Impact assessment of multiple pressures on ecosystem services with a state and transition model: Application to Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows.

A significant challenge in the integration of ecosystem services into decision-making processes lies in effectively capturing the dynamics of marine socio-ecological systems, including their evolutionary pathways, equilibrium states, and tipping points. This paper explores the evolutionary trajectories of a vital marine ecosystem endemic to the Mediterranean Sea: the Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows, in response to various drivers of change. A state-and-transition model is employed to assess the ecosystem services provided by P. oceanica across different states defined by selected transitions, such as overfishing, fragmentation, pollution, and invasion by non-native species. To apply this model, scientific expertise is combined with field data generated using the Ecosystem-Based Quality Index to evaluate the conservation status of P. oceanica. This integrated approach allows for the representation of the ecosystem services offered by the meadows across different states, leveraging ecological data. The findings highlight the disproportionate impact on provisioning services, particularly sea urchins and commercial fish production, which suffer the most under various stressors. Notably, when these services decline to critical levels, the meadows cease to provide significant benefits. Finally, a synthesized representation is presented, merging ecological insights with monitoring data, offering a framework that is more accessible to stakeholders and decision-makers.

Influences of bioavailability, trophic position, and growth on methylmercury in hakes (Merluccius merluccius) from Northwestern Mediterranean and Northeastern Atlantic.

Methylmercury (MeHg) determinations in hake, its food-chain, and the surrounding waters and sediments allowed us to show that the higher length or age normalized mercury concentrations of Northwestern Mediterranean (Gulf of Lions: GoL) muscle hakes compared to its Northeastern Atlantic (Bay of Biscay: BoB) counterpart are due to both biotic and abiotic differences between their ecosystems. Bioenergetic modeling reveals that the slower growth rate of Mediterranean hake favors the MeHg bioaccumulation in the fish muscle and explains most of the difference between GOL and BoB hake populations. In addition, the waters of the Mediterranean hake habitat favor a higher MeHg exposition, due to the upper position of the thermohalocline, where MeHg is formed. Furthermore, we show that, within the Mediterranean hake population, a major increase in the biomagnification power (the slope of the relationships between logMeHg and δ(15)N), from 0.36 up to 1.12, occurs when individuals enter adulthood, resulting from the combined effects of lowering growth rate and change in feeding habits. Finally, δ(15)N normalized Hg concentrations indicate that the highest Hg concentrations are for hake from the shelf edge and the lowest are for hake from the Rhône prodelta area, suggesting a lower Hg bioavailability in inshore environments, consistent with MeHg distributions in water, sediment, and preys.

Response of a seagrass fish assemblage to improved wastewater treatment.

We compared the structure of a seagrass fish assemblage near a sewage outlet before and after improvements to wastewater treatment. To determine whether responses by the fish assemblage were due to changes in water quality or to other factors, comparisons were made with the structure of a fish assemblage from a nearby site unaffected by sewage effluent. Total species richness, density and biomass of fish, decreased at both sites over the 30-year period. An increase in mean trophic level near the sewage outlet following improvements in water quality indicated that wastewater treatment had another important effect. This result is consistent with the reductions in food webs supporting pelagic and benthic fishes that typically accompany decreases in nutrient inputs. Although improvements to wastewater treatment explained much of the variation in the structure of the fish assemblage at PC, our results also suggest that fishing and climate change, at both sites.

Spatial patterns in PCBs, pesticides, mercury and cadmium in the common sole in the NW Mediterranean Sea, and a novel use of contaminants as biomarkers.

We assessed spatial patterns in 37 PCB congeners, eight pesticides, and the heavy metals mercury and cadmium in the flatfish Solea solea at four sites in the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean). Overall contaminant concentrations generally exceeded those reported for S. solea elsewhere, but fell into the range of other Gulf fishes, testifying of a relatively high contaminant load of this area. Spatial patterns in all three contaminant classes were highly significant, but differed among classes. PCB congener and chlorination class profiles also differed among sites. The observed patterns would be consistent with (1) PCB point-sources in the Eastern Gulf (Marseille, Rhone River) versus dominance of atmospheric input in the West, (2) pesticide input by the Rhone and from agricultural fields in the West, and (3) mercury point-sources near Marseille. The unique, site-specific contaminant profiles prove to be a powerful tool to differentiate between S. solea populations from different sites.

Difference of mercury bioaccumulation in red mullets from the north-western Mediterranean and Black seas.

The relationships between total mercury (Hg) concentration and stable nitrogen isotope ratio (delta(15)N) were evaluated in Mullus barbatus barbatus and M. surmuletus from the Mediterranean Sea and M. barbatus ponticus from the Black Sea. Mercury concentration in fish muscle was six times higher in the two Mediterranean species than in the Black Sea one for similar sized animals. A positive correlation between Hg concentration and delta(15)N occurred in all species. Increase in Hg concentration with delta(15)N was high and similar in the two Mediterranean fishes and much lower in the Black Sea species. Since this was neither related to trophic level difference between species nor to methylmercury (MeHg) concentration differences between the north-western Mediterranean and the Black Sea waters, we suggested that the higher primary production of the Black Sea induced a dilution of MeHg concentration at the base of the food webs.

[Trophic analysis and trophodynamic functioning of mangrove fish fauna of New Caledonia]. / Réseaux trophiques et fonctionnement trophodynamique de l'ichtyofaune des mangroves de Nouvelle-Calédonie.

Fish communities from geomorphologically different mangrove forests showed distinct trophic structures. A mangrove area located near fringing reefs (Bouraké) was dominated by large invertebrate (> 2 mm) feeders (40.7% of total wet weight of the fish fauna) and herbivores (26.7%) whilst an estuarine mangrove (Ouenghi) was characterized by detritus feeders (28.2%), piscivorous (18.2%) and large invertebrate feeders (17.9%). In spite of these differences in trophic structure, similar food webs occurred in both areas, whereas the intensity of fluxes between trophic compartments was different. Resident species were usually at the base of the trophic structure. This component of the fish fauna used available sources of energy, such as microalgae in Bouraké or detritus and phytoplankton in Ouenghi. In contrast, transient species were high level predators, mainly piscivorous and large invertebrate feeders. These species actively contributed to net exports of energy from mangrove areas to nearby coastal habitats. Food webs and energy fluxes associated with trophic migration of fishes were particularly important in non-estuarine mangrove forests because of hydrologic conditions (salinity and turbidity) which were more suitable to the invasion of numerous marine foraging species (carangids, lutjanids, sphyraenids).