ANDAMENTO DELLA DISTRIBUZIONE E DELL’ABBONDONDANZA DEGLI ECHINODERMI SUI FONDI STRASCICABILI DELLO STRETTO DI SICILIA
TRENDS IN THE DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF ECHINODERMS ON THE TRAWLABLE BOTTOMS OF THE STRAIT OF SICILY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.82008/bmm.v30i1.427Keywords:
time series, echinoderms, decreasing trend, climate change, MediterraneanAbstract
Echinoderms are recognised as indicators of areas of high biological productivity and are essential habitats for the juveniles and spawners of several commercially important species. As this group is sensitive to trawling and climate change, the distribution and abundance of echinoderms were studied in the trawling areas of the Strait of Sicily (GSA 16) between 2008 and 2023. Data were collected during the MEDITS experimental fishing campaigns and analysed for echinoderms as a whole, as well as for the most abundant species. The results showed a significant decline in the presence and abundance of all species, although some differences in trends were observed among species. Exploratory analysis, conducted through correlations, suggested that this decline may be due to climate change rather than fishing activity, which decreased significantly over the same period.