Effects of environmental and anthropogenic drivers on the spatial distribution of deep-sea shrimps in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas (NW Mediterranean)

• Published in: Hydrobiologia Vol. 816; no. 1; pp. 165 - 178
• Main Authors: Masnadi, Francesco, Criscoli, Alessandro, Lanteri, Luca, Mannini, Alessandro, Osio, Giacomo C., Sartor, Paolo, Sbrana, Mario, Ligas, Alessandro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-07-2018; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abundance; Anthropogenic factors; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Data processing; Deep sea fisheries; Deep water; Distribution; Ecology; Economic models; Environmental effects; Environmental factors; Fisheries; Fishing; Fishing (Recreation); Fishing effort; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; High temperature; Human influences; Life Sciences; Motor vehicle drivers; Primary Research Paper; Sea surface; Sea surface temperature; Shrimps; Spatial distribution; Species; Surveying; Temperature; Temperature effects; Trawling; Zoology; Mediterranean Sea; GAMs; Deep sea; Mediterranean sea; Trawl survey; Red shrimps
• ISSN: 0018-8158; 1573-5117
• DOI: 10.1007/s10750-018-3581-4

In the Mediterranean Sea,
Aristaeomorpha foliacea
and
Aristeus antennatus
are the most important target species of deep-sea trawl fisheries. Previous studies performed in several areas of the Mediterranean highlighted the key role played by both environmental factors, such as temperature, and anthropogenic activities, such as fishing, in affecting the abundance and distribution of the two species. The present study is aimed at investigating the effects of environmental and anthropogenic drivers on the abundance and spatial distribution of
A. foliacea
and
A. antennatus
in the Ligurian and northern and central Tyrrhenian Seas (NW Mediterranean). To this end, the time series of MEDITS trawl survey data (1994–2015) were analyzed together with environmental variables, namely sea surface temperature, current speed, and fishing effort by means of GAM. The results show that fishing plays an important role in shaping the spatial distribution of the two species.
A. antennatus
is prevalent where fishing effort is higher; this can be related to the higher resilience of blue and red shrimp to fishery impact. In contrast, high temperatures are associated to the prevalence of
A. foliacea
. Therefore, the abundance and spatial distribution of this species is mainly driven by temperature.