Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-pfhbr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-10T21:26:40.490Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Differences in population parameters and behaviour of the herbivorous fish Sarpa salpa between protected and unprotected seagrass meadows in the north-western Mediterranean

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2009

N. Raventos ,
B. Ferrari  and
S. Planes
N. Raventos*
Affiliation:
UMR 5244 EPHE CNRS UPVD, Centre de Biologie et d'Ecologie Tropicale et Méditerranéenne, Université de Perpignan, 52, Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860 Perpignan, France
B. Ferrari
Affiliation:
UMR 5244 EPHE CNRS UPVD, Centre de Biologie et d'Ecologie Tropicale et Méditerranéenne, Université de Perpignan, 52, Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860 Perpignan, France
S. Planes
Affiliation:
UMR 5244 EPHE CNRS UPVD, Centre de Biologie et d'Ecologie Tropicale et Méditerranéenne, Université de Perpignan, 52, Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860 Perpignan, France
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: N. Raventos, UMR 5244 EPHE CNRS UPVD, Centre de Biologie et d'Ecologie Tropicale et Méditerranéenne, Université de Perpignan, 52, Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860, Perpignan, France email: nuria@ceab.csic.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Population parameters and behaviour of the herbivorous fish Sarpa salpa, present differences between protected and non-protected seagrass meadows of the north-western Mediterranean Sea. Larger individuals are more abundant inside protected areas, where their grazing pressure on seagrass is disproportionately greater than that of smaller fish feeding on algae and seagrass in unprotected areas. The feeding rate (bites per minute per individual) of smaller fish in unprotected areas is relatively high; however, the denser populations of larger fish in protected areas consume more forage because individual mouth gape is greater and larger fish remove more forage per bite. All these differences suggest a higher impact on seagrass meadows inside protected areas.

Keywords

Posidonia oceanicaMarine Protected Areasreserve effectgrazing activity
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 89 , Issue 6 , September 2009 , pp. 1153 - 1159
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Alcoverro, T., Duarte, C.M. and Romero, J. (1997) The influence of herbivores on Posidonia oceanica epiphytes. Aquatic Botany 56, 93–104.Google Scholar
Anato, C.B. and Ktari, M.H. (1983) Régime alimentaire de Boops boops et de Sarpa salpa, poissons téléostéens du golfe de Tunis. Rapports et Procès-Verbaux des Réunions, Conseil International pour L'Exploration Scientifique de la Mer Méditerranée, Monaco 28, 5.Google Scholar
Bell, S.S. (1983) Effects of depth and marine reserve fishing restrictions on the structure of the rocky reef fish assemblage in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Applied Ecology 20, 357–369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bohnsack, J.A. (1998) Application of marine reserves to reef fisheries management. Australian Journal of Ecology 23, 298–304.Google Scholar
Claudet, J., Pelletier, D., Jouvenel, J.Y., Bachet, F. and Galzin, R. (2006) Assessing the effects of a marine protected area (MPA) on a reef assemblage in a northwestern Mediterranean marine reserve: identifying community-based indicators. Biological Conservation 130, 349–369. doi: 0.1016/j.biocon.2005.12.030Google Scholar
Christensen, M.S. (1978) Trophic relationships in juveniles of three species of sparid fishes in the South African marine littoral. Fishery Bulletin 76, 389–401.Google Scholar
Cole, R.G. (1994) Abundance, size structure, and diver-oriented behavior of three large benthic carnivorous fishes in a marine reserve in Northeastern New Zealand. Biological Conservation 70, 93–99.Google Scholar
Côté, I.M., Mosqueira, I. and Reynolds, J.D. (2001) Effects of marine reserve characteristics on the protection of fish populations: a meta-analysis. Journal of Fish Biology 59, 178–189.Google Scholar
Duarte, C. (2002) The future of seagrass meadows. Environmental Conservation 29, 192–206. doi: 10.1017/S0376892902000127CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dufour, V., Jouvenel, J.Y. and Galzin, R. (1995) Study of a Mediterranean reef fish assemblage. Comparisons of population distributions between depths in protected and unprotected areas over one decade. Aquatic Living Resources 8, 17–25.Google Scholar
Faggianelli, D.J. and Cook, E. (1981) Contribution à l'étude de l'écologie de la Saupe (Sarpa salpa) sur la côte occidentale de la Corse. Rapports et Procès-Verbaux des Réunions, Conseil International pour L'Exploration Scientifique de la Mer Méditerranée, Monaco 25–26, 213–214.Google Scholar
Ferrari, B. (2006) Etude synécologique de Posidonia oceanica et de Sarpa salpa le long de la côte rocheuse des Albères (Pyrénées-Orientales, France); influence d'une aire marine protégée. PhD thesis, Université de Perpignan, Perpignan, France.Google Scholar
Francour, P. (1994) Pluriannual analysis of the reserve effect on ichthyofauna in the Scandola Natural Reserve (Corsica, Northwestern Mediterranean). Oceanologica Acta 17, 309–317.Google Scholar
García-Rubiés, A. and Zabala, M. (1990) Effects of total fishing prohibition on the rocky reef assemblages of Medes Islands marine reserve (NW Mediterranean). Scientia Marina 54, 317–328.Google Scholar
Glasby, T.M. (1997) Analyzing data from post-impact studies using asymmetrical analyses of variance: a case study of epibiota on marinas. Australian Journal of Ecology 22, 448–459.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guidetti, P. (2006) Marine reserves re-establish lost predatory interactions and cause community-wide changes in rocky-reefs. Ecological Applications 16, 963–976.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guidetti, P. and Sala, E. (2007) Community-wide effects of marine reserves in the Mediterranean Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 335, 43–56.Google Scholar
Harmelin, J.G. (1987) Structure and variability of the ichthyofauna in a Mediterranean protected rocky area (National Park of Port-Cross, France). PSZN I: Marine Ecology 8, 263–284.Google Scholar
Harmelin-Vivien, M.L., Harmelin, J.G., Chauvet, C., Duval, C., Galzin, R., Lejeune, P., Barnabé, G., Blanc, F., Chevalier, R., Duclerc, J. and Lasserre, G. (1985) Evaluation visuelle des peuplements et populations de poissons: méthodes et problèmes. Revue Ecologie (Terre Vie) 40, 467–539.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harmelin, J.G., Bachet, F. and García, F. (1995) Mediterranean marine reserves: fish indices as tests of protection efficiency. PSZN I: Marine Ecology 16, 233–250.Google Scholar
Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (2006) Complexities on coral reef recovery. Science 311, 42–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ifrah, G. (1994) L'histoire universelle des chiffres. Paris: Robert Laffont, 1042 pp.Google Scholar
Jennings, S. (2001) Patterns and predictions of population recovery in marine reserves. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 10, 209–231.Google Scholar
Jouvenel, J.Y. and Pollard, D.A. (2001) Some effects of marine reserve protection on the population structure of two spearfishing target-fish species, Dicentrarchus labrax (Moronidae) and Sparus aurata (Sparidae), in shallow inshore waters, along a rocky coast in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 11, 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laborel-Deguen, F. and Laborel, J. (1977) Broutages des Posidonies à la plage du Sud. Travaux Scientifiques du Parc National De Port-Cros, France 3, 213–214.Google Scholar
Lenfant, P. (2003) Demographic and genetic structures of white sea bream populations (Diplodus sargus, Linnaeus, 1758) inside and outside a Mediterranean marine reserve. Comptes Rendus Biologies 326, 751–760. doi: 10.1016/S1631-0691(03)00168-9Google Scholar
Lenfant, P. and Olive, C. (1998) Changements graduels du regime alimentaire des juvénils d'oblade (Oblada melanura, Sparidae) lors du recrutement. Cybium 22, 203–210.Google Scholar
Macpherson, E., Gordoa, A. and García-Rubiés, A. (2002) Biomass size spectra in littoral fishes in protected and unprotected areas in the NW Mediterranean. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 55, 777–788. doi: 10.1006/ecss.2001.0939Google Scholar
Mantyka, C.S. and Bellwood, D.R. (2007) Direct evaluation of macroalgal removal by herbivorous coral reef fishes. Coral Reefs 26, 435–442.Google Scholar
McClanahan, T.R., Muthiga, N.A., Kamukuru, A.T., Machano, H. and Kimbo, R.W. (1999) The effects of marine parks and fishing on coral reefs of northern Tanzania. Biological Conservation 89, 161–182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morales-Nin, B., Moranta, J., García, C., Tugores, M.P., Grau, A.M., Riera, F. and Cerdà, M. (2005) The recreational fishery off Majorca Island (western Mediterranean): some implications for coastal resource management. ICES Journal of Marine Science 62, 727–739.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mumby, P.J., Dahlgren, C.P., Harborne, A.R., Kappel, C.V., Micheli, F., Brumbaugh, D.R., Holmes, K.E., Mendes, J.M., Broad, K., Sanchirico, J.N., Buch, K., Box, S., Stoffle, R.W. and Gill, A.B. (2006) Fishing, trophic cascades, and the process of grazing on coral reefs. Science 311, 98–101.Google Scholar
Prado, P., Tomas, F., Alcoverro, T. and Romero, J. (2007) Extensive direct measurements of Posidonia oceanica defoliation confirms the importance of herbivory in temperate seagrass meadow. Marine Ecology Progress Series 340, 63–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rakitin, A. and Kramer, D.L. (1996) Effect of a marine reserve on the distribution of coral reef fishes in Barbados. Marine Ecology Progress Series 131, 97–1143.Google Scholar
Roberts, C.M. and Polunin, N.V.C. (1991) Are marine reserves effective in management of reef fisheries? Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 1, 65–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reñones, O., Moranta, J., Coll, J. and Morales-Nin, B. (1997) Rocky bottom fish communities of Cabrera Archipelago National Park (Mallorca, Western Mediterranean). Scientia Marina 61, 495–506.Google Scholar
Reñones, O., Goñi, R., Pozo, M., Deudero, S. and Moranta, J. (1999) Effects of protection on the demographic structure and abundance of Epinephelus marginatus (Lowe, 1834). Evidence from Cabrera Archipelago National Park (west-central Mediterranean). Marine Life 9, 45–53.Google Scholar
Sala, E., Ribes, M., Hereu, B., Zabala, M., Alvà, V., Coma, R. and Garrabou, J. (1998) Temporal variability in abundance of the sea urchins Paracentrotus lividus and Arbacia lixula in the northwestern Mediterranean: comparison between a marine reserve and an unprotected area. Marine Ecology Progress Series 168, 135–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tomas, F., Turon, X. and Romero, J. (2005) Seasonal and small-scale spatial variability of herbivory pressure on the temperate seagrass Posidonia oceanica. Marine Ecology Progress Series 301, 95–107.Google Scholar
Underwood, A.J. (1997) Experiments in ecology: their logical design and interpretation using analysis of variance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Verlaque, M. (1985) Note préliminaire sur le comportement alimentaire de Sarpa salpa (L.) (Sparidae) en Méditerranée. Rapports et Procès-Verbaux des Réunions, Conseil International pour L'Exploration Scientifique de la Mer Méditerranée, Monaco 29, 193–196.Google Scholar
Verlaque, M. (1990) Relation entre Sarpa salpa (Linnaeus, 1758) (Téléostéen, Sparidae), les autres poissons brouteurs et le phytobenthos algal Méditerranéen. Oceanologica Acta 13, 373–388.Google Scholar
Weinberg, S. (1992) Découvrir la Méditerranée, du rivage à quarante mètres de fond. Paris: Nathan Editions.Google Scholar
Westera, M., Lavery, P. and Hyndes, G. (2003) Differences in recreationally targeted fishes between protected and fished areas of a coral reef marine park. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 294, 145–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Willis, T.J., Millar, R.B. and Babcock, R.C. (2000) Detection of spatial variability in relative density of fishes: comparison of visual census, angling, and baited underwater video. Marine Ecology Progress Series 198, 249–260.Google Scholar