Ecological effects of full and partial protection in the crowded Mediterranean Sea: a regional meta-analysis

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a cornerstone of marine conservation. Globally, the number and coverage of MPAs are increasing, but MPA implementation lags in many human-dominated regions. In areas with intense competition for space and resources, evaluation of the effects of MPAs is crucial to inform decisions. In the human-dominated Mediterranean Sea, fully protected areas occupy only 0.04% of its surface. We evaluated the impacts of full and partial protection on biomass and density of fish assemblages, some commercially important fishes, and sea urchins in 24 Mediterranean MPAs. We explored the relationships between the level of protection and MPA size, age, and enforcement. Results revealed significant positive effects of protection for fisheries target species and negative effects for urchins as their predators benefited from protection. Full protection provided stronger effects than partial protection. Benefits of full protection for fish biomass were only correlated with the level of MPA enforcement; fish density was higher in older, better enforced, and - interestingly - smaller MPAs. Our finding that even small, well-enforced, fully protected areas can have significant ecological effects is encouraging for "crowded" marine environments. However, more data are needed to evaluate sufficient MPA sizes for protecting populations of species with varying mobility levels

Safety and Feasibility of MitraClip Implantation in Patients with Acute Mitral Regurgitation after Recent Myocardial Infarction and Severe Left Ventricle Dysfunction

Patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR) after myocardial infarction (MI) have an increased risk of mortality. Transcatheter mitral valve repair may therefore be a suitable therapy. However, data on clinical outcomes of patients in an acute setting are scarce, especially those with reduced left ventricle (LV) dysfunction. We conducted a multinational, collaborative data analysis from 21 centers for patients who were, within 90 days of acute MI, treated with MitraClip due to severe MR. The cohort was divided according to median left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF)-35%. Included in the study were 105 patients. The mean age was 71 ± 10 years. Patients in the LVEF \u3c 35% group were younger but with comparable Euroscore II, multivessel coronary artery disease, prior MI and coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Procedure time was comparable and acute success rate was high in both groups (94% vs. 90%, p = 0.728). MR grade was significantly reduced in both groups along with an immediate reduction in left atrial V-wave, pulmonary artery pressure and improvement in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class. In-hospital and 1-year mortality rates were not significantly different between the two groups (11% vs. 7%, p = 0.51 and 19% vs. 12%, p = 0.49) and neither was the 3-month re-hospitalization rate. In conclusion, MitraClip intervention in patients with acute severe functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) due to a recent MI in an acute setting is safe and feasible. Even patients with severe LV dysfunction may benefit from transcatheter mitral valve intervention and should not be excluded

'Organization Science': A new prospective to assess marine protected areas effectiveness

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are widely considered as useful tools to achieve both conservation and resource management goals. They have the potential to produce a wide array of positive socio-ecological effects. Their effectiveness, however, varies dramatically. The sources of this variability are numerous and, in some cases, quite well studied. Yet, a significant portion of the variability in MPAs effectiveness still remains unexplained. MPAs, due to a number of intrinsic features, can be considered "organizational systems", a definition recognizing the fact that 1) their effectiveness can be influenced by their own organizational dimensions and 2) they could be analyzed employing the typical tools provided by 'Organization Science' (hereafter OS). Here we analyze the available literature on MPAs on a worldwide scale to explore whether and how the principles of OS have been used as a scientific basis for the evaluation of MPA effectiveness. We found that no study explicitly used a comprehensive OS framework for evaluating effectiveness in the context of MPAs. Just 20 studies considered some organizational dimensions in their analysis (e.g. professionalism of the organization members, vision, goals, strategy and networking), but not in a comprehensive manner. The outputs of our review stress the limited use of the OS methodologies and principles in the context of MPAs so far. We posit that there is a significant potential for new insights in MPA science thanks to a more integrated implementation of an OS framework for the interpretation and improvement of MPA socio-ecological effectiveness

Mediterranean marine protected areas and organization science : a novel approach to evaluate management performance and effectiveness

Les Aires Marines Protégées (AMPs) sont reconnues comme des outils efficaces de conservation et de gestion des ressources. L'efficacité des AMPs, définie comme le degré d'accomplissement de leurs objectifs, est très variable. Certaines caractéristiques des AMPs (âge) expliquent une partie de cette variabilité, mais une autre partie reste encore inexpliquée. En appliquant la Science de l’Organisation (OS, discipline qui étudie l’organisation) aux AMPs, d'autres facteurs qui affectent l'efficacité de la gestion pourraient être détectés. Les objectifs de ce manuscrit sont : 1) évaluer l'efficacité des AMPs méditerranéennes, 2) explorer l'application des OS aux AMPs, 3) utiliser la OS pour l'évaluation des caractéristiques de l'organisation des AMPs, la performance (qui est le niveau d'effort exercé pour atteindre les objectifs) et l'efficacité. Les données écologiques et organisationnelles des AMPs méditerranéennes ont été collectées dans la littérature scientifique et grise, et par des questionnaires. Les résultats montrent que les AMPs méditerranéennes sont efficaces, malgré que la variabilité de nos résultats n’ait été que partiellement expliquée. Notre approche utilisant la OS pour les AMPs n’a pas été appliquée auparavant. Notre tentative d'incorporer la OS dans le contexte des AMPs est ainsi originale. Les résultats montrent une hétérogénéité organisationnelle des AMPs méditerranéennes. Dans les AMPs étudiées, la performance était faible, avec des relations entre des variables organisationnelles et l'efficacité des AMPs. Cette recherche constitue une avancée pour améliorer l'efficacité des AMPs, qui aura de multiples répercussions écologiques, sociales et politiques.Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are recognized as tools for conservation and resource management purposes. MPA management effectiveness, i.e. the degree of achievement of MPA goals, is highly variable. Some MPA features (e.g. age) partially explain such variability, but part of it still remains unexplained. Other factors affecting MPA management effectiveness could be detected by applying the Organization Science (OS, discipline that studies the organizations) to MPAs. The objectives of this manuscript are to 1) assess the management effectiveness of Mediterranean MPAs, 2) explore the application of OS in MPA context, 3) use the OS framework for the assessment of MPA organizational features, management performance (i.e. the level of effort exerted to achieve MPA goals) and effectiveness. Ecological and organizational data on Mediterranean MPAs were collected through questionnaires, and from peer-reviewed and grey literature. Results show that Mediterranean MPAs are effective, but the overall variability of our outcomes was only partially explained. No previous studies applied the OS framework to MPAs. Our attempt to incorporate the OS framework in the MPA context is, therefore, novel. Results show a significant heterogeneity of Mediterranean MPAs from an organizational point of view. The studied MPAs displayed a generally low management performance, with relationships between some organizational variables and the MPA management effectiveness. The present research is an important step forward to improve MPA management effectiveness, which has multiple ecological, social and political implications

ORGANIZATIONAL AND STRATEGIC PROFILES OF MARINE PROTECTED AREAS: SOME CASE STUDIES IN THE ADRIATIC AND IONIAN REGION

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are increasingly regarded as valuable tools aimed at both achieving marine conservation and resource management goals. They are also basic instruments for the ecosystem-based management approach adopted to mitigate the multitude of threats affecting coastal and marine ecosystems and the services they provide to humankind. Available evidences from a number of case studies worldwide confirm that MPAs may play an important role in recovering marine communities and ecosystems and in enhancing fishing stocks and also related revenues to fishermen. Such successes explain the high increase of the number of MPAs, a number that now exceeds 11,300 on a worldwide scale (Marine Conservation Institute, 2015). Although on average MPAs exhibit positive effects, the magnitude (and occasionally also the direction) of responses to protection can vary dramatically The sources of this variability in MPAs’ performance are numerous and, in some cases, quite well studied. Key issues that have been documented include the level of enforcement, social compliance, MPA size, age, location and fishing regulations. A significant portion of the variability of MPA effectiveness, however, still remains unexplained, which suggests the need to explore more in depth other aspects possibly affecting MPA performance. Some areas ripe for exploration are, for instance, the goals that each MPA have set and the organizational activities undertaken to achieve such goals. Exploring these institutional characteristics and their influence on MPA performance requires bringing new perspectives and tools from other disciplines to MPA analyses. Organization Science (hereafter OS) studies the structures, processes, practices, culture, knowledge and other organizational variables and supplies tools to carry out organizations’ performance analysis. Protected Areas can be seen as social-ecological systems (SESs), established and often managed by public and/or no-profit organizations. MPAs, therefore, can be considered as “organizational systems” whose effectiveness can be influenced by their own organizational dimensions. Although the analysis of the organizational aspects of MPAs is a new approach still in its infancy the tools provided by OS may provide important insights to analyze and potentially improve MPA performance. The aim of the study is 1) to assess the putative variability in organizational and strategic profiles of three Mediterranean MPAs used here as case studies and 2) to suggest possible indications aimed at improving MPA organizational asset and related effectiveness

Erratum to: Ecological effects of full and partial protection in the crowded Mediterranean Sea: a regional meta-analysis (Scientific Reports, (2017), 7, 1, (8940), 10.1038/s41598-017-08850-w)

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper

Author Correction: Ecological effects of full and partial protection in the crowded Mediterranean Sea: a regional meta-analysis.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper

Ecological effects of full and partial protection in the crowded Mediterranean Sea: a regional meta-analysis.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a cornerstone of marine conservation. Globally, the number and coverage of MPAs are increasing, but MPA implementation lags in many human-dominated regions. In areas with intense competition for space and resources, evaluation of the effects of MPAs is crucial to inform decisions. In the human-dominated Mediterranean Sea, fully protected areas occupy only 0.04% of its surface. We evaluated the impacts of full and partial protection on biomass and density of fish assemblages, some commercially important fishes, and sea urchins in 24 Mediterranean MPAs. We explored the relationships between the level of protection and MPA size, age, and enforcement. Results revealed significant positive effects of protection for fisheries target species and negative effects for urchins as their predators benefited from protection. Full protection provided stronger effects than partial protection. Benefits of full protection for fish biomass were only correlated with the level of MPA enforcement; fish density was higher in older, better enforced, and -interestingly- smaller MPAs. Our finding that even small, well-enforced, fully protected areas can have significant ecological effects is encouraging for "crowded" marine environments. However, more data are needed to evaluate sufficient MPA sizes for protecting populations of species with varying mobility levels