Simonetta Fraschetti

University of Naples Federico II | UNINA · Department of Biology

This scoping review (ScR) protocol aims to establish the methodological approach for identifying and mapping the evidence regarding the actual contribution of Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) to spatial conservation targets. Emphasis will be placed on examining the research conducted, including the methodologies applied. OEC...

The worldwide decline of macroalgal forests is raising major concerns for the potentially negative consequences on biodiversity and ecosystem functions, pushing for the definition of specific conservation and restoration measures. Protecting and restoring these habitats requires detailed information on their distribution, ecological status, and dri...

Active marine restoration is strongly encouraged to prevent the loss of the valuable habitats formed by Cystoseira sensu lato species, since they enhance biodiversity and preserve ecosystem functions and services. Current restoration interventions are mainly based on recruitment enhancement methods by deploying bags with fertile receptacles in situ...

Introduction Active restoration is the strategy needed to trigger or accelerate the recovery of degraded marine habitats, which provide the goods and services essential for preserving biodiversity and human wellbeing. Ecosystem engineers are generally the target species in the ecological restoration of marine ecosystems, and large-sized brown macro...

Background: Systematic Conservation Planning (SCP) involves a series of steps to identify conservation areas and develop management strategies, incorporating feedbacks, revisions, and iterations at any stage. It is a valuable tool in facilitating the effective implementation of Ecosystem-Based Marine Spatial Planning (EB-MSP). However, few efforts...

Macroalgal forests characterised by species of the genus Cystoseira sensu lato form important shallow coastal rocky habitats in the Mediterranean Sea. These forests support a high biodiversity and provide important ecosystem services and societal benefits. Currently these habitats are often in a poor condition in many areas, due to loss and degrada...

This scoping review (ScR) protocol aims to establish the methodological approach for identifying and mapping the evidence regarding the actual contribution of Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) to spatial conservation targets. Emphasis will be placed on examining the research conducted, including the methodologies applied, and...

Modeling β- diversity at multiple spatial scales and in relation to disturbance provides invaluable information on ecological connectivity among marine communities which, in turn, could help the implementation of ecologically coherent networks of Marine Protected Areas. In this study, a manipulative experiment carried out on subtidal rocky reefs sp...

As β-diversity can be seen as a proxy of ecological connections among species assemblages, modelling the decay of similarity in species composition at increasing distance may help elucidate spatial patterns of connectivity and local to large scale processes driving community assembly within a marine region. This, in turn, may provide invaluable inf...

To enrich spatio-temporal information on the distribution of alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, a collective effort by 173 marine scientists was made to provide unpublished records and make them open access to the scientific community. Through this effort, we collected and harmonized a dataset of 12,64...

The process of site selection and spatial planning has received scarce attention in the scientific literature dealing with marine restoration, suggesting the need to better address how spatial planning tools could guide restoration interventions. In this study, for the first time, the consequences of adopting different restoration targets and crite...

Program of the GES4SEAS summer school 2022

Climate change is causing an increase in the frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves (MHWs) and mass mortality events (MMEs) of marine organisms are one of their main ecological impacts. Here, we show that during the 2015–2019 period, the Mediterranean Sea has experienced exceptional thermal conditions resulting in the onset of five consecutive...

Habitat degradation and loss are severely affecting macroalgal forests worldwide, and their successful mitigation depends on the identification of the drivers of loss and the implementation of effective conservation and restoration actions. We made an extensive literature review 1- to document the historical (1789–1999) and recent (2000−2020) occu...

Algal habitat-forming forests composed of fucalean brown seaweeds ( Cystoseira , Ericaria , and Gongolaria ) have severely declined along the Mediterranean coasts, endangering the maintenance of essential ecosystem services. Numerous factors determine the loss of these assemblages and operate at different spatial scales, which must be identified to...

Restoration is considered an effective strategy to accelerate the recovery of biological communities at local scale. However, the effects of restoration actions in the marine ecosystems are still unpredictable. We performed a global analysis of published literature to identify the factors increasing the probability of restoration success in coastal...

Canopy-forming macroalgae play a crucial role in coastal primary production and nutrient cycling, providing food, shelter, nurseries, and habitat for many vertebrate and invertebrate species. However, macroalgal forests are in decline in various places and natural recovery is almost impossible when populations become locally extinct. Hence, active...

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...

Cystoseira sensu lato (Class Phaeophyceae, Order Fucales, Family Sargassaceae) forests play a central role in marine Mediterranean ecosystems. Over the last decades, Cystoseira s.l. suffered from a severe loss as a result of multiple anthropogenic stressors. In particular, Gongolaria barbata has faced multiple human-induced threats, and, despite it...

Fucalean brown algae of the genera Carpodesmia, Cystoseira and Treptacantha are a typical feature of shallow subtidal Mediterranean habitats, where these habitat-forming seaweeds produce canopies playing a key role in the functioning of coastal ecosystems. In recent decades these communities have undergone a major decline in cover and biomass; this...

Talk at the Society for Ecological Restoration SER21 World Conference 21-24.06.2021

The increasing consideration of gender balance in conservation science and practice has been reflected in the setting of global commitments. Yet, women remain under-represented in science and conservation decision-making. We compiled and analyzed data on the representation of women in hiring, publishing, funding, and leadership positions in Europea...

Explorative surveys aiming at broadening the knowledge on the status and distribution of biodiversity are fundamental to set the baselines for the identification of conservation priorities. A group of researchers with complementary expertises carried out a large-scale survey along the coasts of the Campania region (southern Italy) to assess the con...

Like most ocean regions today, the European and contiguous seas experience cumulative impacts from local human activities and global pressures. They are largely in poor environmental condition with deteriorating trends. Despite several success stories, European policies for marine conservation fall short of being effective. Acknowledging the challe...

Climate change (CC) is a key, global driver of change of marine ecosystems. At local and regional scales, other local human stressors (LS) can interact with CC and modify its effects on marine ecosystems. Understanding the response of the marine environment to the combined effects of CC and LS is crucial to inform marine ecosystem-based management...

Rhodolith beds represent a key habitat worldwide, from tropical to polar ecosystems. Despite this habitat is considered a hotspot of biodiversity, providing a suite of ecosystem goods and services, still scarce quantitative information is available thus far about rhodolith beds occurrence and ecological role, especially in the Mediterranean Sea. Th...

Increasing anthropogenic pressures are causing long-lasting regime shifts from high-diversity ecosystems to low-diversity ones. In the Mediterranean Sea, large expanses of rocky subtidal habitats characterized by high diversity have been completely degraded to the barren state due to the high grazing pressure exerted by sea urchins, which could per...

The date mussel Lithophaga lithophaga is an edible endolithic bivalve, protected by the EU Habitats Directive and other international agreements, living inside carbonate rocks. Its illegal harvesting is carried by breaking the rocks where the bivalve grows. The impact has cascade consequences as it causes permanent changes in the substrate characte...

The Mediterranean Sea is subject to multiple human pressures increasingly threatening its unique biodiversity. Spatially explicit information on the ecological status of marine ecosystems is therefore key to an effective maritime spatial planning and management, and to help the achievement of environmental targets. Here, we summarized scientific da...

The seaweed Caulerpa cylindracea (Sonder) is one of the most successful marine bioinvaders worldwide. Caulerpa cylindracea can influence the quantity and biochemical composition of sedimentary organic matter (OM). However, it is still unknown if the effects of C. cylindracea on both OM and small metazoans (i.e. meiofauna) can change according to di...

Macroalgal forests are one of the most productive and valuable marine ecosystems, but yet strongly exposed to fragmentation and loss. Detailed large-scale information on their distribution is largely lacking, hindering conservation initiatives. In this study, a systematic effort to combine spatial data on Cystoseira C. Agardh canopies (Fucales, Pha...

Anthropogenic climate change, and global warming in particular, has strong and increasing impacts on marine ecosystems (Poloczanska et al., 2013; Halpern et al., 2015; Smale et al., 2019). The Mediterranean Sea is considered a marine biodiversity hotspot contributing to more than 7% of world’s marine biodiversity including a high percentage of ende...

Extensive loss of macroalgal forests advocates for large-scale restoration interventions, to compensate habitat degradation and recover the associated ecological functions and services. Yet, restoration attempts have generally been limited to small spatial extensions, with the principal aim of developing efficient restoration techniques. Here, the...

In the Anthropocene, marine ecosystems are rapidly shifting to new ecological states. Achieving effective conservation of marine biodiversity has become a fast‐moving target because of both global climate change and continuous shifts in marine policies. How prepared are we to deal with this crisis? We examined EU Member States Programs of Measures...

The Mediterranean Sea is a hotspot of biodiversity, originating as the result of various geological, climatic and hydrological transformations, including alternating glacial and interglacial periods during the Quaternary. There is a long tradition of descriptive studies in the Mediterranean Sea, whereas manipulative experiments have been introduced...

Aim Marine bioconstructions such as coralligenous formations are hotspot of biodiversity and play a relevant ecological role in the preservation of biodiversity by providing carbon regulation, protection and nursery areas for several marine species. For this reason, the European Union Habitat Directive included them among priority habitats to be pr...

Marine protected areas (MPAs) represent the main tool for halting the loss of marine biodiversity. However, there is increasing evidence concerning their limited capacity to reduce or eliminate some threats even within their own boundaries. Here, we analysed a Europe-wide dataset comprising 31,579 threats recorded in 1692 sites of the European Unio...

Marine space is three dimensional, the turnover of life forms is rapid, defining a fourth dimension: time. The definition of ecologically significant spatial units calls for the spatio-temporal framing of significant ecological connections in terms of extra-specific (biogeochemical cycles), intra-specific (life cycles), and inter-specific (food web...

Marine/maritime spatial planning (MSP) is intended as a process to apply an adaptive ecosystem-based approach in order to manage the oceans towards the sustainable use of marine resources. Several policy documents and research articles have identified the need for MSP to address change, intended as dynamic aspects from different drivers. However, p...

Marine bioconstructions are biodiversity-rich, three-dimensional biogenic structures, regulating key ecological functions of benthic ecosystems worldwide. Tropical coral reefs are outstanding for their beauty, diversity and complexity, but analogous types of bioconstructions are also present in temperate seas. The main bioconstructions in the Medit...

As a response to increasing human pressures on marine ecosystems, the legislation aimed at improving the conservation and management of marine coastal areas in European and Contiguous Seas (ECS) underwent crucial advances. ECS, however, still remain largely affected by increasing threats leading to biodiversity loss. Here, by using emblematic case...

As a response to increasing human pressures on marine ecosystems, the legislation aimed at improving the conservation and management of marine coastal areas in European and Contiguous Seas (ECS) underwent crucial advances. ECS, however, still remain largely affected by increasing threats leading to biodiversity loss. Here, by using emblematic case...

As a response to increasing human pressures on marine ecosystems, the legislation aimed at improving the conservation and management of marine coastal areas in European and Contiguous Seas (ECS) underwent crucial advances. ECS, however, still remain largely affected by increasing threats leading to biodiversity loss. Here, by using emblematic case...

Talk at the SER Europe Conference 2018 - Restoration in the era of climate change. Reykjavik, Iceland, 9-13.09.2018

Marine bioconstructions are biodiversity-rich, three-dimensional biogenic structures, regulating key ecological functions of benthic ecosystems worldwide. Tropical coral reefs are outstanding for their beauty, diversity and complexity, but analogous types of bioconstructions are also present in temperate seas. The main bioconstructions in the Medit...

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are key tools to mitigate human impacts in coastal environments, promoting sustainable activities to conserve biodiversity. The designation of MPAs alone may not result in the lessening of some human threats, which is highly dependent on management goals and the related specific regulations that are adopted. Here, we d...

: In the Mediterranean Sea, many species of Cystoseira , which are important habitat-forming species on shallow rocky bottoms, have gone missing from many coastal areas, impairing essential ecosystem services. Cystoseira crinita forests thrive in very shallow waters from sheltered environments and are currently regressing in several European shores...

: In the Mediterranean Sea, many species of Cystoseira , which are important habitat-forming species on shallow rocky bottoms, have gone missing from many coastal areas, impairing essential ecosystem services. Cystoseira crinita forests thrive in very shallow waters from sheltered environments and are currently regressing in several European shores...

A review of 573 studies on active restoration actions in the marine environment, published in the last 25 years, was carried out at global scale. We assessed how, where, at which spatial and temporal scales and under which socio-ecological settings restoration studies have been carried out, from very shallow to deep sea habitats. Results show that...

A review of 573 studies on active restoration actions in the marine environment, published in the last 25 years, was carried out at global scale. We assessed how, where, at which spatial and temporal scales and under which socio-ecological settings restoration studies have been carried out, from very shallow to deep sea habitats. Results show that...

: In the Mediterranean Sea, many species of Cystoseira , which are important habitat-forming species on shallow rocky bottoms, have gone missing from many coastal areas, impairing essential ecosystem services. Cystoseira crinita forests thrive in very shallow waters from sheltered environments and are currently regressing in several European shores...

In the last decade, the 'Cumulative Pressure and Impact Assessment' (CPIA) approach emerged as a tool to map expected impacts on marine ecosystems. However, CPIA assumes a linear response of ecosystems to increasing level of cumulative pressure weighting sensitivity to different anthropogenic pressures through expert judgement. We applied CPIA to M...

There is an increasing recognition of the importance of cultural ecosystem services of marine habitats for supporting the management of the marine environment. However, these services are still largely unknown compared to other ecosystem services (e.g. provisioning services) owing to the challenge of quantifying and valuing them. Linking human welf...

MERCES is producing a census of European marine key habitat maps, degraded habitat maps and investigating key habitat restoration potential.

The overall scope of MERCES Deliverable 1.2 is to review current knowledge regarding the major marine pressures placed upon marine ecosystems in EU waters and the mechanisms by which they impact habitats in order to determine potential restoration pathways.

Caulerpa cylindracea (Sonder), among the most successful marine bio-invaders on a global scale, poses severe threats to biodiversity. However, the effects of this seaweed on the quantity and the biochemical composition of sedimentary organic matter are still poorly known. Since the whole set of sedimentary features affects the availability of subst...