Kernel density surface modelling as a means to identify significant concentrations of vulnerable marine ecosystem indicators.
The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 61/105, concerning sustainable fisheries in the marine ecosystem, calls for the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VME) from destructive fishing practices. Subsequently, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) produced guidelines for identi...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:25e8461e0c134bc9934bb6545e029f3e 2023-05-15T17:45:34+02:00 Kernel density surface modelling as a means to identify significant concentrations of vulnerable marine ecosystem indicators. Ellen Kenchington Francisco Javier Murillo Camille Lirette Mar Sacau Mariano Koen-Alonso Andrew Kenny Neil Ollerhead Vonda Wareham Lindsay Beazley 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0109365 https://doaj.org/article/25e8461e0c134bc9934bb6545e029f3e EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4188592?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0109365 https://doaj.org/article/25e8461e0c134bc9934bb6545e029f3e PLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 10, p e109365 (2014) Medicine R Science Q article 2014 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0109365 2022-12-30T23:35:33Z The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 61/105, concerning sustainable fisheries in the marine ecosystem, calls for the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VME) from destructive fishing practices. Subsequently, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) produced guidelines for identification of VME indicator species/taxa to assist in the implementation of the resolution, but recommended the development of case-specific operational definitions for their application. We applied kernel density estimation (KDE) to research vessel trawl survey data from inside the fishing footprint of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Regulatory Area in the high seas of the northwest Atlantic to create biomass density surfaces for four VME indicator taxa: large-sized sponges, sea pens, small and large gorgonian corals. These VME indicator taxa were identified previously by NAFO using the fragility, life history characteristics and structural complexity criteria presented by FAO, along with an evaluation of their recovery trajectories. KDE, a non-parametric neighbour-based smoothing function, has been used previously in ecology to identify hotspots, that is, areas of relatively high biomass/abundance. We present a novel approach of examining relative changes in area under polygons created from encircling successive biomass categories on the KDE surface to identify "significant concentrations" of biomass, which we equate to VMEs. This allows identification of the VMEs from the broader distribution of the species in the study area. We provide independent assessments of the VMEs so identified using underwater images, benthic sampling with other gear types (dredges, cores), and/or published species distribution models of probability of occurrence, as available. For each VME indicator taxon we provide a brief review of their ecological function which will be important in future assessments of significant adverse impact on these habitats here and elsewhere. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northwest Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PLoS ONE 9 10 e109365 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Ellen Kenchington Francisco Javier Murillo Camille Lirette Mar Sacau Mariano Koen-Alonso Andrew Kenny Neil Ollerhead Vonda Wareham Lindsay Beazley Kernel density surface modelling as a means to identify significant concentrations of vulnerable marine ecosystem indicators. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 61/105, concerning sustainable fisheries in the marine ecosystem, calls for the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VME) from destructive fishing practices. Subsequently, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) produced guidelines for identification of VME indicator species/taxa to assist in the implementation of the resolution, but recommended the development of case-specific operational definitions for their application. We applied kernel density estimation (KDE) to research vessel trawl survey data from inside the fishing footprint of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Regulatory Area in the high seas of the northwest Atlantic to create biomass density surfaces for four VME indicator taxa: large-sized sponges, sea pens, small and large gorgonian corals. These VME indicator taxa were identified previously by NAFO using the fragility, life history characteristics and structural complexity criteria presented by FAO, along with an evaluation of their recovery trajectories. KDE, a non-parametric neighbour-based smoothing function, has been used previously in ecology to identify hotspots, that is, areas of relatively high biomass/abundance. We present a novel approach of examining relative changes in area under polygons created from encircling successive biomass categories on the KDE surface to identify "significant concentrations" of biomass, which we equate to VMEs. This allows identification of the VMEs from the broader distribution of the species in the study area. We provide independent assessments of the VMEs so identified using underwater images, benthic sampling with other gear types (dredges, cores), and/or published species distribution models of probability of occurrence, as available. For each VME indicator taxon we provide a brief review of their ecological function which will be important in future assessments of significant adverse impact on these habitats here and elsewhere. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ellen Kenchington Francisco Javier Murillo Camille Lirette Mar Sacau Mariano Koen-Alonso Andrew Kenny Neil Ollerhead Vonda Wareham Lindsay Beazley |
author_facet |
Ellen Kenchington Francisco Javier Murillo Camille Lirette Mar Sacau Mariano Koen-Alonso Andrew Kenny Neil Ollerhead Vonda Wareham Lindsay Beazley |
author_sort |
Ellen Kenchington |
title |
Kernel density surface modelling as a means to identify significant concentrations of vulnerable marine ecosystem indicators. |
title_short |
Kernel density surface modelling as a means to identify significant concentrations of vulnerable marine ecosystem indicators. |
title_full |
Kernel density surface modelling as a means to identify significant concentrations of vulnerable marine ecosystem indicators. |
title_fullStr |
Kernel density surface modelling as a means to identify significant concentrations of vulnerable marine ecosystem indicators. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Kernel density surface modelling as a means to identify significant concentrations of vulnerable marine ecosystem indicators. |
title_sort |
kernel density surface modelling as a means to identify significant concentrations of vulnerable marine ecosystem indicators. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0109365 https://doaj.org/article/25e8461e0c134bc9934bb6545e029f3e |
genre |
Northwest Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Northwest Atlantic |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 10, p e109365 (2014) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4188592?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0109365 https://doaj.org/article/25e8461e0c134bc9934bb6545e029f3e |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0109365 |
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PLoS ONE |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
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