Paolo Guidetti

Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn | Stazione Zoologica · Integrative Marine Ecology

Home range size is a fundamental trait that can affect the probability of fish being harvested and, at the same time, may be affected by fishing. The relationship between home range size and fishing will impact the effectiveness of fully protected areas (FPAs), as it will influence the number of fish moving into fished areas, affecting both spillov...

Early-life stages play a key role in the dynamics of bipartite life cycle marine fish populations. Difficult to monitor, observations of these stages are often scattered in space and time. While Mediterranean coastlines have often been surveyed, no effort has been made to assemble historical observations. Here we build an exhaustive compilation of...

Theory on access suggests there is a beneficial relationship between access to resources and well-being outcomes. Yet, the intricacies of the relationship between access and well-being have received limited empirical attention - especially in the context of fisheries. To examine this topic, we use a quantitative survey of 444 small-scale fishers in...

Early-life stages play a key role in the spatio-temporal dynamics of marine populations due to their highly dispersive properties, their sensitivities to environmental factors and their influences on juveniles’ replenishment. However, these stages are difficult to monitor, so that in-situ observations are scarce and disparate, preventing a good und...

Early-life stages play a key role in the dynamics of bipartite life cycle marine fish populations. Difficult to monitor, observations of these stages are often scattered in space and time. While Mediterranean coastlines have been highly surveyed, no effort was made to assemble historical observations. Here we build an exhaustive compilation of disp...

Here we provide evidence, along an 8-year period time-series based on multifaceted data from a Mediterranean marine protected area (MPA), whether protection can tackle invasive and range expanding herbivore fishes, and their effects on the algal resource availability, taking into account the population trends of predatory fishes, fisheries catches...

Groupers are marine fishes particularly vulnerable to overexploitation owing to their reproduction‐related traits. The dusky grouper Epinephelus marginatus is classified as ‘Endangered’ in the Mediterranean Sea, where protection measures have proven critical for allowing population recovery and persistence of the species. However, knowledge gaps re...

From October 2018 to November 2022 three individuals of blue runner (Caranx crysos) were caught in the coastal waters of the Ligurian Sea, NW Mediterranean basin, and three more ones were observed therein. On one specimen we carried out meristic counts and morphometric measurements, estimated the age by means of otoliths, observed gonadic developme...

Marine historical ecology provides a means to establish baselines to inform current fisheries management. Groupers (Epinephelidae) are key species for fisheries in the Mediterranean, which have been heavily overfished. Species abundance and distribution prior to the 20th century in the Mediterranean remains poorly known. To reconstruct the past bio...

The small-scale fisheries (SSF) sector has attracted considerable attention over the last decade due to its major importance in sustaining the livelihoods of coastal communities worldwide, poverty alleviation, food security, social wealth and traditions. Despite this importance, quantitative and qualitative information on SSF is still largely lacki...

The success of marine protected areas (MPAs) in achieving conservation and sustainable development goals hinges on, among other things, their social acceptability by local communities. Small-scale fishing communities represent a key stakeholder category within and around MPAs. Although many authors have examined the social acceptability of MPAs, re...

In the last decades, climate change and human pressures have increasingly and dramatically impacted the ocean worldwide, calling for urgent actions to safeguard coastal marine ecosystems. The European Commission, in particular, has set ambitious targets for member states with two major directives, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Marine...

The Mediterranean Sea is a hotspot of global warming where key commercial species, such as demersal and pelagic fishes, and cephalopods, could experience abrupt distribution shifts in the near future. However, the extent to which these range shifts may impact fisheries catch potential remains poorly understood at the scale of Exclusive Economic Zon...

The positive effect of fully protected marine protected areas (MPAs) on marine biodiversity, and specifically on fishes, has been widely documented. In contrast, the potential of MPAs to mitigate the impact of adverse climatic conditions has seldom been investigated. Here, we assessed the effectiveness of MPAs, quantified as increasing fish biomass...

Marine noise is an emerging pollutant inducing a variety of negative impacts on many animal taxa, including fish. Fish population persistence and dynamics rely on the supply of early life stages, which are often very sensitive to disturbance. Impacts of marine noise pollution (MNP) on juvenile fish have rarely been investigated in temperate regions...

Groupers (Epinephelidae) are ecologically, commercially, and culturally important carnivorous fishes found throughout the world’s tropical, subtropical, and temperate coastal marine waters. Due to various life history traits (e.g., late maturity, sequential hermaphroditism) and behavior (e.g., sedentary, small home ranges) groupers are susceptible...

In the Mediterranean, the detritus (necromass) of the endemic seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L) Delile accumulates on the seafloor of sheltered and embayed sandy shores, where it forms organically-enriched patches interspersed within an unvegetated bare sandy matrix. This habitat is often considered important as food and refuge for both invertebrates...

Elasmobranchs are heavily impacted by fishing. Catch statistics are grossly underestimated due to missing data from various fishery sectors such as smallscale fisheries. Marine Protected Areas are proposed as a tool to protect elasmobranchs and counter their ongoing depletion. We assess elasmobranchs caught in 1,256 fishing operations with fixed ne...

Recent studies suggest that the lithological properties of hard substrates play an important role in influencing the diversity and structure of marine assemblages involving macroalgae, sessile organisms and vagile animals like heterobranchs gastropods and fishes. The present study aims at exploring whether the influence of different substrates (lim...

Achieving sound management of small‐scale fisheries (SSFs) is globally recognized a key priority for sustaining livelihoods, local economies, social wealth and cultural heritage in coastal areas. The paucity of information on SSFs often prevents the proper assessment of different socio‐ecological aspects, potentially leading to draw inappropriate c...

Drifting macrophyte detritus cast along the shore, often called wrack, can wash around, accumulate in the surf zone and constitute a habitat where fishes forage and/or hide. We compared fish assemblages associated with Posidonia oceanica wrack beds with those associated with bare sand in the surf zone of Sardinia Island (Italy), NW Mediterranean Se...

Most grouper species worldwide are threatened by overfishing. Effective marine protected areas (MPAs) are known to enable population recovery, and consideration of vulnerable species’ reproductive behaviours is fundamental to monitoring and management plans. Many groupers produce sounds associated with reproductive behaviours. Recording these sound...

Prey fish cohabit with specialized predator fish within structurally complex habitats. How the vertical stratification of the habitat affects lethal and behavioral predator–prey interactions and contributes to explaining these patterns has never been investigated within a forest-like marine habitat, i.e., a habitat containing three vertical strata...

Local, regional and global targets have been set to halt marine biodiversity loss. Europe has set its own policy targets to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) of marine ecosystems by implementing the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) across member states. We combined an extensive dataset across five Mediterranean ecoregions including...

Some of the factors that influence fish growth are intrinsic (e.g. genetic and physiological), while others are environmentally driven (e.g. temperature, food availability). Growth, therefore, has biological but also ecological implications, as it is influenced by the environment in terms of energy flow. In this study, the growth patterns of the st...

The Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarctica is a key species in the Southern Ocean ecosystem, and it is potentially threatened by the climate change affecting Antarctic ecosystems. Assessing the possible exposure to similar or different environmental conditions at early life stages and gathering information about connectivity or segregation be...

Global change is striking harder and faster in the Mediterranean Sea than elsewhere, where high levels of human pressure and proneness to climate change interact in modifying the structure and disrupting regulative mechanisms of marine ecosystems. Rocky reefs are particularly exposed to such environmental changes with ongoing trends of degradation...

Consistency in conservation Marine protected areas (MPAs) are now well established globally as tools for conservation, for enhancing marine biodiversity, and for promoting sustainable fisheries. That said, which regions are labeled as MPAs varies substantially, from those that full protect marine species and prohibit human extraction to those that...

Biological invasions represent one of the main threats to marine biodiversity. From a conservation perspective, especially in the context of increasing sea warming, it is critical to examine the suitability potential of geographical areas for the arrival of Range Expanding Introduced and Native Species (REINS), and hence anticipate the risk of such...

Assessing individuals’ abundance, residency (presence at a site within a certain period) and site fidelity (tendency to return to the same site in subsequent seasons or years) is crucial for evaluating and improving the effectiveness of spatial conservation/management measures regarding ecologically and socio-economically valuable species. Using un...

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been proved to effectively protect and restore fish assemblages. There is mixed evidence regarding the effects of MPAs on benthic assemblages, habitat complexity, and how protection might mediate the effects of habitat features (including biotic and abiotic components) on fish assemblages, with very little informa...

Robust assessments of taxonomic and functional diversity are essential components of research programmes aimed at understanding current biodiversity patterns and forecasting trajectories of ecological changes. Yet, evaluating marine biodiversity along its dimensions is challenging and dependent on the power and accuracy of the available data collec...

Marine noise pollution (MNP) can cause a multitude of impacts on many organisms, but information is often scattered and general outcomes difficult to assess. We have reviewed the literature on MNP impacts on Mediterranean fish and invertebrates. Both chronic and acute MNP produced by various human activities - e.g. maritime traffic, pile driving, a...

• The overexploitation of many marine resources and ecosystems calls for the development and implementation of measures to support their recovery and conservation. • The potential contributions to support fisheries and ecosystem recovery were assessed at the local level of the three multiple‐use marine protected areas (MPAs) of Cerbère‐Banyuls, Med...

Most fish stocks world‐wide are fished at maximum sustainable yield (MSY) or overfished, as many fisheries management strategies have failed to achieve sustainable fishing. Identifying effective fisheries management strategies has now become urgent. Here, we developed a spatially explicit metapopulation model accounting for population connectivity...

Overfishing may seriously impact fish populations and ecosystems. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are key tools for biodiversity conservation and fisheries management, yet the fisheries benefits remain debateable. Many MPAs include a fully protected area (FPA), restricting all activities, within a partially protected area (PPA) where potentially sust...

It is with shock and great sadness that we heard of the sudden passing of our distinguished colleague and friend, Professor Patrice Francour, at the age of 59, from pancreatic cancer against which he courageously fought till the end. During his whole life, he worked to protect the seas and the oceans, especially the Mediterranean Sea, which was so...

This Collective Article presents information about 17 taxa belonging to four Phyla (one Cnidaria, two Arthropo-da, four Mollusca, and ten Chordata) and extending from the Western Mediterranean to the Levantine Sea. The new records were reported from nine countries as follows: Algeria: first published records of the clingfishes Apletodon dentatus an...

Marine protected areas (MPAs) socio-ecological effectiveness depends on a number of management and governance elements, among which stakeholder engagement and community support play key roles. Collaborative conservation initiatives that engage stakeholders in action research and knowledge co-production processes can enhance management and governanc...

The current alarming state of many coastal ecosystems and fisheries calls for the development of tools to support recovery of exploited stocks, ensure their sustainable exploitation and protect marine ecosystems. Multi-zone Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are often advocated to reconcile conservation and fisheries benefits. However, while there is a...

Casting light on how the interaction between protection and density dependence affects fish population dynamics is critical for understanding the effectiveness of marine protected areas (MPAs). We developed a framework based on nonparametric statistics, model selection and multi-model inference to contrast alternative hypotheses about the effect of...

Protected areas are central to biodiversity conservation. For marine fish, marine protected areas (MPAs) often harbour more individuals, especially of species targeted by fisheries. But precise pathways of biodiversity change remain unclear. For example, how local‐scale responses combine to affect regional biodiversity, important for managing spati...

Marine megafauna has always elicited contrasting feelings. In the past, large marine animals were often depicted as fantastic mythological creatures and dangerous monsters, while also arousing human curiosity. Marine megafauna has been a valuable resource to exploit, leading to the collapse of populations and local extinctions. In addition, some sp...

There has been progress since 2012. The 1 215 MPAs and OECMs now cover 6.81 % of the Mediterranean through a large variety of conservation designations, with national designations accounting for only 1.27% and no-go, no-take or no-fishing zones for 0.04%. Over 72.77% of the surface covered is located in the Western Mediterranean. Designations cover...

The global rush to develop the ‘blue economy’ risks harming both the marine environment and human wellbeing. Bold policies and actions are urgently needed. We identify five priorities to chart a course towards an environmentally sustainable and socially equitable blue economy.

Fully protected areas (FPAs) help preserving biodiversity and reversing the global decline of fishery resources. Stocks of the European spiny lobster Palinurus elephas (Fabr. 1787), among the most precious gourmet seafood worldwide, are currently facing a dramatic decline. Previous attempts of recovery based on fishery restrictions or active post-l...

Worldwide, the loss of predatory fish due to overexploitation has altered the structure of native communities and caused ecosystem shifts. Ecosystems deprived of high-level predators may be more vulnerable to invasive alien species as the latter are subject to reduced predation control. Marine protected areas (MPAs), and particularly no-take reserv...

This study describes the first ever reported direct observation of a pair spawning event and the reproductive liveries of the white grouper, Epinephelus aeneus. Spawning took place on a rocky bank located in the Marine Protected Area (MPA) of Tavolara-Punta Coda Cavallo (NE Sardinia, Italy), in the Western Mediterranean Sea. In the evening of Augus...

The ecological management effectiveness (EME) of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is the degree to which MPAs reach their ecological goals. The significant variability of EME among MPAs has been partly explained by MPA design, management and implementation features (e.g. surface area, enforcement, age of protection). We investigated EME variability by...

Local support is important for the longevity of conservation initiatives. The literature suggests that perceptions of ecological effectiveness, social impacts, and good gov-ernance will influence levels of local support for conservation. This paper examines these relationships using data from a survey of small-scale fishermen in 11 marine protected...

Ocean acidification (OA) may have varied effects on fish eco-physiological responses. Most OA studies have been carried out in laboratory conditions without considering the in situ pCO2/pH variability documented for many marine coastal ecosystems. Using a standard otolith ageing technique, we assessed how in situ ocean acidification (ambient, versu...

1. A number of policy measures have been adopted to cope with ongoing ocean degradation. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are among them. MPAs and their coverage have increased worldwide, including in EU waters. Natura 2000 (Nat2000) sites are at the core of the EU biodiversity conservation strategy and have been established to protect habitats and sp...

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Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are an essential tool for marine biodiversity conservation. Yet, their effectiveness in protecting marine ecosystems from global stressors is debated. Biological invasions are a major driver of global change, causing biodiversity loss and altering ecosystem functioning. Here, we explored the relationships between MPAs...

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are important tools to achieve marine conservation and resources management goals. The management effectiveness of MPAs (the degree to which MPAs achieve their goals) is highly variable and can be affected by many MPA attributes, for example their design, enforcement and age. Another key factor possibly affecting MPA m...

Global warming is facilitating the poleward range expansion of plant and animal species. In the Mediterranean Sea, the concurrent temperature increase and abundance of (sub)tropical non-indigenous species (NIS) is leading to the so-called 'tropi-calization' of the Mediterranean Sea, which is dramatically evident in the southeastern sectors of the b...