Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF09049
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 61(4)

Trophodynamic effects of trawling on the feeding ecology of pandora, Pagellus erythrinus, off the northern Sicily coast (Mediterranean Sea)

E. Fanelli A B C , F. Badalamenti B , G. D’Anna B , C. Pipitone B and C. Romano B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Institut de Ciencies del Mar – Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Passeig Maritim de la Barceloneta 37–49, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.

B CNR–IAMC, Via Giovanni da Verazzano 17, 91014, Castellammare del Golfo (TP), Italy.

C Corresponding author. Email: efanelli@icm.csic.es

Marine and Freshwater Research 61(4) 408-417 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF09049
Submitted: 7 March 2009  Accepted: 3 September 2009   Published: 27 April 2010

Abstract

Because trawling disturbs benthic organisms, it could affect the diet of benthic-feeding fish with implications for food-web dynamics. The present study assessed the effects of commercial trawling on the trophodynamics and diet of pandora, Pagellus erythrinus, by comparing its stomach contents and stable-isotope (δ15N and δ13C) composition in two trawled and two untrawled gulfs in northern Sicily (central Mediterranean). Fish were collected on muddy bottoms at 50–100-m depth. Higher abundance and biomass and a slightly larger mean body length were found in the untrawled gulfs. The feeding habits were similar although more selective in the untrawled gulfs. The diet was mainly composed of decapod crustaceans (especially the brachyuran crab Goneplax rhomboides) and of polychaetes. The trophic level of pandora, estimated by its δ15N values, was higher in the untrawled gulfs. No clear trend between trawled and untrawled gulfs was found for the source of carbon in the diet (δ13C). The diet of a benthic feeder such as pandora may be used as an indirect indicator of trawling disturbance, as long as stomach contents and stable-isotope analysis are used jointly to assess the diet and trophodynamics of a species.

Additional keywords: benthic communities, diet, fishing effect, Pagellus erythrinus, stable isotopes, trophodynamics.


Acknowledgements

Samples from GCAST and GPATT analysed in this study were collected with permission of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Project No. 6A84/2003). The authors thank all the participants in field work and all the staff at CNR–IAMC of Castellammare del Golfo, particularly Mr E. Riginella, who helped us with stomach-content analysis. Special thanks go to Drs P. Rumolo (CNR–IAMC, Naples, IT), C. Sweeting (CEFAS, Newcastle, UK) and S. Vizzini (University of Palermo, IT) for their help with isotope analysis, to Dr E. Azzurro for graphics assistance and to Ms H. Main for revising the English. We also acknowledge two anonymous referees who greatly improved the original version of the manuscript. The first author was funded by a CNR–IAMC pre-doctoral fellowship.


References

Anderson M. J., Gorley R. N., and Clarke K. R. (2008). ‘PERMANOVA+ for Primer: Guide to Software and Statistical Methods.’ (Primer-E: Plymouth, UK.)

Badalamenti, F. , D’Anna, G. , Pinnegar, J. K. , and Polunin, N. V. C. (2002). Size-related trophodynamic changes in three target fish species recovering from intensive trawling. Marine Biology 141, 561–570.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Clarke K. R., and Warwick R. M. (2001). ‘Change in Marine Communities: An Approach to Statistical Analysis and Interpretation.’ (Primer-E: Plymouth, UK.)

D’Anna G., and Pipitone C. (2007). Prede e predatori della triglia di fango Mullus barbatus L: un approccio con gli isotopi stabili di carbonio e azoto. Research Project MIPAF. Final report.

Dayton, P. K. , Thrush, S. , Agardy, T. , and Hofman, R. (1995). Environmental effects of marine fishing. Aquatic Conservation: Marine & Freshwater Ecosystems 5, 205–232.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Fanelli E. (2007). Trophic relationships in demersal communities of western Mediterranean: case studies from coastal and deep-sea ecosystems. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Viterbo, Italy. Available at http://dspace.unitus.it/dspace/bitstream/2067/569/1/efanelli_tesid.pdf [Verified March 2010].

Fanelli, E. , Cartes, J. E. , Badalamenti, F. , Rumolo, P. , and Sprovieri, M. (2009a). Trophodynamics of suprabenthic fauna on coastal muddy bottoms of southern Tyrrhenian Sea (western Mediterranean). Journal of Sea Research 61, 174–187.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Ferry L. A., and Caillet G. M. (1996). Sample size and data analysis: are we characterizing and comparing diet properly? In ‘Feeding Ecology and Nutrition in Fish’. (Eds D. MacKinlay and K. Shearer.) pp. 71–80. (American Fisheries Society: San Francisco, CA.)

Fiorentini L., Caddy J. F., and De Leiva J. I. (1997). Long and short-term trends of Mediterranean fishery resources. Studies and Reviews. General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean. No. 69. Rome, FAO.

Fiorentino, F. , Badalamenti, F. , D’Anna, G. , Garofalo, G. , and Gianguzza, P. , et al. (2008). Changes in spawning-stock structure and recruitment pattern of red mullet, Mullus barbatus, after a trawl ban in the Gulf of Castellammare (central Mediterranean Sea). ICES Journal of Marine Science 65, 1175–1183.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Hall S. J. (1999). ‘The Effect of Fishing on Marine Ecosystems and Communities.’ (Blackwell Science: Oxford, UK.)

Hinz, H. , Kroncke, I. , and Ehrich, S. (2005). The feeding strategy of dab Limanda limanda in the southern North Sea: linking stomachs contents to prey availability in the environment. Journal of Fish Biology 67, 125–145.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Lindeboom H., and de Groot S. J. (1998). IMPACT-II: the effects of different types of fisheries on the North Sea and Irish Sea benthic ecosystems. NIOZ Report 1998-1/RIVO–DLO Report C003/98. Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands.

Millot, C. (1999). Circulation in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Marine Systems 20, 423–442.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Pérès J. M. (1982). Major benthic assemblages. In ‘Marine Ecology’. (Ed. O. Kinne.) pp. 373–522. (John Wiley: London.)

Pinnegar, J. K. , and Polunin, N. V. C. (2000). Contributions of stable-isotope data to elucidating food webs of Mediterranean rocky littoral fishes. Oecologia 122, 399–409.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Siegfried C. A. (1989). Species profiles: life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates (Pacific southwest) – crangonid shrimp. Biological Report 82. Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior, Coastal Ecology Group, Waterways Experiment Station, US Army Corps of Engineers, Washington DC, USA.

Smith, C. J. , Rumohr, H. , Karakassis, I. , and Papadopoulou, K. N. (2003). Analysing the impact of bottom trawls on sedimentary seabeds with sediment profile imagery. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 285–286, 479–496.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Underwood A. J. (1997). ‘Experiments in Ecology: Their Logical Design and Interpretation Using Analysis of Variance.’ (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.)

Vizzini, S. , Sara, G. , Michener, R. H. , and Mazzola, A. (2002a). The role and contribution of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile organic matter for secondary consumers as revealed by carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. Acta Oecologica 23, 277–285.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Vizzini, S. , Sara, G. , Michener, R. H. , and Mazzola, A. (2002b). The trophic role of the macrophyte Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Asch. in a Mediterranean saltworks: evidence from carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios. Bulletin of Marine Science 71, 1369–1378.


Zagami, G. , Badalamanti, F. , Guglielmo, L. , and Manganero, A. (1996). Short-term variations of the zooplankton community near the straits of Messina: relationships with the hydrodynamics regime. Estuarine Coastal Shelf Science 42, 667–681.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |