scholarly journals Environmental Drivers of Benthic-Interior Exchange Events Over the Continental Shelf of Monterey Bay, California

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Yair Raanan
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Monterey Bay

scholarly journals Suspended particulate layers and internal waves over the southern Monterey Bay continental shelf: An important control on shelf mud belts?

2014 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 428-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia M. Cheriton ◽  
Erika E. McPhee-Shaw ◽  
William J. Shaw ◽  
Timothy P. Stanton ◽  
James G. Bellingham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Internal Waves ◽  
Monterey Bay ◽  
Suspended Particulate

Domoic acid in benthic flatfish on the continental shelf of Monterey Bay, California, USA

2007 ◽  
Vol 151 (6) ◽  
pp. 2053-2062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica L. Vigilant ◽  
Mary W. Silver
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Domoic Acid ◽  
Monterey Bay

scholarly journals Spatial variability of Chondrichthyes in the northern Mediterranean

2020 ◽  
Vol 83 (S1) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria C. Follesa ◽  
Martina F. Marongiu ◽  
Walter Zupa ◽  
Andrea Bellodi ◽  
Alessandro Cau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Generalized Additive Models ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Additive Models ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Shark Species ◽  
Fishing Pressure ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
High Level ◽  
Management And Conservation

Thanks to the availability of the MEDITS survey data, a standardized picture of the occurrence and abundance of demersal Chondrichthyes in the northern Mediterranean has been obtained. During the spring-summer period between 2012 and 2015, 41 Chondrichthyes, including 18 sharks (5 orders and 11 families), 22 batoids (3 orders and 4 families) and 1 chimaera, were detected from several geographical sub-areas (GSAs) established by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean. Batoids had a preferential distribution on the continental shelf (10-200 m depth), while shark species were more frequent on the slope (200-800 m depth). Only three species, the Carcharhiniformes Galeus melastomus and Scyliorhinus canicula and the Torpediniformes Torpedo marmorata were caught in all GSAs studied. On the continental shelf, the Rajidae family was the most abundant, being represented in primis by Raja clavata and then by R. miraletus, R. polystigma and R. asterias. The slope was characterized by the prevalence of G. melastomus in all GSAs, followed by S. canicula, E. spinax and Squalus blainville. Areas under higher fishing pressure, such as the Adriatic Sea and the Spanish coast (with the exception of the Balearic Islands), show a low abundance of chondrichthyans, but other areas with a high level of fishing pressure, such as southwestern Sicily, show a high abundance, suggesting that other environmental drivers work together with fishing pressure to shape their distribution. Results of generalized additive models highlighted that depth is one of the most important environmental drivers influencing the distribution of both batoid and shark species, although temperature also showed a significant influence on their distribution. The approach explored in this work shows the possibility of producing maps modelling the distribution of demersal chondrichthyans in the Mediterranean that are useful for the management and conservation of these species at a regional scale. However, because of the vulnerability of these species to fishing exploitation, fishing pressure should be further incorporated in these models in addition to these environmental drivers.

The continental shelf benthic ecosystem: current status, agents for change and future prospects

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 350-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Waste Disposal ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Ecological Condition ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Current Status

Continental shelf benthic ecosystems play an important role in the economy of many coastal states through the provision of food, non-living resources and through control of climate. Changes in the status of these ecosystems, through either natural or human-induced environmental drivers can be expected to have important economic and social consequences. Agents that could induce change include climate and oceanography, hydrology (river discharge), land-use and waste disposal practices, fishing, aquaculture and extraction of non-living resources. Trends in all of these drivers, particularly those under human influence, suggest that shelf systems will come under increasing pressure. Attempts to predict the future state of any ecological system are fraught with difficulty, particularly over decadal time-frames. This is, perhaps, especially true for continental shelf ecosystems where data on current status are poor and our understanding of many of the drivers of change somewhat rudimentary. What can be said for certain, however, is that change will occur and, in the short term, many of the signs point towards deterioration in the ecological condition of many shelf systems, but particularly those of developing countries. Trends in land-use practices, with consequences for nutrient, sediment and freshwater input to coastal seas appear to be particularly worrying, but the poor state of many demersal fisheries systems must also be acknowledged. In contrast to the developing world, although challenges undoubtedly remain, particularly with respect to atmospheric inputs resulting from energy production, current trends in environmental management suggest that pressures imposed by land use, waste disposal and fishing will probably decline over the coming decades on the shelves of many developed countries. At the global scale, therefore, the key driver for sustainable use of our continental shelf ecosystems would appear to be intimately linked to the social and economic well-being of poorer nations.

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