A State-of-the-Art Review of Marine Ecosystem Services in the Rías Baixas Natura 2000 Network (Galicia, NW Spain)

Humans are deeply connected to the oceans, who provide us vital ecosystem services (ES) (climate regulation, control of natural threats, wealth of its biodiversity, etc.), but the oceans are the first to suffer from human activity (climate change, destruction of ecosystems, overexploitation of marine resources, pollution, endangered species, etc.). Marine biodiversity is a fundamental natural capital in the generation of marine ecosystem services (MES), fundamental elements for the maintenance of human wellbeing. The objective of this article is to empirically demonstrate the role of marine ES in natural protected areas in Nature 2000 Rías Baixas (N2RB) (Galicia, NW Spain) in order to (1) to improve the knowledge on natural capital and ES associated to conserved coastal areas, (2) to analyze the contribution of these conserved coastal areas to the provision of sustainable business opportunities, and (3) to analyze if green-oriented policies can revert the current unsustainable exploitation model by providing real opportunities for business development. By creating an inventory, we gathered detailed information collected up to October 2020 of scientific literature, research projects, press releases, information on business initiatives and public policies regulations on ES and conservation of marine biodiversity in the N2RB (Cíes Islands and Island of Ons, including the Ons–O Grove Complex). Better protection of marine natural capital needs coordinated efforts among all sectors of government, business, and international institutions. It is a priority to generate a greater degree of social and business commitment that promotes the conservation of marine biodiversity, through the design of social and business participation strategies in the planning and use of ES in the N2RB areasThis work has been carried out within the framework of the ECOSOCIETY Project (Citizen participation for the improvement of conservation of marine biodiversity in the areas Rías Baixas Natura 2000 Network), with the support of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, through the Biodiversity Foundation. PP received funds from the Xunta de Galicia under the modality of Grupos de Referencia Competitiva (Grant ED431C2019/11), and RECREGES I and II projects under Grants ED481B2014/034-0 and ED481B2018/017S

Multispecies Fisheries in the Lower Amazon River and Its Relationship with the Regional and Global Climate Variability

This paper aims to describe the spatial-temporal variability in catch of the main fishery resources of the Amazon River and floodplain lakes of the Lower Amazon, as well as relating the Catch per Unit of Effort with anomalies of some of the Amazon River, atmosphere and Atlantic Ocean system variables, determining the influence of the environment on the Amazonian fishery resources. Finfish landings data from the towns and villages of the Lower Amazon for the fisheries of three sites (Óbidos, Santarém and Monte Alegre), were obtained for the period between January 1993 and December 2004. Analysis of variance, detrended correspondence analysis, redundancy analysis and multiple regression techniques were used for the statistical analysis of the distinct time series. Fisheries production in the Lower Amazon presents differences between the Amazon River and the floodplain lakes. Production in the Amazon River is approximately half of the one of the floodplain lakes. This variability occurs both along the Lower Amazon River region (longitudinal gradient) and laterally (latitudinal gradient) for every fishing ground studied here. The distinct environmental variables alone or in association act differently on the fishery stocks and the success of catches in each fishery group studied here. Important variables are the flooding events; the soil the sea surface temperatures; the humidity; the wind and the occurence of El Niño-Southern Oscillation events. Fishery productivity presents a large difference in quantity and distribution patterns between the river and floodplain lakes. This variability occurs in the region of the Lower Amazon as well as laterally for each fishery group studied, being dependent on the ecological characteristics and life strategies of each fish group considered hereFunding for translation and publishing was provided by the Pro-Reitoria de Pesquisa e Pos-Graduacao (www.propesp.ufpa.br) and Fundacao de Amparo e Desenvolvimento da Pesquisa (www.portalfadesp.org.br) from Universidade Federal do Para (www.portal.ufpa.br). WHDP was supported by Brazilian Ph.D. Scholarships from the Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior of Brazil (www.capes.gov.br). RBS was supported by Scholarship in Research Productivity PQ CNPq 308646/2013-4 from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (www.cnpq.br). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific role of this author is articulated in the 'author contributions' sectionS

Using graph theory and social media data to assess cultural ecosystem services in coastal areas: Method development and application

The use of social media (SM) data has emerged as a promising tool for the assessment of cultural ecosystem services (CES). Most studies have focused on the use of single SM platforms and on the analysis of photo content to assess the demand for CES. Here, we introduce a novel methodology for the assessment of CES using SM data through the application of graph theory network analyses (GTNA) on hashtags associated to SM posts and compare it to photo content analysis. We applied the proposed methodology on two SM platforms, Instagram and Twitter, on three worldwide known case study areas, namely Great Barrier Reef, Galapagos Islands and Easter Island. Our results indicate that the analysis of hashtags through graph theory offers similar capabilities to photo content analysis in the assessment of CES provision and the identification of CES providers. More importantly, GTNA provides greater capabilities at identifying relational values and eudaimonic aspects associated to nature, elusive aspects for photo content analysis. In addition, GTNA contributes to the reduction of the interpreter’s bias associated to photo content analyses, since GTNA is based on the tags provided by the users themselves. The study also highlights the importance of considering data from different SM platforms, as the type of users and the information offered by these platforms can show different CES attributes. The ease of application and relative short computing processing times involved in the application of GTNA makes it a cost-effective method with the potential of being applied to large geographical scalesThis work is a result of the ECOMAR Network, “Evaluation and monitoring of marine ecosystem services in Iberoamérica” (project number 417RT0528) funded by the CYTED program. During the time of the study and writing period ARF was supported by a H2020-Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action MSCA-IF-2014 (ref. 655475); AOA was supported by a H2020-Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action MSCA-IF-2016 (ref. 746361); SdJ was supported by a H2020-Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action MSCA-IF-2016 (ref. 743545); PP was funded by the Xunta de Galicia (RECREGES II Project, Grant ED481B2018/ 017)S

Análise dos principais patróns económicos, sociais e de goberno para a xestión de sistemas socio-ecolóxicos complexos en situacións pobres en datos

Information on where and how humans use coastal environments is essential in the planning and management of marine resources. However, knowledge about the interactions between ecological, social and governance patterns of marine socio-ecological systems is largely unknown. I am interested in analyzing synergies and trade-offs between marine ecosystems and socioeconomic development, understanding the local and global implications of how human and biophysical processes interact with the structure and function of coastal ecosystems, and how they affect the availability of food, income, employment, health and equity in coastal communities. I will use quantitative models and participatory approaches to integrate ecological and socioeconomic dimensions to understand present and future patterns of marine socioecological systems. In the first place my aim is to demonstrate that under data-poor management scenarios the combination of different sources of data can be used to document and analyze key changes in S-fisheries (small-scale, spatially-structured, targeting sedentary stocks) to inform management and policy. I have selected the shellfish fishery of Galicia because it is a highly relevant S-fishery in Europe that is managed in a data-poor environment with urgent needs of updated information by regional policy-makers and managers to ensure socioecological sustainability. Special attention is to be paid to interrelation between socioeconomic changes and resource exploitation issues. I will also investigate the state of play of marine recreational fisheries (MRF) in Galicia. It will be reviewed the evolution of the management framework of MRF in Galicia and it will be discussed its eventual future development to ensure ecological, social and economic sustainability. Finally, I will perform an economic comparative analysis of two Atlantic recreational charter (RC) fisheries to evaluate the possibility of favoring RC fishing-based local initiatives and improve the well-being of coastal communities. To illustrate, I have selected two case studies located in the Eastern North Atlantic, namely Galicia and Madeira Islands (Portugal). The two cases differ greatly in the socioecological attributes in which RC fishing is developed (e.g., relevance of commercial fishing and tourism and targeted species), thus these attributes will be included in the analyses.La información sobre dónde y cómo los humanos usan los ambientes costeros es esencial en la planificación y gestión de los recursos marinos. Sin embargo, el conocimiento sobre las interacciones entre los patrones ecológicos, sociales y de gobernanza de los sistemas socio-ecológicos marinos es en gran parte desconocido. Me interesa analizar las sinergias y las compensaciones entre los ecosistemas marinos y el desarrollo socioeconómico, comprender las implicaciones locales y globales de cómo los procesos humanos y biofísicos interactúan con la estructura y función de los ecosistemas costeros, y cómo afectan la disponibilidad de alimentos, ingresos, empleo, salud y equidad en las comunidades costeras. Usaré modelos cuantitativos y enfoques participativos para integrar las dimensiones ecológicas y socioeconómicas para comprender los patrones actuales y futuros de los sistemas socio-ecológicos marinos. En primer lugar, mi objetivo es demostrar que, en escenarios de gestión con escasez de información, una combinación de diferentes fuentes de datos puede ser usada para documentar y analizar cambios clave en las pesquerías artesanales (S-fisheries, a pequeña escala, estructuradas espacialmente y dirigidas a poblaciones sedentarias) para Informar a los responsables de la toma de decisiones política. He seleccionado el marisqueo en Galicia porque es una pesquería artesanal de gran relevancia en Europa que se gestiona en un entorno con escasez de datos y en la que los responsables de la formulación de las políticas regionales y los gestores demandan con urgencia información actualizada para garantizar la sostenibilidad socio-ecológica. Se prestará especial atención a la interrelación entre los cambios socioeconómicos y los problemas de explotación de recursos. También investigaré el estado del arte de la pesca marítima recreativa (PMR) en Galicia. Revisaré la evolución del marco de gestión de PMR en Galicia y discutiré su eventual desarrollo futuro para garantizar la sostenibilidad ecológica, social y económica. Finalmente, realizaré un análisis económico comparativo de dos pesquerías de charter recreativo (CR) en el Atlántico para evaluar la posibilidad de favorecer iniciativas locales basadas en la pesca de CR y mejorar el bienestar de las comunidades costeras. Para ilustrar esta cuestión, he seleccionado dos casos de estudio ubicados en el Atlántico Nororiental, a saber, Galicia y Madeira (Portugal). Los dos casos difieren en gran medida en los atributos socio-ecológicos en los que se desarrollan (e.g., la relevancia de la pesca comercial y el turismo y las especies objetivo), por lo que estos atributos se incluirán en los análisis.A información sobre onde e como os humanos usan ambientes costeiros é esencial na planificación e xestión dos recursos mariños. Non obstante, o coñecemento das interaccións entre os patróns ecolóxicos, sociais e de goberno dos sistemas socio-ecolóxicos mariños é en gran parte descoñecido. Estou interesado en analizar sinerxías e compensacións entre os ecosistemas mariños e o desenvolvemento socioeconómico, entendendo as implicacións locais e globais de como os procesos humanos e biofísicos interactúan coa estrutura e función dos ecosistemas costeiros e como afectan a dispoñibilidade de alimentos, ingresos, emprego, saúde e equidade nas comunidades costeiras. Usarei modelos cuantitativos e enfoques participativos para integrar as dimensións ecolóxicas e socioeconómicas para comprender os patróns actuais e futuros dos sistemas socio-ecolóxicos mariños. En primeiro lugar, o meu obxectivo é demostrar que nos escenarios de xestión pobres en datos pódese usar a combinación de diferentes fontes de datos para documentar e analizar cambios fundamentais nas pesqueiras artesanais (S-fisheries, estruturadas especialmente, dirixidas a poboacións sedentarias) e axudar á toma de decisión políticas para a xestión. Seleccionei o marisqueo de Galicia porque é unha pesqueira artesanal de gran relevancia en Europa que se xestiona nun ambiente con poucos datos e con necesidades urxentes de información actualizada por parte dos responsables políticos e xestores rexionais para garantir a sostibilidade socio-ecolóxica. Prestarei especial atención á interrelación entre os cambios socioeconómicos e os problemas de explotación dos recursos. Tamén investigarei o estado da pesca mariñas recreativas (PMR) en Galicia. Revisarase a evolución do marco de xestión de PMR en Galicia e discutirase o seu eventual desenvolvemento futuro para garantir a sostibilidade ecolóxica, social e económica. Por último, realizarei unha análise comparativa económica de dúas pesquerías de charter (CR) recreativo no Atlántico para avaliar a posibilidade de favorecer iniciativas locais baseadas en CR e mellorar o benestar das comunidades costeiras. Para ilustrar esta cuestión, seleccionei dous casos de estudo situados no Atlántico Nororiental: Galicia e Madeira (Portugal). Os dous casos difiren moito nos atributos socio-ecolóxicos nos que se desenvolve a pesca de CR (por exemplo, a relevancia da pesca comercial e do turismo e as especies albo), polo que estes atributos incluiranse nas análises