Otolith stable isotopes highlight the importance of local nursery areas as the origin of recruits to yellowfin tuna (<i>Thunnus</i><i> albacares)</i> fisheries in the western Indian Ocean

Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) supports the second largest tuna fishery worldwide, and in the Indian Ocean, it is overfished and subject to overfishing. This situation presents a significant challenge to fisheries management, requiring effective measures to rebuild and then maintain the stock at sustainable levels. A single stock of yellowfin is currently assumed by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) for stock assessments in the Indian Ocean. However, the relative contribution of different spawning components to the total catches, and the degree of mixing rates of yellowfin tuna in the Indian Ocean by individuals from different production zones, are still unknown. This study uses otolith core oxygen and carbon stable isotope composition (delta O-18 and delta C-13) of young-of-the-year yellowfin tuna from nursery areas located in the western (FAO Area 51) and eastern (FAO area 57) Indian Ocean, either side of 80 degrees E, to establish a reference baseline of isotopic signatures. Then, a mixed population program (HISEA) and Random Forest (RF) assignment approaches were used to predict the most likely origin (west or east) of sub-adult and adult yellowfin tuna captured from four fishery areas of the western Indian Ocean (offshore Pakistan, Seychelles, Reunion, and South Africa) by comparing their otolith core values to that of the baseline. Both approaches show that the western Indian Ocean fisheries are mainly composed of west origin fish (> 95 \%). We also found some individuals with an otolith isotopic signature that was not characteristic of either of the samples available in the baseline. We simulated an alternative baseline group formed by individuals with mean and standard deviation delta C-13 and delta O-18 values above the maximum ranges of the original baseline. We then used RF to infer again the most likely origin of fish in the mixed sample considering 3 possible sources (west, east, alternative). About one third of the samples were assigned to the alternative group, possibly indicating that they differ in geographical or temporal terms with the origins represented in the original baseline. Findings of otolith stable isotope composition of yellowfin tuna in the western Indian Ocean can provide a more comprehensive understanding of the species' spatial structure and connectivity beyond the current assumption of an ocean basin single stock

Valorisation of white grape pomace sugars for optimized heterotrophic cultivation of Auxenochlorella protothecoides: A sustainable food ingredient

Microalgae, such as Auxenochlorella protothecoides, are promising candidates as sustainable food sources due to their high protein content and adaptability to various growth modes. However, traditional fermentation methods are costly and resource intensive. This study explores the use of soluble sugars from white grape pomace, a wine industry by-product, as an alternative and cost-effective carbon source for heterotrophic cultivation. Optimization of the growth medium stablished yeast extract as the best nitrogen source, together with the optimal C:N and C:P ratios of 7:1 and 12:1, respectively. The process was scaled to a 6 L bioreactor, achieving a biomass content of 10.04 g L- 1 biomass with a 34.51 \% dry weight protein. Two semi-continuous strategies, perfusion and fedbatch, were implemented, increasing biomass concentration by 2.02 and 3.27, respectively. While batchgrown biomass showed superior protein content, fatty acid profile and pigment concentration, all biomasses exhibited rich essential amino acid composition, surpassing FAO/WHO standards. These finding support microalgae's role in sustainable agriculture, integrating waste streams into food production systems, and contributing to the circular bioeconomy

Comprehensive Sensory Evaluation in Low-Fat Emulsions: A Systematic Review of Diverse Food Applications

The prevalence of diet-related health issues has driven the demand for healthier food options, particularly those with reduced fat content. This systematic review evaluates the integration of sensory analysis in low-fat emulsion research, highlighting a significant gap in current practices. From an initial pool of 400 articles, 227 unique studies were screened, but only 15 (6.6\%) included sensory analysis, underscoring a major shortfall in evaluating consumer acceptance. The reviewed studies investigated various emulsion types, including simple emulsions, emulsion gels, and Pickering emulsions, utilizing a diverse range of fat replacers, such as plant-based oils, proteins, and modified starches. These fat replacers included natural and modified ingredients such as banana peel flour, lard-based diacylglycerols, cedar oil cake, microparticulated egg white proteins, Nigella sativa oil, avocado, whey protein, flaxseed oil, polyphenol extracts, okara, microcrystalline wax and cellulose, rapeseed cake, and polysaccharide nanoparticles. These innovative approaches aimed to improve the sensory attributes of meat products, dairy-type applications, salad dressings, and bakery products. The review highlights a disparity in the rigor and comprehensiveness of sensory evaluations among studies. While some studies have thoroughly assessed multiple attributes, others have been limited to general acceptability. This variability underscores the need for standardized, detailed sensory analysis in low-fat emulsion research to ensure a comprehensive understanding of consumer preferences and product quality

The use of Atlantic seascapes for marine protected areas planning in the context of the marine biological diversity of areas beyond National Jurisdiction agreement

International biodiversity agreements aim to expand protected areas by up to 30 %, including areas beyond national jurisdiction. The high seas' extent, shared governance, and limited biodiversity data challenge the identification of large-scale areas to be protected. This study uses seascapes defined from satellite data as proxies for biodiversity in the Atlantic high seas to assist in preliminary designations of protected areas. Seascape's extent is compared with modelled distributions of phytoplankton groups, fish species, and endangered species to assess their biodiversity representativity. Furthermore, the study addresses trade-offs between protecting 30 % of each seascape, covering endangered species distribution, and main human activities in high seas (shipping and fishing). Marine traffic lanes are defined where there is currently more activity, redirecting other activities in the centroid of the seascapes to these lanes. This strategy protects 21 %, 35 %, 44 %, and 48 % of the habitat of the considered endangered species, while displaced human activity ranges from 3 % to 7 % for shipping and up to 4 % for fishing. The size of areas with high concentrated noise increases by 7.8 %, affecting all trophic levels, but areas without activities with only propagated noise increase by around 78.9 %. These results suggest that protecting at least 30 % of each seascape with activity lanes is a good prioritization starting point for high seas protection, which can be redefined later based on the presence of rare species or key habitats and socio-economic factors agreed with stakeholders within a systematic spatial planning approach

Projections of intertidal estuarine seagrass distribution under climate change scenarios using a Bayesian network approach

Seagrasses have declined worldwide at accelerated rates mainly due to human pressures. Moreover, climate change (e.g. sea level rise) and consequent effects, increase uncertainty about the future evolution of seagrass spatial distribution and biomass. Among other adaptive measures, habitat conservation and restoration can help to adapt and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change in marine and transitional ecosystems. In the research presented, we assess the potential future spatial distribution of Zostera noltei coverage under climate change scenarios adopting the Oka estuary (Basque Country), as a case study. For that purpose (i) a conceptual model was developed to illustrate Z. noltei system structure accounting for the environmental conditions, human activities, and climate change effects; (ii) the conceptual model was operationalised into a Bayesian network model; (iii) the main environmental variables and human activities that influence the spatial distribution of Z. noltei were identified; and (iv) suitable areas for Z. noltei considering climate change scenarios (i.e., SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5) were projected. The resulting model showed a high-performance capacity (89.1\% of correctly classified instances, and 0.96 area under the curve). Depth is the main environmental variable conditioning Z. noltei coverage distribution. The future projections under climate change scenarios show that the Z. noltei area is expected to shift landward with sea level rise and that the potential gains of seagrass area will be constrained by anthropogenic barriers. The presented approach and model, demonstrate the capacity of projecting future seagrass distribution under climate change scenarios. The obtained results are a relevant source of information for management, applicable to planning and prioritisation of the most suitable areas for seagrass conservation, and the adoption of restoration actions in estuaries

Assessing the techno-functional and nutritional properties of<i> Aviron</i> winter peas vs. commercial edible varieties for human consumption

The increasing interest in sustainable agriculture and plant-based foods has prompted research into alternative protein sources. This study investigated the compositional and techno-functional properties of Aviron winter peas (Pisum sativum L.) compared with those of commercial edible varieties, focusing on quantified differences in chemical composition. The chemical composition, antinutritional components (phytic acid, trypsin inhibitors, total phenolic and tannin contents), digestibility (protein and starch digestibility), and techno-functional properties (water solubility, water and oil absorption, foaming and emulsifying capacity, least gelling concentration, oscillatory rheology, and thermal analysis) of pea powder from both varieties were evaluated. The results revealed significant differences in moisture, sugar, and fat contents, with Aviron peas exhibiting higher starch (37.0 g/100 g-30.0 g/100 g) and similar protein levels (19.6 g/100 g-20.8 g/100 g) than the commercial edible variety did. Antinutritional factors such as phytic acid (26.3 mg/g - 15.6 mg/g), phenolics (1.8 mg GAE/g 1.2 mg GAE/g), and tannins (0.4 mg/g -0.3 mg/g) were also more abundant in Aviron peas, potentially affecting protein digestibility (9.3\% lower), starch digestibility (8.9\% lower), and water solubility (52.1 \% lower). However, Aviron peas could be valuable ingredients for human consumption due to their functional properties in food applications. In particular. Aviron pea flour showed higher gelling abilities, as indicated by both rheological and thermal analyses, and greater foaming capacity (14.0\% - 7.33 \%). Further studies can be performed to evaluate technological strategies that may be useful for reducing the antinutritional content

Contrasting diversity patterns using Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures deployed in pelagic vs. benthic environments

Recent developments of data-driven standardized sampling tools have reduced knowledge gaps on benthic biodiversity and larval dispersal patterns. Here, we present a new application to estimate benthic spatial biodiversity patterns and evaluate potential larval dispersal from nearshore coast to the pelagic environment. To do so, we combined DNA metabarcoding and imagery on Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) deployed in pelagic and nearshore benthic systems across the Bay of Biscay's Basque Coast. Results reveal a remarkably lower biodiversity in pelagic relative to benthic ARMS as well as strong spatial patterns in community composition with the pelagic ARMS greatly differing to the benthic ones according to both metabarcoding (ANOSIM R = 0.82; p = 0.002) and image analysis (ANOSIM R = 0.87; p = 0.001). We also show that a large portion of the larvae inhabiting the pelagic domain (83.5\%) probably originates from benthic habitats, while the benthic community shared across pelagic and benthic habitats is considerably lower (24.9\%). Further, we also analyzed which benthic species successfully use the pelagic environment to disperse across the ocean from nearshore coast, and found that the unique benthic taxa inhabiting the pelagic ARMS consist of organisms with typically larger dispersal distances relative to strictly sessile taxa with direct larvae development found only in rock-attached benthic ARMS. Overall, these findings suggest that the benthic system acts as population source delivering species towards a less diverse pelagic domain. Taken together, this novel application of ARMS deployed in pelagic systems has the potential to identify the often overlooked yet critically important benthic community structure, as well as to unveil how dispersal pathways across benthic and pelagic habitats can shape biodiversity patterns of coastal ecosystems

A multi-dimensional approach to improve validation practices for qualitative models of marine social-ecological systems

Current modeling practices for social-ecological systems (SES) are often qualitative and use causal loop diagrams (CLDs), as these models promote an evaluation of the systems loops and variable connectivity. Our literature review demonstrated that quality assurance of these models often lacks a consistent validation procedure. Therefore, a guide to improving the validation of qualitative models is presented. The presumed utility protocol is a multi-dimensional protocol with 26 criteria, organized into four dimensions, designed to assess specific parts of the modeling process and provide recommendations for improvement. This protocol was applied to three demonstration cases, located in the Arctic Northeast Atlantic Ocean, Macaronesia, and the Tuscan archipelago. The ``Specific Model Tests�� dimension, which focuses on the structure of the model, revealed positive evaluations of its structure, boundaries, and capacity to be scaled up. ``Guidelines and Processes��, which focuses on the meaning and representativeness of the process, showed positive results regarding purpose, usefulness, presentation, and meaningfulness. ``Policy Insights and Spillovers��, a dimension focused on the policy recommendations, revealed a high number of ``not apply��, indicating that several criteria are too advanced for the status of the models tested. The ``Administrative, Review, and Overview�� dimension, which focused on the managerial overview, showed the models needed improvement in the documentation and replicability, while time and cost constraints were positively evaluated. The presumed utility protocol has shown to be a useful tool providing quantitative and qualitative evaluations for an intermediate evaluation of the model-building process, helping to substantiate confidence, with recommendations for improvements and applications elsewhere

A GRASP-based multi-objective approach for the tuna purse seine fishing fleet routing problem

Nowadays, the world's fishing fleet uses 20\% more fuel to catch the same amount offish compared to 30 years ago. Addressing this negative environmental and economic performance is crucial due to stricter emission regulations, rising fuel costs, and predicted declines in fish biomass and body sizes due to climate change. Investment in more efficient engines, larger ships and better fuel has been the main response, but this is only feasible in the long term at high infrastructure cost. An alternative is to optimize operations such as the routing of a fleet, which is an extremely complex problem due to its dynamic (time-dependent) moving target characteristics. To date, no other scientific work has approached this problem in its full complexity, i.e., as a dynamic vehicle routing problem with multiple time windows and moving targets. In this paper, two bi-objective mixed linear integer programming (MIP) models are presented, one for the static variant and another for the time-dependent variant. The bi-objective approaches allow to trade off the economic (e.g., probability of high catches) and environmental (e.g., fuel consumption) objectives. To overcome the limitations of exact solutions of the MIP models, a greedy randomized adaptive search procedure for the multi-objective problem (MO-GRASP) is proposed. The computational experiments demonstrate the good performance of the MO-GRASP algorithm with clearly different results when the importance of each objective is varied. In addition, computational experiments conducted on historical data prove the feasibility of applying the MO-GRASP algorithm in a real context and explore the benefits of joint planning (collaborative approach) compared to a non-collaborative strategy. Collaborative approaches enable the definition of better routes that may select slightly worse fishing and planting areas (2.9\%), but in exchange fora significant reduction in fuel consumption (17.3\%) and time at sea (10.1\%) compared to non-collaborative strategies. The final experiment examines the importance of the collaborative approach when the number of available drifting fishing aggregation devices (dFADs) per vessel is reduced