Abstract
Despite the recognized important ecological role that cetaceans play in the marine environment, their protection is still scarcely enforced in the Mediterranean Sea even though this area is strongly threatened by local human pressures and climate change. The piecemeal of knowledge related to cetaceans' ecology and distribution in the basin undermines the capacity of addressing cetaceans' protection and identifying effective conservation strategies. In this study, an Ecosystem-Based Marine Spatial Planning (EB-MSP) approach is applied to assess human pressures on cetaceans and guide the designation of a conservation area in the Gulf of Taranto, Northern Ionian Sea (Central-eastern Mediterranean Sea). The Gulf of Taranto hosts different cetacean species that accomplish important phases of their life in the area. Despite this fact, the gulf does not fall within any area-based management tools (ABMTs) for cetacean conservation. We pin down the Gulf of Taranto being eligible for the designation of diverse ABMTs for conservation, both legally and non-legally binding. Through a risk-based approach, this study explores the cause-effect relationships that link any human activities and pressures exerted in the study area to potential effects on cetaceans, by identifying major drivers of potential impacts. These were found to be underwater noise, marine litter, ship collision, and competition and disturbance on preys. We draw some recommendations based on different sources of available knowledge produced so far in the area (i.e., empirical evidence, scientific and grey literature, and expert judgement) to boost cetaceans’ conservation. Finally, we stress the need of sectoral coordination for the management of human activities by applying an EB-MSP approach and valuing the establishment of an ABMT in the Gulf of Taranto.
Highlights
Cetaceans play a critical role in preserving the structure and func tioning of the marine food webs contributing to the provision of fundamental ecosystem services (Roman and McCarthy, 2010; Manea et al, 2019)
We focus on cetaceans as a con servation priority for the Gulf of Taranto (Northern Ionian Sea, Central-eastern Mediterranean Sea, Fig. 1)
The related outcomes are based on the sighting data collected during surveys carried out in the period from April 2009 to December 2016 (Fig. 2c), and were obtained by applying, respectively, the Delta approach on Random Forest (DaRF) regressions, considering as predic tive variables a mix of environmental and anthropogenic features characterizing the area, and a geostatistical analysis
Summary
Cetaceans play a critical role in preserving the structure and func tioning of the marine food webs contributing to the provision of fundamental ecosystem services (Roman and McCarthy, 2010; Manea et al, 2019). The identification and implementation of conservation measures favoring cetaceans’ resilience to climate-induced changes and environmental variations, which may increase in the Mediterranean Sea, are urgent because such changes can potentially and negatively affect cetacean’s conservation status and distribution (Giorgi, 2006; MacLeod, 2009; Albouy et al, 2020). This is a critical task considering the piecemeal of knowledge related to cetaceans’ ecology, life history stra tegies and distributional ranges in the basin (Panigada et al, 2017). Planning for their conser vation implies to incorporate all these variables to set up effective management strategies
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