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- Nordlund, Lina Mtwana, et al.
(författare)
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One hundred priority questions for advancing seagrass conservation in Europe
- 2024
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Ingår i: PLANTS PEOPLE PLANET. - 2572-2611.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Societal Impact StatementSeagrass ecosystems are of fundamental importance to our planet and wellbeing. Seagrasses are marine flowering plants, which engineer ecosystems that provide a multitude of ecosystem services, for example, blue foods and carbon sequestration. Seagrass ecosystems have largely been degraded across much of their global range. There is now increasing interest in the conservation and restoration of these systems, particularly in the context of the climate emergency and the biodiversity crisis. The collation of 100 questions from experts across Europe could, if answered, improve our ability to conserve and restore these systems by facilitating a fundamental shift in the success of such work.SummarySeagrass meadows provide numerous ecosystem services including biodiversity, coastal protection, and carbon sequestration. In Europe, seagrasses can be found in shallow sheltered waters along coastlines, in estuaries & lagoons, and around islands, but their distribution has declined. Factors such as poor water quality, coastal modification, mechanical damage, overfishing, land-sea interactions, climate change and disease have reduced the coverage of Europe's seagrasses necessitating their recovery. Research, monitoring and conservation efforts on seagrass ecosystems in Europe are mostly uncoordinated and biased towards certain species and regions, resulting in inadequate delivery of critical information for their management. Here, we aim to identify the 100 priority questions, that if addressed would strongly advance seagrass monitoring, research and conservation in Europe. Using a Delphi method, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with seagrass experience from across Europe and with diverse seagrass expertise participated in the process that involved the formulation of research questions, a voting process and an online workshop to identify the final list of the 100 questions. The final list of questions covers areas across nine themes: Biodiversity & Ecology; Ecosystem services; Blue carbon; Fishery support; Drivers, Threats, Resilience & Response; Monitoring & Assessment; Conservation & Restoration; Governance, Policy & Management; and Communication. Answering these questions will fill current knowledge gaps and place European seagrass onto a positive trajectory of recovery. Seagrass ecosystems are of fundamental importance to our planet and wellbeing. Seagrasses are marine flowering plants which engineer ecosystems that provide a multitude of ecosystem services, for example, blue foods and carbon sequestration. Seagrass ecosystems have largely been degraded across much of their global range. There is now increasing interest in the conservation and restoration of these systems, particularly in the context of the climate emergency and the biodiversity crisis. The collation of 100 questions from experts across Europe could, if answered, improve our ability to conserve and restore these systems by facilitating a fundamental shift in the success of such work. image
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| 2. |
- Orfao, Ines, et al.
(författare)
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Searching for the critically endangered European eel in oceanic islands : A pioneer study in the freshwater systems of Madeira, Macaronesia
- 2024
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Ingår i: Aquatic conservation. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1052-7613 .- 1099-0755. ; 34:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The globally threatened European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is the only freshwater fish native to Macaronesia. Despite being a keystone species to freshwater habitats, little is known about its population, environmental associations and conservation requirements in oceanic islands. The density and geographical-related factors influencing the distribution of A. anguilla in the subtropical Archipelago of Madeira (Portugal) were examined. Data on the species occurrence was initially collected using an online survey addressed to citizens. Eels were then sampled through electrofishing in 31 sampling sites along 11 streams on Madeira Island, and eel-habitat associations were investigated using LMMs and GLMMs. One stream was also sampled in Porto Santo Island. The presence of A. anguilla was confirmed in the two islands of the archipelago with streams (Madeira and Porto Santo). Eels are distributed throughout Madeira Island, being more abundant - particularly small size individual- at lower altitudes (mostly below 150 m). The number of weirs was an important predictor of eel density, suggesting that these flood-control structures limit their upstream migration. This study represents a pioneer sampling effort of the European eel in Madeira and results provide much-needed baseline information on the species distribution and related environmental factors in oceanic islands. While most eel research has historically focused on mainland habitats where dams pose a significant threat to eel habitats, our study underscores the critical importance of addressing smaller, often overlooked barriers that may also cause habitat fragmentation. The European eel is a panmictic species, thus, the conservation of the Macaronesian subpopulations can have substantial benefits for its global recovery. A comprehensive investigation of the impact of man-made obstacles on eel habitat is still needed. Similarly, other common threats such as interactions with non-indigenous species and infection by Anguillicola crassus should be a research priority in future studies.
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