Unravelling marine biodiversity changes in African and Mediterranean ecosystems

Coll, Marta... et al.-- 5th International Ecosummit Ecological Sustainability Engineering Change, 29 August - 1 September 2016, Montpellier, FranceThere is growing global concern that biodiversity decline is one of the most pressing world crises (Tittensor et al. 2014 Science 346:241-244). However, a recent study about global terrestrial and marine biodiversity changes was inconclusive (Dornelas et al. 2014 Science 344:296-299), and detailed marine biodiversity studies are scarce. When available, these marine assessments typically only include data-rich areas (Worm et al. 2006 Science 314:787-790). This lack of information can be due to incomplete data collection systems but it can also be related to limits in the access of these data, as it is the case in many African and Mediterranean countries. In these areas, some ecosystems have been heavily exploited prior to good data collection. Here we analyse marine biodiversity changes in several Mediterranean and African ecosystems that cover a wide latitudinal range. Working with local experts we retrieve available data that are not typically included in global databases. We produce an overview of marine biodiversity change in these regions by working collaboratively and using scientific trawl surveys and complementary local data sets from each case study and region. We test scientific hypotheses about marine biodiversity changes using simple species, community, and ecosystem indicators based on richness and abundance. We use a comparative approach applying common statistical techniques to extract the key information and to identify common and unique changes in the study areas. We reveal changes by taxonomic group, species type, and several species traits. We consider commercially targeted, commercially non-targeted and vulnerable species. Our first results highlight noticeable biodiversity changes at the species, community and ecosystem level and illustrate the importance of these types of analyses in the study of marine biodiversityPeer Reviewe