An ecosystem-based approach to assess the status of Mediterranean algae-dominated shallow rocky reefs

Thierry Thibaut (1) , Aurelie Blanfuné (1) , Charles F. Boudouresque (1) , Sébastien Personnic (2) , Sandrine Ruitton (1) , Enric Ballesteros (3) , Denise Bellan-Santini (4) , Carlo Nike Bianchi (5) , Simona Bussotti (6) , Emma Cebrian (3) , Adrien Cheminée (7) , Jean-Michel Culioli (8) , Sandrine Derrien-Courtel (9) , Paolo Guidetti (7) , Mireille Harmelin-Vivien (1) , Bernat Hereu (1) , Carla Morri (5) , Jean-Christophe Poggiale (1) , Marc Verlaque (1)

1 MIO - Institut méditerranéen d'océanologie
2 CARRTEL - Centre Alpin de Recherche sur les Réseaux Trophiques et Ecosystèmes Limniques
3 CEAB - Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes
4 IMBE - Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale
5 DISTAV - Department of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences
6 LML - Laboratoire de Mécanique de Lille - FRE 3723
7 ECOMERS - Ecosystèmes Côtiers Marins et Réponses aux Stress
8 Réserve Naturelle des Bouches de Bonifacio
9 Station de Biologie Marine de Concarneau

A conceptual model was constructed for the functioning the algae-dominated rocky reef ecosystem of the Med-iterranean Sea. The Ecosystem-Based Quality Index (reef-EBQI) is based upon this model. This index meets the objectives of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. It is based upon (i) the weighting of each compartment , according to its importance in the functioning of the ecosystem; (ii) biological parameters assessing the state of each compartment; (iii) the aggregation of these parameters, assessing the quality of the ecosystem functioning , for each site; (iv) and a Confidence Index measuring the reliability of the index, for each site. The reef-EBQI was used at 40 sites in the northwestern Mediterranean. It constitutes an efficient tool, because it is based upon a wide set of functional compartments, rather than upon just a few species; it is easy and inexpensive to implement, robust and not redundant with regard to already existing indices.

Mots clés: Mediterranean Sea; Biological indicator; Photophilic algae; Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)

Domaines: Sciences de l'environnement; Biodiversité et Ecologie

Thierry Thibaut, Aurelie Blanfuné, Charles F. Boudouresque, Sébastien Personnic, Sandrine Ruitton, et al.. An ecosystem-based approach to assess the status of Mediterranean algae-dominated shallow rocky reefs. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2017, 117 (1-2), pp.311 - 329. ⟨10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.01.029⟩. ⟨hal-01764877⟩