Co-Authors: Pere Puig, Jacobo Martín, Pere Masqué, Albert PalanquesAbstract:Previous studies conducted in La Fonera (Palamos) submarine canyon (NW Mediterranean) found that Trawling activities along the canyon flanks cause resuspension and transport of sediments toward the canyon axis. 210Pb chronology supported by 137Cs dating applied to a sediment core collected at 1750 m in 2002 suggested a doubling of the sediment accumulation rate since the 1970s, coincident with the rapid industrialization of the local Trawling fleet. The same canyon area has been revisited a decade later, and new data are consistent with a sedimentary regime shift during the 1970s and also suggest that the accumulation rate during the last decade could be greater than expected, approaching ~2.4 cm yr−1 (compared to ~0.25 cm yr−1 pre-1970s). These results support the hypothesis that commercial Bottom Trawling can substantially affect sediment dynamics and budgets on continental margins, eventually initiating the formation of anthropogenic depocenters in submarine canyon environments.
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commercial Bottom Trawling as a driver of sediment dynamics and deep seascape evolution in the anthropocene
Anthropocene, 2014Co-Authors: Jacobo Martín, Pere Puig, Albert Palanques, Ariel GiamportoneAbstract:Abstract Fishing gear and techniques have evolved through the centuries, and particularly after the Second World War, towards a mass production industry in such a scale that it has placed many commercial stocks in a delicate or depleted status. Furthermore, certain fishing methods have other undesirable side effects on ecosystems and habitats. In this work, the known impacts of Bottom-dragged gear on the seafloor are reviewed. Some of the least known issues are emphasized, namely, impacts on the physical properties of deep-sea sediments, resuspension, erosion, near-Bottom turbidity and seabed morphology. Due to its recurrence, mobility and wide geographical extent, Bottom Trawling has become an effective driver on shaping the physical basis of benthic habitats: its composition, texture and morphology at scales from micro to the entire continental margin. It is concluded that Trawling is comparable in its transforming power over seascapes to the effects of agriculture or deforestation on land.
Albert Palanques - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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corrigendum Bottom Trawling along submarine canyons impacts deep sedimentary regimes
Scientific Reports, 2017Co-Authors: Sarah Paradis, Jacobo Martín, Pere Puig, Pere Masqué, Xenia Juandiaz, Albert PalanquesAbstract:Scientific Reports 7: Article number: 43332; published online: 24 February 2017; updated: 20 October 2017. This Article contains an error in Figure 3, where the sedimentation rate from Besos-3 ‘0.078 cm/y’ is incorrectly given as ‘0.39 cm/y’. The correct Figure 3 appears below as Figure 1.
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Bottom-Trawling along submarine canyons impacts deep sedimentary regimes.
Scientific Reports, 2017Co-Authors: Sarah Paradis, Jacobo Martín, Pere Puig, Pere Masqué, Xènia Juan-díaz, Albert PalanquesAbstract:Many studies highlight that fish Trawling activities cause seafloor erosion, but the assessment of the remobilization of surface sediments and its relocation is still not well documented. These impacts were examined along the flanks and axes of three headless submarine canyons incised on the Barcelona continental margin, where Trawling fleets have been operating for decades. Trawled grounds along canyon flanks presented eroded and highly reworked surface sediments resulting from the passage of heavy Trawling gear. Sedimentation rates on the upper canyon axes tripled and quadrupled its natural (i.e. pre-industrialization) values after a substantial increase in total horsepower of the operating Trawling fleets between 1960 s and 1970 s. These impacts affected the upper canyon reaches next to fishing grounds, where sediment resuspended by Trawling can be transported towards the canyon axes. This study highlights that Bottom Trawling has the capacity to alter natural sedimentary environments by promoting sediment-starved canyon flanks, and by enhancing sedimentation rates along the contiguous axes, independently of canyons’ morphology. Considering the global mechanisation and offshore expansion of Bottom Trawling fisheries since the mid-20th century, these sedimentary alterations may occur in many trawled canyons worldwide, with further ecological impacts on the trophic status of these non-resilient benthic communities.
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increasing sediment accumulation rates in la fonera palamos submarine canyon axis and their relationship with Bottom Trawling activities
Geophysical Research Letters, 2015Co-Authors: Pere Puig, Jacobo Martín, Pere Masqué, Albert PalanquesAbstract:Previous studies conducted in La Fonera (Palamos) submarine canyon (NW Mediterranean) found that Trawling activities along the canyon flanks cause resuspension and transport of sediments toward the canyon axis. 210Pb chronology supported by 137Cs dating applied to a sediment core collected at 1750 m in 2002 suggested a doubling of the sediment accumulation rate since the 1970s, coincident with the rapid industrialization of the local Trawling fleet. The same canyon area has been revisited a decade later, and new data are consistent with a sedimentary regime shift during the 1970s and also suggest that the accumulation rate during the last decade could be greater than expected, approaching ~2.4 cm yr−1 (compared to ~0.25 cm yr−1 pre-1970s). These results support the hypothesis that commercial Bottom Trawling can substantially affect sediment dynamics and budgets on continental margins, eventually initiating the formation of anthropogenic depocenters in submarine canyon environments.
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commercial Bottom Trawling as a driver of sediment dynamics and deep seascape evolution in the anthropocene
Anthropocene, 2014Co-Authors: Jacobo Martín, Pere Puig, Albert Palanques, Ariel GiamportoneAbstract:Abstract Fishing gear and techniques have evolved through the centuries, and particularly after the Second World War, towards a mass production industry in such a scale that it has placed many commercial stocks in a delicate or depleted status. Furthermore, certain fishing methods have other undesirable side effects on ecosystems and habitats. In this work, the known impacts of Bottom-dragged gear on the seafloor are reviewed. Some of the least known issues are emphasized, namely, impacts on the physical properties of deep-sea sediments, resuspension, erosion, near-Bottom turbidity and seabed morphology. Due to its recurrence, mobility and wide geographical extent, Bottom Trawling has become an effective driver on shaping the physical basis of benthic habitats: its composition, texture and morphology at scales from micro to the entire continental margin. It is concluded that Trawling is comparable in its transforming power over seascapes to the effects of agriculture or deforestation on land.
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impact of Bottom Trawling on deep sea sediment properties along the flanks of a submarine canyon
PLOS ONE, 2014Co-Authors: Jacobo Martín, Pere Puig, Albert Palanques, Pere Masqué, Anabel SanchezgomezAbstract:: The offshore displacement of commercial Bottom Trawling has raised concerns about the impact of this destructive fishing practice on the deep seafloor, which is in general characterized by lower resilience than shallow water regions. This study focuses on the flanks of La Fonera (or Palamos) submarine canyon in the Northwestern Mediterranean, where an intensive Bottom trawl fishery has been active during several decades in the 400-800 m depth range. To explore the degree of alteration of surface sediments (0-50 cm depth) caused by this industrial activity, fishing grounds and control (untrawled) sites were sampled along the canyon flanks with an interface multicorer. Sediment cores were analyzed to obtain vertical profiles of sediment grain-size, dry bulk density, organic carbon content and concentration of the radionuclide 210Pb. At control sites, surface sediments presented sedimentological characteristics typical of slope depositional systems, including a topmost unit of unconsolidated and bioturbated material overlying sediments progressively compacted with depth, with consistently high 210Pb inventories and exponential decaying profiles of 210Pb concentrations. Sediment accumulation rates at these untrawled sites ranged from 0.3 to 1.0 cm y-1. Sediment properties at most trawled sites departed from control sites and the sampled cores were characterized by denser sediments with lower 210Pb surface concentrations and inventories that indicate widespread erosion of recent sediments caused by Trawling gears. Other alterations of the physical sediment properties, including thorough mixing or grain-size sorting, as well as organic carbon impoverishment, were also visible at trawled sites. This work contributes to the growing realization of the capacity of Bottom Trawling to alter the physical properties of surface sediments and affect the seafloor integrity over large spatial scales of the deep-sea.
Jan G. Hiddink - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Selection of indicators for assessing and managing the impacts of Bottom Trawling on seabed habitats
Journal of Applied Ecology, 2020Co-Authors: Jan G. Hiddink, Ray Hilborn, Marija Sciberras, Robert A. Mcconnaughey, Tessa Mazor, Jeremy S. Collie, C. Roland Pitcher, Michel J. Kaiser, Ana M. Parma, Petri SuuronenAbstract:Bottom trawl fisheries are the most widespread source of anthropogenic physical disturbance to seabed habitats. Development of fisheries-, conservation- and ecosystem-based management strategies requires the selection of indicators of the impact of Bottom Trawling on the state of benthic biota. Many indicators have been proposed, but no rigorous test of a range of candidate indicators against nine commonly agreed criteria (concreteness, theoretical basis, public awareness, cost, measurement, historical data, sensitivity, responsiveness, specificity) has been performed. Here, we collated data from 41 studies that compared the benthic biota in trawled areas with those in control locations (that were either not trawled or trawled infrequently), examining seven potential indicators (numbers and biomass for individual taxa and whole communities, evenness, Shannon–Wiener diversity and species richness) to assess their performance against the set of nine criteria. The effects of Trawling were stronger on whole-community numbers and biomass than for individual taxa. Species richness was also negatively affected by Trawling but other measures of diversity were not. Community numbers and biomass met all criteria, taxa numbers and biomass and species richness satisfied most criteria, but evenness and Shannon–Wiener diversity did not respond to Trawling and only met few criteria, and hence are not suitable state indicators of the effect of Bottom Trawling. Synthesis and applications. An evaluation of each candidate indicator against a commonly agreed suite of desirable properties coupled with the outputs of our meta-analysis showed that whole-community numbers of individuals and biomass are the most suitable indicators of Bottom Trawling impacts as they performed well on all criteria. Strengths of these indicators are that they respond strongly to Trawling, relate directly to ecosystem functioning and are straightforward to measure. Evenness and Shannon–Wiener diversity are not responsive to Trawling and unsuitable for the monitoring and assessment of Bottom trawl impacts.
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evaluating impacts of Bottom Trawling and hypoxia on benthic communities at the local habitat and regional scale using a modelling approach
Ices Journal of Marine Science, 2020Co-Authors: P D Van Denderen, Stefan G. Bolam, Jan G. Hiddink, Mattias Sköld, A.d. Rijnsdorp, R Friedland, K Noren, Anna Tornroos, Elina Virtanen, S ValankoAbstract:Bottom Trawling disturbance and hypoxia are affecting marine benthic habitats worldwide. We present an approach to predict their effects on benthic communities, and use the approach to estimate the state, the biomass relative to carrying capacity, of the Baltic Sea at the local, habitat, and regional scale. Responses to both pressures are expected to depend on the longevity of fauna, which is predicted from benthic data from 1558 locations. We find that communities in low-salinity regions mostly consist of short-lived species, which are, in our model, more resilient than those of the saline areas. The model predicts that in 14% of the Baltic Sea region benthic biomass is reduced by at least 50%, whereas an additional 8% of the region has reductions of 10-50%. The effects of hypoxia occur over larger spatial scales and lead to a low state of especially deep habitats. The approach is based on a simple characterization of the benthic community, which comes with high uncertainty, but allows for the identification of benthic habitats that are at greatest risk and prioritization of management actions at the regional scale. This information supports the development of sustainable approaches to manage impact of human activities on benthic ecosystems.
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Assessing Bottom Trawling impacts based on the longevity of benthic invertebrates
Journal of Applied Ecology, 2018Co-Authors: Jan G. Hiddink, Stefan G. Bolam, Ray Hilborn, Simon Jennings, Marija Sciberras, Giulia Cambiè, Robert A. Mcconnaughey, Tessa Mazor, Jeremy S. Collie, C. Roland PitcherAbstract:Bottom Trawling is the most widespread human activity directly affecting seabed habitats. Assessment and effective management of the effects of Bottom Trawling at the scale of fisheries requires an understanding of differences in sensitivity of biota to Trawling. Responses to disturbance are expected to depend on the intrinsic rate of increase in populations (r), which is expected to be linearly related to the reciprocal of longevity. We examine the relationship between the longevity of benthic invertebrates and their response to Bottom Trawling; both in terms of the immediate mortality following a trawl pass and their subsequent rates of recovery. We collate all available data from experimental and comparative Trawling studies, and test how longevity influences these aspects of sensitivity. The shortest lived organisms ( 1 year decreased by ~9% immediately following a trawl pass. The effect of Bottom Trawling in comparative studies increased with longevity, with a 2–3× larger effect on biota living >10 years than on biota living 1–3 years. We attribute this difference to the slower recovery rates of the long-lived biota. The observed relationship between the intrinsic rate of population increase (r, our metric of recovery rate) and the reciprocal of longevity matches theoretical expectation and predicts that the sensitivity of habitats to Bottom Trawling is higher in habitats with higher proportions of long-lived organisms. Synthesis and applications. Where the longevity of a species or the longevity distribution of a community is known or can be inferred, our estimates of depletion and intrinsic rate of increase can be combined with high-resolution maps of Trawling intensity to assess Trawling impacts at the scale of the fishery or other defined unit of assessment. Our estimates of r may also be used to estimate recovery times following other forms of seabed disturbance.
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Effects of Bottom Trawling and primary production on the composition of biological traits in benthic assemblages
Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2018Co-Authors: Leigh M. Howarth, J.d. Eggleton, Stefan G. Bolam, James J. Waggitt, Paul J. Somerfield, Jan G. HiddinkAbstract:Although many studies have investigated the effects of disturbance and environmental drivers on marine ecosystems, comparatively few have studied their interactions. Using fuzzy coded biological traits, we compared the functional composition, diversity and evenness of benthic communities in the English Channel and in the Celtic and Irish Seas across interacting gradients of Bottom Trawling and primary production. Fuzzy correspondence analysis indicated greater similarity in trait composition at sites of high Trawling pressure than at those of low Trawling. In contrast, the analysis revealed no relationship between trait composition and primary production. Trawling and primary production had no effect on the traits ‘longevity’, ‘sediment position’, or ‘feeding mode’. However, Trawling had negative effects on all modalities within the trait ‘living habit’, and these effects were strongest for attached and epifaunal organisms but weakest for burrow- and tube-dwelling species. Trawling also negatively affected most modalities within the trait ‘maximum weight’, with strongest effects for organisms weighing between 10 kg. For the trait ‘bioturbation’, upward conveyors were positively related with primary production, whilst other modalities exhibited no clear pattern. Because Trawling affected some traits more than others, community biomass was less evenly distributed across traits in highly trawled areas, which resulted in lower levels of functional diversity and evenness. Overall, the effects of Bottom Trawling were greater in areas of high primary production.
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Estimating sensitivity of seabed habitats to disturbance by Bottom Trawling based on the longevity of benthic fauna
Ecological Applications, 2018Co-Authors: A.d. Rijnsdorp, Stefan G. Bolam, Clement Garcia, Jan G. Hiddink, P. Daniël Van Denderen, Niels T. Hintzen, Tobias Van KootenAbstract:Bottom fishing such as Trawling and dredging may pose serious risks to the seabed and benthic habitats, calling for a quantitative assessment method to evaluate the impact and guide management to develop mitigation measures. We provide a method to estimate the sensitivity of benthic habitats based on the longevity composition of the invertebrate community. We hypothesize that long-lived species are more sensitive to Trawling mortality due to their lower pace of life (i.e. slower growth, late maturation). We analyse data from box-core and grab samples taken from 401 stations in the English Channel and southern North Sea to estimate the habitat-specific longevity composition of the benthic invertebrate community and of specific functional groups (i.e. suspension feeders and bioturbators), and examine how Bottom Trawling affects the longevity biomass composition. The longevity biomass composition differed between habitats governed by differences in sediment composition (gravel and mud content) and tidal bed-shear stress. The biomass proportion of long-lived species increased with gravel content and decreased with mud content and shear stress. Bioturbators had a higher median longevity than suspension feeders. Trawling, in particular by gears that penetrate the seabed >2cm, shifted the community towards shorter-lived species. Changes from Bottom Trawling were highest in habitats with many long-lived species (hence increasing with gravel content, decreasing with mud content). Benthic communities in high shear stress habitats were less affected by Bottom Trawling. Using these relationships, we predicted the sensitivity of the benthic community from Bottom Trawling impact at large spatial scale (the North Sea). We derived different benthic sensitivity metrics that provide a basis to estimate indicators of Trawling impact on a continuous scale for the total community and specific functional groups. In combination with high resolution data of Trawling pressure, our approach can be used to monitor and assess Trawling impact and seabed status at the scale of the region or broadscale habitat and to compare the environmental impact of Bottom-contacting fishing gears across fisheries.
Pere Masqué - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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spatial distribution of sedimentation rate increases in blanes canyon caused by technification of Bottom Trawling fleet
Progress in Oceanography, 2018Co-Authors: Sarah Paradis, Pere Puig, Antoni Calafat, Pere Masqué, Anna Sanchezvidal, Jordi Garciaorellana, Miquel CanalsAbstract:Abstract A detailed study of 15 sediment cores from Blanes Canyon and its immediate surroundings (NW Mediterranean Sea) was conducted to compare historic sedimentation rates and evaluate the possible impact of Bottom-Trawling intensification on the sedimentary regimes over the past 50 years. The canyon axis and flanks, as well as the adjacent open slope, were sampled at water depths ranging from 300 m to 2200 m. Grain size, dry bulk density, and 210Pb concentration profiles were measured to assess possible changes in sedimentation rates over the last century and their temporal and spatial relationship to Bottom Trawling effort. Sedimentation rates in the upper canyon axis (900–1200 m) had the highest rates of 0.9–2.1 cm·yr−1, quantified since the 1970s. Farther downcanyon, sedimentation rates increased two to five times after the 1970s, from 0.1–0.2 cm·yr−1 to 0.2–0.8 cm·yr−1, which coincides with a rapid growth of the total engine power of the fishing fleet operating in the study area. The enhanced sedimentation rates occur downslope of the main fishing grounds and decrease downcanyon as the distance from Trawling grounds increases. These results highlight the ability of Bottom Trawling to resuspend Bottom sediments, leading to net erosion of the canyon rims and flanks. In turn, large volumes of sediment are advected towards the canyon’s interior, ultimately increasing sediment deposition along the canyon axis. Natural sedimentation rates at similar along-canyon distance from shore in the untrawled continental slope (900–1500 m) and in the lower canyon axis (1500–2200 m) are comparable (0.08–0.20 cm·yr−1), suggesting distance from coastal sediment sources as the main control on regional sedimentation in deeper parts of the margin. While submarine canyons have been regarded as preferential cross-margin conduits for sediment dispersal, they can also potentially function as modern depocenters for Trawling-induced sedimentation.
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corrigendum Bottom Trawling along submarine canyons impacts deep sedimentary regimes
Scientific Reports, 2017Co-Authors: Sarah Paradis, Jacobo Martín, Pere Puig, Pere Masqué, Xenia Juandiaz, Albert PalanquesAbstract:Scientific Reports 7: Article number: 43332; published online: 24 February 2017; updated: 20 October 2017. This Article contains an error in Figure 3, where the sedimentation rate from Besos-3 ‘0.078 cm/y’ is incorrectly given as ‘0.39 cm/y’. The correct Figure 3 appears below as Figure 1.
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Bottom-Trawling along submarine canyons impacts deep sedimentary regimes.
Scientific Reports, 2017Co-Authors: Sarah Paradis, Jacobo Martín, Pere Puig, Pere Masqué, Xènia Juan-díaz, Albert PalanquesAbstract:Many studies highlight that fish Trawling activities cause seafloor erosion, but the assessment of the remobilization of surface sediments and its relocation is still not well documented. These impacts were examined along the flanks and axes of three headless submarine canyons incised on the Barcelona continental margin, where Trawling fleets have been operating for decades. Trawled grounds along canyon flanks presented eroded and highly reworked surface sediments resulting from the passage of heavy Trawling gear. Sedimentation rates on the upper canyon axes tripled and quadrupled its natural (i.e. pre-industrialization) values after a substantial increase in total horsepower of the operating Trawling fleets between 1960 s and 1970 s. These impacts affected the upper canyon reaches next to fishing grounds, where sediment resuspended by Trawling can be transported towards the canyon axes. This study highlights that Bottom Trawling has the capacity to alter natural sedimentary environments by promoting sediment-starved canyon flanks, and by enhancing sedimentation rates along the contiguous axes, independently of canyons’ morphology. Considering the global mechanisation and offshore expansion of Bottom Trawling fisheries since the mid-20th century, these sedimentary alterations may occur in many trawled canyons worldwide, with further ecological impacts on the trophic status of these non-resilient benthic communities.
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increasing sediment accumulation rates in la fonera palamos submarine canyon axis and their relationship with Bottom Trawling activities
Geophysical Research Letters, 2015Co-Authors: Pere Puig, Jacobo Martín, Pere Masqué, Albert PalanquesAbstract:Previous studies conducted in La Fonera (Palamos) submarine canyon (NW Mediterranean) found that Trawling activities along the canyon flanks cause resuspension and transport of sediments toward the canyon axis. 210Pb chronology supported by 137Cs dating applied to a sediment core collected at 1750 m in 2002 suggested a doubling of the sediment accumulation rate since the 1970s, coincident with the rapid industrialization of the local Trawling fleet. The same canyon area has been revisited a decade later, and new data are consistent with a sedimentary regime shift during the 1970s and also suggest that the accumulation rate during the last decade could be greater than expected, approaching ~2.4 cm yr−1 (compared to ~0.25 cm yr−1 pre-1970s). These results support the hypothesis that commercial Bottom Trawling can substantially affect sediment dynamics and budgets on continental margins, eventually initiating the formation of anthropogenic depocenters in submarine canyon environments.
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impact of Bottom Trawling on deep sea sediment properties along the flanks of a submarine canyon
PLOS ONE, 2014Co-Authors: Jacobo Martín, Pere Puig, Albert Palanques, Pere Masqué, Anabel SanchezgomezAbstract:: The offshore displacement of commercial Bottom Trawling has raised concerns about the impact of this destructive fishing practice on the deep seafloor, which is in general characterized by lower resilience than shallow water regions. This study focuses on the flanks of La Fonera (or Palamos) submarine canyon in the Northwestern Mediterranean, where an intensive Bottom trawl fishery has been active during several decades in the 400-800 m depth range. To explore the degree of alteration of surface sediments (0-50 cm depth) caused by this industrial activity, fishing grounds and control (untrawled) sites were sampled along the canyon flanks with an interface multicorer. Sediment cores were analyzed to obtain vertical profiles of sediment grain-size, dry bulk density, organic carbon content and concentration of the radionuclide 210Pb. At control sites, surface sediments presented sedimentological characteristics typical of slope depositional systems, including a topmost unit of unconsolidated and bioturbated material overlying sediments progressively compacted with depth, with consistently high 210Pb inventories and exponential decaying profiles of 210Pb concentrations. Sediment accumulation rates at these untrawled sites ranged from 0.3 to 1.0 cm y-1. Sediment properties at most trawled sites departed from control sites and the sampled cores were characterized by denser sediments with lower 210Pb surface concentrations and inventories that indicate widespread erosion of recent sediments caused by Trawling gears. Other alterations of the physical sediment properties, including thorough mixing or grain-size sorting, as well as organic carbon impoverishment, were also visible at trawled sites. This work contributes to the growing realization of the capacity of Bottom Trawling to alter the physical properties of surface sediments and affect the seafloor integrity over large spatial scales of the deep-sea.