Chaotic Genetic Patchiness in the Highly Valued Atlantic Stalked Barnacle Pollicipes pollicipes from the Iberian Peninsula: Implications for Fisheries Management. Frontiers in Marine Science

The stalked barnacle Pollicipes pollicipes inhabits rocky shores from the Atlantic coasts of Brittany (France) to Senegal. Because of the culinary traditions of southern Europe, stalked barnacles represent an important target species for local fisheries on the Iberian Peninsula. To manage this fishery sustainably, it is therefore important to assess the dynamics of local populations over the Iberian coast, and how they are interconnected at a wider scale using finely tuned genetic markers. In this work, a new enriched library of GT microsatellites for P. pollicipes was prepared and sequenced using Ion TorrentTM Next Gen-Sequencing Technology. 1,423 adults and juveniles were sampled in 15 localities of three geographic regions: southern Portugal, Galicia and Asturias (both in northern Spain). Twenty polymorphic loci arranged in five multiplex PCRs were then tested and validated as new molecular tools to address the spatial and temporal genetic patterns of P. pollicipes. Our results revealed high genetic diversity among adults. However, juveniles were genetically more structured than their adult counterparts, which alternatively displayed much more connectivity among the three studied regions. The lack of spatial genetic heterogeneity in adults may be due to the overlapping of several generations of settlers coming from different geographic origins, which mainly depends on the orientation of residual currents along the coast during reproduction. The genetic differentiation of juveniles may indeed be congruent with Iberian Peninsula hydrodynamics, which can produce chaotic genetic patchiness (CGP) at small temporal scales due to sweepstake reproductive success, collective dispersal and/or self-recruitment. Remarkably, most of the genetic heterogeneity of juveniles found in this work was located in Galicia, which could represent an admixture between distinct metapopulations or an old refuge for the most northern populations. To conclude, high genetic variation in P. pollicipes can lead to the false impression of population panmixia at the Iberian scale by masking more restricted and current-driven larval exchanges between regions. This possibility should be taken into consideration for further specific management and conservation plans for the species over the Iberian Peninsula

Spatial and temporal dynamics of fucoid populations (Ascophyllum nodosum and Fucus serratus): A comparison between central and range edge populations

Persistence of populations at range edges relies on local population dynamics and fitness, in the case of geographically isolated populations of species with low dispersal potential. Focusing on spatial variations in demography helps to predict the long-term capability for persistence of populations across the geographical range of species' distribution. The demography of two ecological and phylogenetically close macroalgal species with different life history characteristics was investigated by using stochastic, stage-based matrix models. Populations of Ascophyllum nodosum and Fucus serratus were sampled for up to 4 years at central locations in France and at their southern range limits in Portugal. The stochastic population growth rate (lambda(s)) of A. nodosum was lower and more variable in central than in southern sites whilst for F. serratus this trend was reversed with lambda(s) much lower and more variable in southern than in central populations. Individuals were larger in central than in southern populations for both species, which was reflected in the lower transition probabilities of individuals to larger size classes and higher probability of shrinkage in the southern populations. In both central and southern populations elasticity analysis (proportional sensitivity) of population growth rate showed that fertility elements had a small contribution to lambda(s) that was more sensitive to changes in matrix transitions corresponding to survival. The highest elasticities were found for loop transitions in A. nodosum and for growth to larger size classes in F. serratus. Sensitivity analysis showed high selective pressure on individual growth for both species at both locations. The results of this study highlight the deterministic role of species-specific life-history traits in population demography across the geographical range of species. Additionally, this study demonstrates that individuals' life-transitions differ in vulnerability to environmental variability and shows the importance of vegetative compared to reproductive stages for the long-term persistence of populations.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) [SFRH/BPD/75843/2011]; European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the COMPETE - Operational Competitiveness Programme; FCT [Pest-CIMAR LA 0015/2013, EXCL/AAG-GLO/0661/2012

Regresión de las algas marinas en las Islas Canarias y en la costa atlántica de la Península Ibérica por efecto del cambio climático

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Coping with poachers in European stalked barnacle fisheries: Insights from a stakeholder workshop.

In January 2020, a stakeholder workshop was organized as a knowledge sharing strategy among European stalked barnacle fisheries. Management of this fishery differs greatly among regions and ranges from less organized and governed at large scales (>100 km, coasts of SW Portugal and Brittany in France) to highly participatory systems which are co-managed at small spatial scales (10′s km and less, Galicia and Asturias). Discussions revealed that poaching is ubiquitous, hard to eradicate, and adapts to all types of management. The stakeholders identified some key management initiatives in the fight against poaching: granting professional harvesters with exclusive access to the resource, increasing social capital among harvesters through tenure systems (e.g. Territorial Use Rights in Fisheries) that empower them as stewards of their resource and intensi- fication of surveillance with the active participation of the harvesters. Furthermore, increased cooperation be- tween fishers associations and regional fisheries authorities, improved legal frameworks, adoption of new technologies and the implementation of market-based solutions can also help coping with this systemic problem

European-scale analysis of seasonal variability in limpet grazing activity and microalgal abundance

The film of microalgae and macroalgal propagules which coats intertidal rocks is the main food resource of Limpets, the dominant grazers on exposed shores of north-west Europe. Spatial and temporal variability in feeding activity of Limpets and abundance of microalgae were examined at mid-tide level across a European gradient from the Isle of Man in the British Isles to south-west Portugal. Feeding activity was assessed as the frequency of radula scrapes on wax surfaces placed on the shore. This was undertaken monthly at 2 shores at each of 4 locations, the Isle of Man, south-west England, northern Spain and south-west Portugal, over 1 yr. The abundance of the microalgal film was determined simultaneously at 3 of the 4 locations by measuring the concentration of chlorophyll a on the rock surface. The density and species diversity of Limpets increased with decreasing latitude. This was mirrored by a trend of increased levels of Limpet grazing, although 1 location (northern Spain) did not fit this trend. Seasonal changes in limpet grazing intensity were found at 3 of the 4 locations, characterised by elevated grazing during the summer and autumn. The seasonal variations resulted from changes in the level of foraging of individual Limpets and were positively correlated with mean sea temperature in the Isle of Man and south-west England. The pattern of grazing activity was not solely a function of sea temperature. In the Isle of Man, grazing by Patella vulgata declined during the later stages of gonad development and increased following spawning. Seasonal variation in the standing stock of microalgae, measured as the concentration of chlorophyll a, was found at all 3 locations examined, the Isle of Man, south-west England and northern Spain, with greater abundance in the winter compared to summer. This pattern was consistent over both large (among locations: 100s of kilometres) and medium (between shores: 1000s of metres) scales. There were no correlations between microalgal abundance and limpet grazing activity at any location. There were significant negative correlations between chlorophyll a and maximum monthly air temperature and monthly sunshine hours. Comparison of microalgal abundance among locations showed a general decline in standing stock with decreasing latitude, but differences between specific locations varied with season. South-west England showed similar levels of microalgal abundance to the most northerly location (Isle of Man) in winter, and to the most southerly location (northern Spain) in the summer