title: Historical changes of the Mediterranean Sea ecosystem: modelling the role and impact of primary productivity and fisheries changes over time.
abstract: The Mediterranean Sea has been defined "under siege" because of intense pressures from multiple human activities; yet there is still insufficient information on the cumulative impact of these stressors on the ecosystem and its resources. We evaluate how the historical (1950-2011) trends of various ecosystems groups/species have been impacted by changes in primary productivity (PP) combined with fishing pressure. We investigate the whole Mediterranean Sea using a food web modelling approach. Results indicate that both changes in PP and fishing pressure played an important role in driving species dynamics. Yet, PP was the strongest driver upon the Mediterranean Sea ecosystem. This highlights the importance of bottom-up processes in controlling the biological characteristics of the region. We observe a reduction in abundance of important fish species (~34%, including commercial and non-commercial) and top predators (~41%), and increases of the organisms at the bottom of the food web (~23%). Ecological indicators, such as community biomass, trophic levels, catch and diversity indicators, reflect such changes and show overall ecosystem degradation over time. Since climate change and fishing pressure are expected to intensify in the Mediterranean Sea, this study constitutes a baseline reference for stepping forward in assessing the future management of the basin.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Marine Science (ICM-CSIC), Passeig Maritim de la Barceloneta, n° 39-45 08003 Barcelona, Spain.|European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Directorate D - Sustainable Resources, via Enrico Fermi 2749, I-21027 Ispra, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Piroddi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Marine Science (ICM-CSIC), Passeig Maritim de la Barceloneta, n° 39-45 08003 Barcelona, Spain.|Ecopath International Initiative Research Association, Barcelona, Spain.|Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - UMR MARBEC (MARine Biodiverity Exploitation &Conservation) Avenue Jean Monnet, BP 171 34203 Sète Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Coll
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Directorate D - Sustainable Resources, via Enrico Fermi 2749, I-21027 Ispra, Italy.
authors.forename: Camino
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liquete
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Directorate D - Sustainable Resources, via Enrico Fermi 2749, I-21027 Ispra, Italy.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Macias
authors.affiliation: Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Main Mall 2202, V6T1Z4 Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: Krista
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Greer
authors.affiliation: Ecopath International Initiative Research Association, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Buszowski
authors.affiliation: Institute of Marine Science (ICM-CSIC), Passeig Maritim de la Barceloneta, n° 39-45 08003 Barcelona, Spain.|Ecopath International Initiative Research Association, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jeroen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Steenbeek
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy.|Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, 80121 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Danovaro
authors.affiliation: Ecopath International Initiative Research Association, Barcelona, Spain.|Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Main Mall 2202, V6T1Z4 Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: Villy
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Christensen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D057231:Climate Change; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D005398:Fisheries; D005399:Fishes / Q000502:physiology*; D020387:Food Chain; D006802:Human Activities; D006801:Humans; D008522:Mediterranean Sea