Für ein Ende des NATO-Krieges und eine politisch-diplomatische Regelung in Afghanistan

Four visual censuses targeting Octopus vulgaris living in dens on sandy bottoms were carried out from June to October 2013 in the National Park of the Atlantic Galician Islands (NW Spain). Censuses were undertaken by scuba diving between 5 and 21 m depth in daytime. The total area swept was 13.75 ha. There were no significant differences between octopus presence in dens during open and closed fishing seasons. Depth had a significant negative relationship with occupancy. The average number of dens per 1000 m2 was 3.84±0.84 in June and 3.89 in October. The area per den was 260 m2. Den number estimations varied between 1586 and 2057. The largest number of dens (76.5%) was found between 5 and 10 m depth. Den distribution was clumped. No significant differences were found between octopus size classes (small, medium and large) and den diameter. Associate dens were observed. There were no significant differences in den diameter and shell types found around the middens. Many dens could be “permanent”. Drilling bivalve shell behaviour is discussed. The surveyed area had around 1100 individuals, mainly small specimens. No significant differences were found between octopus size and depth. Substrate, den type and food abundance and availability (especially razors Ensis arcuatus) seem to be the main factors influencing dens and octopus density and distribution. Den availability does not appear to be a limiting factor in this case. Temperature, den availability, predators and fishing pressure influencing density and distribution are discussed. Rodas inlet may be a preferential habitat for O. vulgaris individuals ranging from 200 to 2000 g, but especially small specimens ( ≤ 1000 g)

Identification and characterization of esential habitats for three cephalopod species in the national parks of Galician Atlantic Islands and Cabrera

31 pages, 16 figures, 8 tables, 1 appendix[EN] We evaluated specific habitat features (bottom substrate type, depth, temperature and season) at random locations in the Cíes archipelago (Galician Atlantic Islands National Park, NW Spain) and to determine their impact on Octopus vulgaris, Sepia officinalis and Loligo vulgaris habitat use. We performed 113 underwater visual transects by scuba diving between April 2012 and August 2015. Habitat features were evaluated as predictors of the presence/absence of spawning dens and egg clusters using Generalized Additive Models. The O. vulgaris spawning essential habitats was found between 5 and 30 m depth in rocky bottoms from Punta Escodelo to Punta Ferreiro (Monteagudo Island), which surface is 6% of the total marine area of the Cíes islands. We propose a complete protection of this area for exploitation. underwater visual transects also showed that there is an O. vulgaris hatchery essential habitat (specimens ≤1000 g) in the sandy bottoms of the Rodas inlet. This small area (2.8% of the total) could be also protected. S. officinalis results revealed two SEH: Bajo de Viños and Piedra del Borrón, hard bottom shoals between 8-13 m covered by sea fans and sea worms and located in the central Cíes islands. We also suggest protecting that small area (0.28% of the total). Very few L. vulgaris eggs masses were found with underwater visual transects and artificial devices attractors in the Cíes islands. Also very few specimens of O. vulgaris and S. officinalis were found with underwater visual transects in Cabrera National Park between 5 and 50 m depth. Two squid spawning essential habitats were located in that park using artificial devices attractors: Na Redona and Ses Rates, both on sandy bottoms from 18 to 50 m depth with fast marine currents. The spawning essential habitats found reveal indicators of three species habitat selection and should help to identify targets for habitat improvement projects and ecosystem management approaches[ES] Mediante 112 censos visuales con escafandra autónoma realizados entre abril de 2012 y agosto de 2015, distribuidos aleatoriamente en el archipiélago de Cíes (Parque Nacional de las Islas Atlánticas de Galicia), se evaluaron las características (tipo de sustrato, profundidad, temperatura y estación) de los hábitats esenciales de Octopus vulgaris, Sepia officinalis y Loligo vulgaris. Dichas características se emplearon como predictores de la presencia/ausencia de guaridas de desove o masas de huevos utilizando Modelos Aditivos Generalizados. El hábitat esencial para el desove de O. vulgaris se localizó entre 5 y 30 m de profundidad en fondos rocosos entre Punta Escodelo y Punta Ferreiro (isla de Monteagudo), cuya superficie es del 6% del total. Proponemos su protección completa para la explotación. Los censos visuales con escafandra autónoma mostraron un hábitat esencial de cría de O. vulgaris en fondos arenosos de la ensenada de Rodas. Esta pequeña área (2,8% del total) podría ser también protegida. Los resultados para S. officinalis revelaron dos HE para el desove: el Bajo de Viños y la Piedra del Borrón, bancos de fondo duro entre 8-13 m cubiertos por gorgonias y poliquetos tubícolas en la ensenada de Rodas. Se sugiere protección para este área (0,28% del total). Apenas se hallaron puestas de L. vulgaris con censos visuales con escafandra autónoma y Dispositivos Atractores de Puesta en Cíes. También se observaron muy escasos ejemplares de S. officinalis y O. vulgaris con censos visuales con escafandra autónoma entre 5 y 50 m de profundidad en el Parque Nacional de Cabrera. Se identificaron dos HE para el desove del calamar en el Parque Nacional de Cabrera usando Dispositivos Atractores de Puesta: Na Redona y Ses Rates, fondos arenosos entre 18 y 50 m de profundidad con rápidas corrientes. Estos HEs son indicadores de selección del hábitat, y constituyen un notable apoyo para identificar objetivos en proyectos de conservación de hábitats y enfoques ecosistémicos en la gestión pesqueraMiguel Cabanellas-Reboredo fue becado por la Conselleria de Educació del Govern de les Illes Balears (Fondo Social Europeo) y actualmente beneficiario de contrato post-doctoral Juan de la Cierva formación (MINECO). Marta Sestelo disfrutó de beca de investigación SFRH/BPD/93928 de Fundacão Ciência e Tecnologia de Portugal y de proyectos del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y la Xunta de Galicia. Este proyecto estuvo financiado por el Organismo Autónomo de Parques Nacionales del Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente (CEFAPARQUES, Proyecto número: 458/2011)N

Updating the National Baseline of Non-Indigenous Species in Spanish Marine Waters

The introduction of new non-indigenous species (NIS) in Spanish marine waters is addressed under Descriptor 2 of the European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive. National baseline inventories of NIS have been compiled and updated for the three subregions (Western Mediterranean Sea, WMED; Bay of Biscay–Iberian Coast, ABI; Macaronesia, AMA) with data from 1800 to 2021. An overall of 574 species were identified with an alien, cryptogenic, crypto-expanding, or debatable status, mostly invertebrates (~65%) and primary producers (~22%). Of 412 alien species, 80.51% were reported in ABI, 67.82% in WMED, and 66.67% in AMA. Cryptogenic species are more abundant in the WMED (25.25%), compared to AMA (19.77%) and ABI (18.46%). ABI harbors more established species (62.56%) than AMA (45.2%) and WMED (43.56%), contrary to casual records (AMA 31.64%, WMED 23.76%, ABI 13.85%). Invasive species are more abundant (14.36%) in WMED. The ‘transport-stowaway’ pathway accounted for 142 (79.33%), 123 (67.58%), and 169 (85.21%) records in WMED, ABI, and AMA, respectively. The second most common pathway was ‘transport-contaminant’ related to mariculture (~10% of the total), prevalently in ABI with 42 species (23.08%). The Canary Islands stand out for species introduced through oil platforms from throughout the world. ‘Unaided’ was a relevant pathway of secondary introduction into the WMED, particularly of Lessepsian species progressing westwards. Temporal trends in newly introduced species show similar behavior among subregions.This research was funded by Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico, grant number 11_MM_ESMARES2. The APC was funded by the ESMARES2-C3 project

Monitoring the complex benthic habitat on semi-dark underwater marine caves using photogrammetry-based 3D reconstructions

Marine caves are dark environments considered a priority habitat for conservation included in the EU Habitats Directive (H8330). They harbor fragile benthic communities and represent a major reservoir of marine biodiversity. However, there is a lack of knowledge of these habitats due to the difficulties of creating detailed benthic maps and characterizing the biodiversity, structure, and dynamics of their communities. The uniqueness of marine caves fosters their popularity among recreational divers, who can cause disturbances through abrasion of the biota, resuspension of sediment, and accumulation of exhaled air bubbles in the caves' ceilings. This study aims to build a monitoring framework to characterize the structure and temporal dynamics of this complex habitat using Structurefrom- Motion (SfM) photogrammetry. SfM is a novel, non-invasive technique that allows a major advancement in the monitoring of changes in the cave’s community assemblages. This method relies on images acquired by 4K video footage to build fine-scaled 3D digital models of the substrate using overlapping imagery. For this study, we combined SfM photogrammetry and photo quadrats extracted from the video recordings. We evaluate the effectiveness of this methodology in a marine cave highly frequented by divers, located in Illa de l’Aire (Balearic Islands, Spain), and carried out two surveys before and after the diving season (2019-2021). As a result, we found a loss of 25 colonies of bryozoans with fragile skeletons, like Schizoretepora sp., and 8 individual sponges with globose morphotypes. Our results indicate that this methodology enables accurate and efficient monitoring of benthic communities in underwater caves that allow us to better understand their dynamics and, therefore, to develop the need management measures

MAPPING COMMUNITY INTEREST HABITATS IN THE COLUMBRETES ARCHIPELAGO, AN EXTRAORDINARY HOT SPOT OF BIODIVERSITY

The Columbretes Archipelago and their submerged surroundings are part of an unusual, Pleistocene volcanic field located in the Western Mediterranean designated as a Site of Community Importance (SCI) of the Natura 2000 Network. In the present study, 4 benthic habitats of community interest (1110, 1170, 1180 and 8330) have been identified by analyzing several sources of information. Generalized additive models (GAMs) have been used to model the potential distribution of reefs (1170) and maërl beds (1110). Our results highlight the diversity and extent of these habitats and allow comparisons to other marine SCIs of Spain. This can be attributed to the variability of the environment of this site. The Columbretes Islands combine a relatively shallow environment with volcanic structures, hydrothermalism with active degassing, current-driven sedimentary lobes and the influence of inland flows. Understanding high biodiversity spots is crucial as they offer natural laboratories to describe how ecosystems respond to the effects of global change. The knowledge obtained will be of paramount importance for the conservation of species and habitats. Furthermore, it will establish a baseline for future monitoring and assist in the development of effective management plans

Database of spatial distribution of non indigenous species in Spanish marine waters

Research in marine Spanish waters are focused on several actions to achieve an effectively management on protected areas, with the active participation of the stakeholders and research as basic tools for decision-making. Among these actions, there is one about the knowledge and control on NIS. One of its objectives is the creation of NIS factsheets, which are going to be added to the National Marine Biodiversity Geographical System (GIS) providing complementary information about taxonomic classification, common names, taxonomic synonyms, species illustrations, identification morphological characters, habitat in the native and introduced regions, biological and ecological traits, GenBank DNA sequences, world distribution, first record and evolution in the introduced areas, likely pathways of introduction, effects in the habitats and interaction with native species, and potential management measures to apply. The database will also provide data for (1) the European online platforms, (2) the environmental assessment for the Descriptor 2 (D2-NIS) of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), as well as (3) supporting decisions made by stakeholders. It is the result of extensive collaboration among scientist, manager’s and citizen science in the Spanish North-Atlantic, South-Atlantic, Gibraltar Strait-Alboran, Levantine-Balearic and Canary Islands marine divisions, providing an updated overview of the spatial distribution of relevant extended and invasive NIS of recent and established NIS introduced by maritime transport and aquaculture pathways, as well as on cryptogenic or native species in expansion due to the climatic water warming trend

Using artificial devices for identifying spawning preferences of the european squid

8 páginas, 5 figuras, 2 tablasSustainable management of exploited stocks demands, among others issues, to identify the spawning spatio-temporal patterns and eventually to protect the spawning grounds of the target species. Squid seems to aggregate at this crucial period of the life-history, which implies increasing vulnerability to fishing. Unlike those of other loliginid species, the spawning preferences of the European squid are largely unknown because finding egg clutches of this species in the wild is challenging. Validated records from research programs are virtually inexistent but unsystematic records from, for example fisherman, suggest that squid spawns regularly on artificial structures. Here, we report for first time a description of the spatio-temporal pattern of squid spawning on artificial devices (ADs). Thirty ADs were deployed over one year at a marine reserve (Cabrera National Park). ADs were distributed covering the three main types of benthic habitat, and ranging from 5 to 50 m depth. ADs were sampled monthly. Three main patters have been evidenced: (i) squid would prefer sandy bottoms for spawning, (ii) spawning would peak in spring, and (iii) squid would expand their spawning areas to shallower waters during the coldest months. It is debatable to extrapolate these patterns to those actually takes place in natural conditions. However, given the heavy fishing effort exerted on squid and data scarcity, the precautionary approach supports to take data from ADs as a starting point for advising sustainable management. Assuming that spawning at ADs and at the wild are correlated, the first pattern may be related to the faster marine currents that prevail on sandy bottoms or the smaller abundance of potential predators in these habitats. The second pattern may be related with the typical phytoplankton–zooplankton cascade that, in the Western Mediterranean, takes place just preceding spring. While the third pattern is in accordance with the hypothesis that squid may undergo a spawning migrationThis study was partly financed by the research projects CONFLICT (CGL2008-958) and CEFAPARQUES (458/2011), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. M.C-R. received a Ph.D. fellowship from the Conselleria de Educació (Govern de les Illes Balears) and Fondo Social Europeo (ESF). Additional financial support was received from the RECUMARE Excellence Group (Govern de les Illes Balears).Peer reviewe

Marine non-indigenous and invasive species in the Balearic Archipelago

4 págs.[EN] Since 2012, the non-indigenous marine species research group of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) has been collecting information on these species in the different Spanish maritime regions and, specifically, in the Catalan-Balearic Basin where the Balearic Islands are located. Information has been obtained from sampling campaigns at sea, IEO's own marine biodiversity monitoring, review of publications and databases of digital biodiversity platforms. The result has been the creation of a database of around 30,000 records, to date. Non-indigenous species introduced by human activities are a pressure for the environment that alters the composition of the native community and produces changes in biodiversity and food chains through competition and predation. In addition, some of these species can have adverse effects on human health. The list of species detected in the Basin until 2021 is 163 species, of which 62 can be found at the Balearic archipelago.[CAT] Des de l’any 2012, el grup d’investigació d’espècies marines al·lòctones de l’Institut Espanyol d’Oceanografia (IEO) ha anat recopilant la informació d’aquestes espècies a les diferents demarcacions marines espanyoles i, específicament, a la Llevantí-Balear on es troben les Illes Balears. S’ha obtingut informació a partir de campanyes de mostreig a la mar, seguiments de biodiversitat marina pròpies de l’IEO, revisió de publicacions i de bases de dades de plataformes digitals de biodiversitat. El resultat ha sigut la creació d’una base de dades d’entorn a 30.000 registres, a dia d’avui. Les espècies al·lòctones introduïdes per l’activitat humana són una pressió sobre el medi ambient que altera la composició de la comunitat nativa i produeix canvis en la biodiversitat i en les cadenes tròfiques per competició i depredació. A més, algunes d’aquestes espècies poden tenir efectes adversos sobre la salut humana. La llista d’espècies detectades a la demarcació Llevantí-Balear fins l’any 2021 és de 163 espècies, de les quals 62 es troben a l’arxipèlag Balear. ParaulesAquest estudi forma part del projecte ESMARES2-C3, del programa de “Asesoramiento científico-técnico para la protección del medio marino: Evaluación y seguimiento de las Estrategias Marinas, Seguimiento de los espacios marinos protegidos de competencia estatal (2018-2021)”, finançat mitjançant un encàrrec de la Dirección General de Protección del Mar, del Ministerio de Transición Ecológica y Reto Demográfico al IEO.N

Experiència de sembra de juvenils de Pinna nobilis com a proposta de gestió activa

Trabajo presentado en las Jornades de Medi Ambient de les Illes Balears, celebradas en Palma de Mallorca, España, del 16 al 18 de octubre de 2013Peer Reviewe