IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecomod/v265y2013icp26-44.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Food-web structure of and fishing impacts on the Gulf of Cadiz ecosystem (South-western Spain)

Author

Listed:
  • Torres, María Ángeles
  • Coll, Marta
  • Heymans, Johanna Jacomina
  • Christensen, Villy
  • Sobrino, Ignacio

Abstract

The Gulf of Cadiz (North-eastern Atlantic, Spain) is an exploited ecosystem characterized by high marine biodiversity and productivity. Over the last decade, the landings of fish stocks such as anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus), sardine (Sardina pilchardus) and hake (Merluccius merluccius) have been declining and currently remain low. A food-web model of the Gulf of Cadiz has been developed by means of a mass balance approach using the software EwE 6 to provide a snapshot of the ecosystem in 2009. The goals of this study were to: (1) characterize the food-web structure and functioning, (2) identify the main keystone groups of the ecosystem, (3) assess the impact of fishing to the Gulf of Cadiz compared to that in other essential marine ecosystems in the coastal area of Spain: Cantabrian Sea (North-eastern Atlantic) and Southern Catalan Sea (Mediterranean Sea), and (4) examine the limitations and weaknesses of the Gulf of Cadiz model for improvements and future research directions. The model consists of 43 functional groups, including the main trophic components of the system with emphasis target and non-target fish species. The main trophic flows are determined by the interaction between detritus, phytoplankton and micro- and mesozooplankton. Rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris), cephalopods and dolphins present important overall effects as keystone species on the rest of the groups. The exploitation of fisheries composed mainly of trawlers, purse seiners and artisanal boats is intensive in the Gulf of Cadiz with all fleets exerting high impacts on most living groups of the ecosystem. The findings highlighted that the Gulf of Cadiz is a notably stressed ecosystem, displaying characteristics of a heavily exploited area. The comparative approach highlights that the three ecosystems display similarities with regard to structure and functioning such as the dominance of the pelagic fraction, a strong benthic-pelagic coupling, the important role of detritus, and the high impact of fishery exploitation.

Suggested Citation

  • Torres, María Ángeles & Coll, Marta & Heymans, Johanna Jacomina & Christensen, Villy & Sobrino, Ignacio, 2013. "Food-web structure of and fishing impacts on the Gulf of Cadiz ecosystem (South-western Spain)," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 265(C), pages 26-44.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:265:y:2013:i:c:p:26-44
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2013.05.019
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380013002822
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2013.05.019?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Piroddi, Chiara & Giovanni, Bearzi & Villy, Christensen, 2010. "Effects of local fisheries and ocean productivity on the northeastern Ionian Sea ecosystem," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(11), pages 1526-1544.
    2. Christensen, V. & Pauly, D. (eds.), 1993. "Trophic models of aquatic ecosystems," Monographs, The WorldFish Center, number 8432, April.
    3. Pauly, D., 1984. "Fish population dynamics in tropical waters: a manual for use with programmable calculators," Monographs, The WorldFish Center, number 12311, April.
    4. Pere Puig & Miquel Canals & Joan B. Company & Jacobo Martín & David Amblas & Galderic Lastras & Albert Palanques & Antoni M. Calafat, 2012. "Ploughing the deep sea floor," Nature, Nature, vol. 489(7415), pages 286-289, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chiara Paoli & Paolo Povero & Ilaria Rigo & Giulia Dapueto & Rachele Bordoni & Paolo Vassallo, 2022. "Two Sides of the Same Coin: A Theoretical Framework for Strong Sustainability in Marine Protected Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-20, May.
    2. Venkatesh Paramesh & Giri Bhavan Sreekanth & Eaknath. B. Chakurkar & H.B. Chethan Kumar & Parappurath Gokuldas & Kallakeri Kannappa Manohara & Gopal Ramdas Mahajan & Racharla Solomon Rajkumar & Natesa, 2020. "Ecosystem Network Analysis in a Smallholder Integrated Crop–Livestock System for Coastal Lowland Situation in Tropical Humid Conditions of India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-16, June.
    3. Kleisner, Kristin M. & Coll, Marta & Lynam, Christopher P. & Bundy, Alida & Shannon, Lynne & Shin, Yunne-Jai & Boldt, Jennifer L. & Maria F., Borges & Diallo, Ibrahima & Fox, Clive & Gascuel, Didier &, 2015. "Evaluating changes in marine communities that provide ecosystem services through comparative assessments of community indicators," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 413-429.
    4. Paoli, C. & Povero, P. & Burgos, E. & Dapueto, G. & Fanciulli, G. & Massa, F. & Scarpellini, P. & Vassallo, P., 2018. "Natural capital and environmental flows assessment in marine protected areas: The case study of Liguria region (NW Mediterranean Sea)," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 368(C), pages 121-135.
    5. Couce-Montero, Lorena & Christensen, Villy & Castro, José J., 2015. "Effects of small-scale and recreational fisheries on the Gran Canaria ecosystem," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 312(C), pages 61-76.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Moreau, J. & Palomares, M.L.D. & Torres, F.S.B., Jr. & Pauly, D., 1995. "Atlas demographique des populations de poissons d'eau douce d'Afrique," Monographs, The WorldFish Center, number 10441, April.
    2. Chiara Paoli & Paolo Povero & Ilaria Rigo & Giulia Dapueto & Rachele Bordoni & Paolo Vassallo, 2022. "Two Sides of the Same Coin: A Theoretical Framework for Strong Sustainability in Marine Protected Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-20, May.
    3. Moreau, J. & Palomares, M.L.D. & Torres, F.S.B. & Pauly, Daniel, 1995. "Atlas demographique des populations de poissons d'eau douce d'Afrique," Technical Reports 44838, Worldfish Center.
    4. Duan, L.J. & Li, S.Y. & Liu, Y. & Moreau, J. & Christensen, V., 2009. "Modeling changes in the coastal ecosystem of the Pearl River Estuary from 1981 to 1998," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 220(20), pages 2802-2818.
    5. Fetahi, Tadesse & Mengistou, Seyoum, 2007. "Trophic analysis of Lake Awassa (Ethiopia) using mass-balance Ecopath model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 201(3), pages 398-408.
    6. Paoli, C. & Povero, P. & Burgos, E. & Dapueto, G. & Fanciulli, G. & Massa, F. & Scarpellini, P. & Vassallo, P., 2018. "Natural capital and environmental flows assessment in marine protected areas: The case study of Liguria region (NW Mediterranean Sea)," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 368(C), pages 121-135.
    7. Milessi, Andrés C. & Danilo, Calliari & Laura, Rodríguez-Graña & Daniel, Conde & Javier, Sellanes & Rodríguez-Gallego, Lorena, 2010. "Trophic mass-balance model of a subtropical coastal lagoon, including a comparison with a stable isotope analysis of the food-web," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(24), pages 2859-2869.
    8. Nawfel Mosbahi & Jean-Philippe Pezy & Jean-Claude Dauvin & Lassad Neifar, 2022. "COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: An Excellent Opportunity to Study the Effects of Trawling Disturbance on Macrobenthic Fauna in the Shallow Waters of the Gulf of Gabès (Tunisia, Central Mediterranean Sea)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-17, January.
    9. F J Heather & D Z Childs & A M Darnaude & J L Blanchard, 2018. "Using an integral projection model to assess the effect of temperature on the growth of gilthead seabream Sparus aurata," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(5), pages 1-19, May.
    10. Jia, Peiqiao & Hu, Menghong & Hu, Zhongjun & Liu, Qigen & Wu, Zhen, 2012. "Modeling trophic structure and energy flows in a typical macrophyte dominated shallow lake using the mass balanced model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 233(C), pages 26-30.
    11. Booth, Shawn & Walters, William J & Steenbeek, Jeroen & Christensen, Villy & Charmasson, Sabine, 2020. "An Ecopath with Ecosim model for the Pacific coast of eastern Japan: Describing the marine environment and its fisheries prior to the Great East Japan earthquake," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 428(C).
    12. Díaz López, Bruno & Bunke, Mandy & Bernal Shirai, Julia Andrea, 2008. "Marine aquaculture off Sardinia Island (Italy): Ecosystem effects evaluated through a trophic mass-balance model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 212(3), pages 292-303.
    13. Rochette, S. & Lobry, J. & Lepage, M. & Boët, Ph., 2009. "Dealing with uncertainty in qualitative models with a semi-quantitative approach based on simulations. Application to the Gironde estuarine food web (France)," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 220(2), pages 122-132.
    14. Christensen, Villy & de la Puente, Santiago & Sueiro, Juan Carlos & Steenbeek, Jeroen & Majluf, Patricia, 2014. "Valuing seafood: The Peruvian fisheries sector," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 302-311.
    15. Tesfaye, Gashaw & Wolff, Matthias, 2018. "Modeling trophic interactions and the impact of an introduced exotic carp species in the Rift Valley Lake Koka, Ethiopia," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 378(C), pages 26-36.
    16. Fourriére, Manon & Alvarado, Juan José & Cortés, Jorge & Taylor, Marc H. & Ayala-Bocos, Arturo & Azofeifa-Solano, Juan Carlos & Arauz, Randall & Heidemeyer, Maike & López-Garro, Andrés & Zanella, Ilen, 2019. "Energy flow structure and role of keystone groups in shallow water environments in Isla del Coco, Costa Rica, Eastern Tropical Pacific," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 396(C), pages 74-85.
    17. Rosas-Luis, R. & Salinas-Zavala, C.A. & Koch, V. & Luna, P. Del Monte & Morales-Zárate, M.V., 2008. "Importance of jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas (Orbigny, 1835) in the pelagic ecosystem of the central Gulf of California," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 218(1), pages 149-161.
    18. Han, Jeong-Ho & Kumar, Hema K. & Lee, Jae Hoon & Zhang, Chang-Ik & Kim, Se-Wha & Lee, Jung-Ho & Kim, Sang Don & An, Kwang-Guk, 2011. "Integrative trophic network assessments of a lentic ecosystem by key ecological approaches of water chemistry, trophic guilds, and ecosystem health assessments along with an ECOPATH model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(19), pages 3457-3472.
    19. Ricci, P. & Serpetti, N. & Cascione, D. & Cipriano, G. & D'Onghia, G. & De Padova, D. & Fanizza, C. & Ingrosso, M. & Carlucci, R., 2023. "Investigating fishery and climate change effects on the conservation status of odontocetes in the Northern Ionian Sea (Central Mediterranean Sea)," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 485(C).
    20. Ortiz, Marco & Berrios, Fernando & Campos, Leonardo & Uribe, Roberto & Ramirez, Alejandro & Hermosillo-Núñez, Brenda & González, Jorge & Rodriguez-Zaragoza, Fabián, 2015. "Mass balanced trophic models and short-term dynamical simulations for benthic ecological systems of Mejillones and Antofagasta bays (SE Pacific): Comparative network structure and assessment of human ," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 309, pages 153-162.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:265:y:2013:i:c:p:26-44. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecological-modelling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.