Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Historical Changes in Marine Resources, Food-web Structure and Ecosystem Functioning in the Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean

  • Published:
Ecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Mediterranean Sea has been strongly influenced by human activities for millennia. Although the environmental history of its surrounding terrestrial ecosystems has received considerable study, historical changes in its marine realm are less known. We used a multidisciplinary approach combining paleontological, archeological, historical, fisheries, and ecological data to reconstruct past changes in marine populations, habitats, and water quality in the Adriatic Sea. Then, we constructed binary food webs for different historical periods to analyze possible changes in food-web structure and functioning over time. Our results indicate that human activities have influenced marine resource abundance since at least Roman times and accelerated in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Today, 98% of traditional marine resources are depleted to less than 50% of former abundance, with large (>1 m) predators and consumers being most affected. With 37% of investigated species rare and 11% extirpated, diversity has shifted towards smaller, lower trophic-level species, further aggravated by more than 40 species invasions. Species providing habitat and filter functions have been reduced by 75%, contributing to the degradation of water quality and increased eutrophication. Increased exploitation and functional extinctions have altered and simplified food-web structure over time, especially by changing the proportions of top predators, intermediate consumers, and basal species. Moreover, simulations of species losses indicate that today’s ecosystems may be less robust to species extinctions than in the past. Our results illustrate the long-term and far-reaching consequences human activities can have on marine food webs and ecosystems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • AdriaMed. 2003. Aspects of Fish Markets in the Adriatic Sea. AdriaMed Tech Doc 10:152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Airoldi L, Beck MW. 2007. Loss, status and trends for coastal marine habitats of Europe. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 45:345–405.

    Google Scholar 

  • Appuhn KR 1999. Environmental politics and state power in early modern Venice, 1300-1650. Ph.D. thesis. Evanston: Northwestern University. 269 pp.

  • Barmawidjaja DM, van der Zwaan GJ, Jorissen FJ, Puškaric S. 1995. 150 years eutrophication in the northern Adriatic Sea: evidence from a benthic foraminiferal record. Mar Geol 122:367–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bearzi G, Reeves RR, Notarbartolo-di-Sciara G, Politi E, Cañadas A, Frantzis A, Mussi B. 2003. Ecology, status and conservation of short-beaked common dolphins. Mamm Rev 33:224–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bearzi G, Holcer D, Notarbartolo di Sciara G. 2004. The role of historical dolphin takes and habitat degradation in shaping the present status of northern Adriatic cetaceans. Aquat Conserv Mar Freshw Ecosyst 14:363–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bekker-Nielsen T. 2005. The technology and productivity of ancient sea fishing. In: Bekker-Nielsen T, Ed. Ancient fishing and fish processing in the Black Sea region. Aarhus (DK): Aarhus University Press. p 83–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benović A, Justić D, Bender A. 1987. Enigmatic changes in the hydromedusan fauna of the northern Adriatic Sea. Nature 326:597–600.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Billard R, Lecointre G. 2001. Biology and conservation of sturgeon and paddlefishes. Rev Fish Biol Fisheries 10:335–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • BLI (BirdLife International). 2004. Birds in Europe: population estimates, trends, and conservation status. BirdLife Conserv Ser 12:374.

    Google Scholar 

  • Block BA. 2000. Of tuna and tonnarotti. Science 289:876–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blondel J, Aronson J. 1999. Biology and wildlife in the Mediterranean Region. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p 352.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bode M. 2002. Wale und Walfang in der Antike. Laverna 13:1–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boero F. 2001. Adriatic ecological history: a link between jelly outbreaks, red tides, mass mor- talities, overfishing, mucilages, and thaliacean plakton? CIESM Workshop Ser 14:44–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bombace G. 1992. Fisheries of the Adriatic Sea. In: Colombo G, Ferrari I, Ceccherelli VU, Rossi R, Eds. Marine eutrophication and population dynamics. Fredensborg: Olsen and Olsen. p 379–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Botter L, Giovanardi O, Raicevich S. 2006. Chioggia’s fleet fishery migration in the Adriatic Sea between 19th and the early 20th century. J Mediterr Stud 16:27–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brambati A. 1992. Origin and evolution of the Adriatic Sea. In: Colombo G, Ferrari I, Ceccherelli VU, Rossi R, Eds. Marine Eutrophication and Population Dynamics. Fredensborg: Olson and Olson. p 327–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bresc H. 2000. Pêche et commerce du corail en Méditerranée de l’Antiquitè au Moyen Age. In: Morel JP, Rondi-Costanzo C, Ugolini D, Eds. Corallo di ieri, corallo di oggi. Scienze e materiali del patrimonio culturale 5. Bari: Edipuglia. p 41–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casale P, Laurent L, De Metrio G. 2004. Incidental capture of marine turtles by the Italian trawl fishery in the north Adriatic Sea. Biol Conserv 119:287–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cencini C. 1998. Physical processes and human activities in the evolution of the Po delta, Italy. J Coastal Res 14:774–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ceron-Carrasco R, Bass B. 2001. Molluscan exploitation patterns: evidence of the uses of the immediate environment at Susac. In: Society for American Archaeology 66th Annual Meeting, 18–22 April 2001, New Orleans.

  • Christensen V, Guenette S, Heymans JJ, Walters CJ, Watson R, Zeller D, Pauly D. 2003. Hundred-year decline of North Atlantic predatory fishes. Fish Fish 4:1–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke KR, Gurley RN. 2006. PRIMER v6: user manual/tutorial (Plymouth Routines in Multivariate Ecological Research). Plymouth: Primer-E Ltd. p 190.

    Google Scholar 

  • CNHM (Croatian Natural History Museum). 2009. Adriatic Marine Turtle Program. http://www.hpm.hr/turtles/koruvod.htm.

  • Coll M, Lotze HK, Romanuk TN. 2008. Structural degradation in Mediterranean Sea food webs: Testing ecological hypotheses using stochastic and mass-balance modelling. Ecosystems 11:939–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coll M, Shannon LJ, Yemane D, Link JS, Ojaveer H, Neira S, Jouffre D, Labrosse P, Heymans JJ, Fulton EA, Shin Y-J. 2010a. Ranking the ecological relative status of exploited marine ecosystems. ICES J Mar Sci 67:769–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coll M, Piroddi C, Kaschner K, Ben Rais Lasram F, Steenbeek J, Aguzzi J, Ballesteros E, Nike Bianchi C, Corbera J, Dailianis T, Danovaro R, Estrada M, Froglia C, Galil BS, Gasol JM, Gertwagen R, Gil J, Guilhaumon F, Kesner-Reyes K, Kitsos M-S, Koukouras A, Lampadariou N, Laxamana E, López-Fé de la Cuadra CM, Lotze HK, Martin D, Mouillot D, Oro D, Raicevich S, Rius-Barile J, Saiz-Salinas JI, San Vicente C, Somot S, Templado J, Turon X, Vafidis D, Villanueva R, Voultsiadou E. 2010b. The biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: estimates, patterns and threats. PLoS ONE 5(8):e11842.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Coll M, Santojanni A, Palomera I, Arnesi E. 2010c. Ecosystem assessment of the North-Central Adriatic (Mediterranean Sea): towards a multivariate reference framework. Mar Ecol Progr Ser 417:193–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collar NJ, Long AJ, Robles Gil P, Rojo J. 2007. Birds and people: bonds in a timeless journey. Mexico City: CEMEX-Agrupacion Sierra Madre-BirdLife International. p 360.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corcoran TH. 1957. The Roman fishing industry of the late republic and early empire. Ph.D. thesis. Evanston: Northwestern University. 189p.

  • Council of Europe. 1994. Protection of coastal areas of the Adriatic Sea. Strassbourg: Council of Europe. 164 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Danovaro R, Fonda Umani S, Pusceddu A. 2009. Climate change and the potential spreading of marine mucilage and microbial pathogens in the Mediterranean Sea. PLoS ONE 4:e7006.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Della Casa P, Bass B. 2001. Archaeological evidence from the Island of Susac, Croatia. Preliminary Report, Department of Prehistory, University of Zurich. http://www.prehist.uzh.ch/forschung/susac/susacset1.html.

  • Dulvy N, Sadovy Y, Reynolds JD. 2003. Extinction vulnerability in marine populations. Fish Fish 4:25–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunne JA, Williams RJ, Martinez ND. 2002a. Food-web structure and network theory: The role of connectance and size. Proc Natl Acad Sci 99:12917–22.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dunne JA, Williams RJ, Martinez ND. 2002b. Network structure and biodiversity loss in food webs: robustness increases with connectance. Ecol Lett 5:558–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunne JA, Williams RJ, Martinez ND, Wood RA, Erwin DH. 2008. Compilation and network analyses of Cambrian food webs. PLoS Biol 6:e102.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • EEA (European Environment Agency). 1999. State and pressures of the marine and coastal Mediterranean environment. Environ Assess Ser 5:44p.

    Google Scholar 

  • EEA (European Environment Agency). 2002. Indicator fact sheet: Fish stocks outside safe biological limits. Copenhagen: European Environmental Agency. p 8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans PGH. 1987. The natural history of whales and dolphins. New York: Facts on File Publications. p 343.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eyton TC. 1858. A history of the oyster and the oyster fisheries. London: Van Voorst. p 40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faber GL. 1883. The fisheries of the Adriatic and the fish thereof. London: Bernard Quarich. p 292.

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO. 1984. Report of the third technical consultation on the stock assessment in the Adriatic. FAO Fisheries Reports R290, 255 pp.

  • FAO. 2005. Review of the state of world marine fishery resources. FAO Fish Tech Paper 457:235p.

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO. 2010. Corallium rubrum, Species Fact Sheets, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, FAO. http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/3611/en.

  • FAO-FishStat. 2010. Mediterranean and Black Sea (GFCM) capture production 1970-2006 (Released 2010). Regional dataset for Adriatic Sea (Region 2.1). Available at ftp://ftp.fao.org/fi/stat/windows/fishplus/gfcm.zip.

  • Ferretti F, Myers RA, Serena F, Lotze HK. 2008. Loss of large predatory sharks from the Mediterranean Sea. Conserv Biol 22:952–64.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ferretti F, Worm B, Britten GL, Heithaus MR, Lotze HK. 2010. Patterns and ecosystem consequences of shark declines in the ocean. Ecol Lett 13:1055–71.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fonda Umani S. 2004. Northern Adriatic Sea, Chapter 18. Wassmann P, Olli K, Eds. Drainage basin nutrient inputs and eutrophication: an integrated approach. http://lepo.it.da.ut.ee/~olli/eutr/html/htmlBook.html.

  • Fortibuoni T, Giovanardi O, Libralato S, Raicevich S, Solidoro C. 2008. Integrating historical naturalists’ descriptions and statistical-scientific data to describe changes in fish assemblages over the last two centuries in the Northern Adriatic Sea. ICES CM 2008/R: 14.

  • Frid C, Hammer C, Law R, Loeng H, Pawlak JF, Reid PC, Tasker M. 2003. Environmental Status of the European Seas. ICES CIEM Report. 75 pp.

  • Galil BS. 2003. A sea of stone—biodiversity and history. Biomare Newslett 3:7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galil BS. 2004. Of fish bones and mosaics—the fisheries of the ancient Mediterranean. HMAP 1st Mediterranean Workshop. 20–22 Sept 2004. Institute of Marine Science, Barcelona. Spain.

  • Gandolfini G, Mordenti A, Paganelli L. 1982. Composition and longshore dispersal of sands from the Po and Adige rivers since pre-Etruscan age. J Sediment Petrol 57:797–805.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gertwagen R, Raicevich S, Fortibuoni T, Giovanardi O. 2008. Il Mare Com’era. Chioggia: Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale. p 219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guhl E, Koner W. 1875. The Life of the Greeks and Romans. London: Chapman and Hall. p 636.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guidetti P, Sala E. 2007. Community-wide effects of marine reserves in the Mediterranean Sea. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 335:43–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haywood J. 1997. Atlas of world history. Abingdon: Andromeda Oxford. p 256.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann RC. 1996. Economic development and aquatic ecosystems in Medieval Europe. Am Hist Rev 101:631–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann RC. 2001. Frontier foods for late Medieval consumers: culture, economy, ecology. Environ Hist 7:131–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofrichter R. 2002. Das mittelmeer: fauna, flora, oekologie. Teil I—Allgemeiner Teil. Heildelberg, Berlin: Spektrum Akademischer Verlag. p 608.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes JD. 1994. Pan’s Travail. Environmental Problems of the Ancient Greeks and Romans. Baltimore: Hopkins University Press. p 277.

    Google Scholar 

  • ICCAT-SCRS. 2009. Mediterranean swordfish. In: International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), Standing Committee on Research and Statistics (SCRS), Madrid (Spain): Report for biennial period 2008-09, Part II Vol. 2, pp 174–180

  • IMEDES 1999. The Castellón trawling project (1961–1966): teachings for a sustainable fisheries management. IMEDES, COPEMED and FAO special publication. 173 pp.

  • IUCN. 2010. The IUCN Red List of threatened species. Available at: www.iucn.org.

  • Jackson JBC, Kirby MX, Berger WH, Bjorndal KA, Botsford LW, Bourque BJ, Bradbury RH, Cooke R, Erlandson J, Estes JA, Hughes TP, Kidwell S, Lange CB, Lenihan HS, Pandolfi JM, Peterson CH, Steneck RS, Tegner MJ, Warner RR. 2001. Historical overfishing and the recent collapse of coastal ecosystems. Science 293:629–38.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson WM, Karamanlidis AA, Dendrinos P, Fernández de Larrinoa P, Gazo M, González LM, Güçlüsoy H, Pires R, Schnellmann M. 2009. Monk seal fact sites: Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus). http://www.monachus-guardian.org/factfiles/medit01.htm.

  • Jonsson L. 1992. Die Voegel Europas und des Mittelmeerraumes. Kosmos Naturfuehrer. Stuttgart: Franck-Kosmos. p 559.

    Google Scholar 

  • Justić D, Legovic T, Rottini-Sandrini L. 1987. Trends in oxygen content 1911–1984 and occurrence of benthic mortality in the Northern Adriatic Sea. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 25:435–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knauer ER. 2003. Fishing with cormorants: a note on Vittore Carpaccio’s hunting on the lagoon—Critical Essay. Apollo, September 2003.

  • Koutsoubas D, Galinou-Mitsoudi S, Katsanevakis S, Leontarakis P, Metaxatos A, Zenetos A. 2007. Bivalve and gastropod molluscs of commercial interest for human consumption in the Hellenic Seas. In: Papaconstantinou C, Zenetos A, Tserpes G, Vassilopoulou V, Eds. State of the Hellenic Fisheries. Athens: HCMR Publications. p 70–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kovačević Z. 2002. History and political ecology of the Adriatic Sea. Religion, Science and the Environment: Adriatic Sea Symposium. 8 pp. http://www.rsesymposia.org/themedia/File/1151678043-Kovacevic.pdf.

  • Krstulovic N, Solic M. 1990. Long-term study of heterotrophic bacteria as indicators of eutrophication of the open middle Adriatic Sea. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 30:611–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kružić P, Požar-Domac A. 2007. Impact of tuna farming on the banks of the coral Cladocora caespitosa in the Adriatic Sea. Coral Reefs 26:665.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lahmeyer J. 2006. Population statistics: Growth of the population per country in a historical perspective, including their administrative divisions and principal towns. http://www.populstat.info/.

  • Libralato S, Raicevich S, Pranovi F, Giovanardi O. 2004. Fisheries and state of the ecosystem: what about the Adriatic Sea? HMAP 1st Mediterranean Workshop. 20–22 Sept 2004. Barcelona: Institute of Marine Science.

    Google Scholar 

  • Libralato S, Coll M, Tempesta M, Santojanni A, Spoto M, Palomera I, Arneri E, Solidoro C. 2010. Food-web traits of protected and exploited areas of the Adriatic Sea. Biol Conserv 143:2182–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lotze HK. 2005. Radical changes in the Wadden Sea fauna and flora over the last 2000 years. Helgoland Mar Res 59:71–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lotze HK, Worm B. 2009. Historical baselines for large marine animals. Trends Ecol Evol 24:254–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lotze HK, Lenihan HS, Bourque BJ, Bradbury RH, Cooke RG, Kay MC, Kidwell SM, Kirby MX, Peterson CH, Jackson JBC. 2006. Depletion, degradation, and recovery potential of estuaries and coastal seas. Science 312:1806–9.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • MacKenzie BR, Mosegaard H, Rosenberg AA. 2009. Impending collapse of bluefin tuna in the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean. Conserv Lett 2:25–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malej A, Malej A Jr. 2004. Invasion of the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca in the Northern Adriatic: a non-success story. In: Dumond H, Shiganova TA, Nierman U, Eds. Aquatic Invasions in the Black, Caspian and Mediterranean Seas. Kluwer: Academic Publishers. p 273–85.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Marasović I, Ninčević Z, Kušpilić G, Marinović S, Marinov S. 2005. Long-term changes of basic biological and chemical parameters at two stations in the middle Adriatic. J Sea Res 54:3–14.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marchetti M. 2002. Environmental changes in the central Po Plain (northern Italy) due to fluvial modifications and anthropogenic activities. Geomorphology 44:361–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marchetti R, Provini A, Crosa G. 1989. Nutrient load carried by the River Po into the Adriatic Sea, 1968–1987. Mar Pollut Bull 20:168–72.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marini L. 1998. Cetaceans in the Italian Seas: a brief review. Aubert M, Riddel M, editors. Actes du Colloque. International “La Méditerranée, la mer et l’homme”. RIMMO, Cagnes-su-Mer et Antibes, 6–7 Novembre 1998, pp 88–90.

  • Maschner HDG, Betts MW, Cornell J, Dunne JA, Finney B, Huntly N, Jordan JW, Misarti N, Reedy-Maschner KL, Russell R, Tews A, Wood S, Benson B. 2009. An introduction to the biocomplexity of Sanak Island, Western Gulf of Alaska. Pac Sci 63:673–709.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McEvedy C, Jones R. 1978. Atlas of World Population History. London: Penguin Books. p 368.

    Google Scholar 

  • McPherson J, Myers RA. 2009. How to infer population trends in sparse data: examples with opportunistic sighting records for great white sharks. Divers Distrib 15:880–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MTSG. 2004. 2004 Global status assessment, Green turtle (Chelonia mydas). The IUCN Species Survival Commission, Red List Programme. Cambridge: IUCN. p 71.

    Google Scholar 

  • MTSG (Marine Turtle Specialist Group). 1999. A Global strategy for the conservation of marine turtles. The IUCN Species Survival Commission. Cambridge: IUCN.

    Google Scholar 

  • Munda IM. 2000. Long-term marine floristic changes around Rovinj (Istrian coast, North Adriatic) estimated on the basis of historical data from Paul Kuckuck’s field diaries from the end of the 19th century. Nova Hedwigia 71:1–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neil DT. 2002. A thousand years of human-coastal interactions in Venice: lessons from the serene republic. Coast Coast 2002:318–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newell RIE, Ott JA. 1999. Macrobenthic communities and eutrophication. In: Malone TC, Malej A, Harding LWG Jr, Smodlaka N, Turner RE, Eds. Ecosystems at the land-sea margin, drainage basin to coastal sea. Washington (DC): American Geophysical Union. p 265–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Notarbartolo-Di-Sciara G, Agardy T, Hyrenbach D, Scovazzid T, Klaveren PV. 2008. The Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean marine mammals. Aquat Conserv Mar Freshw Ecosyst 18:367–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Occhipinti-Ambrogi A. 2002. Susceptibility to invasion: assessing scale and impact of alien biota in the Northern Adriatic. CIESM Workshop Monogr 20:67–73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ott JA. 1992. The Adriatic benthos: problems and perspectives. In: Colombo G, Ferrari I, Ceccherelli VU, Rossi R, Eds. Marine eutrophication and population dynamics. Fredensborg: Olsen and Olsen. p 367–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pandolfi JM, Bradbury RH, Sala E, Hughes TP, Bjorndal KA, Cooke RG, McArdle D, McClenachan L, Newman MJH, Paredes G, Warner RR, Jackson JBC. 2003. Global trajectories of the long-term decline of coral reef ecosystems. Science 301:955–8.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pauly D. 1995. Anecdotes and the shifting baseline syndrome of fisheries. Trends Ecol Evol 10:430.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Perkol-Finkel S, Airoldi L. 2010. Loss and recovery potential of marine habitats: an experimental study of factors maintaining resilience in subtidal algal forests at the Adriatic Sea. PLoS ONE 5:e10791. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010791.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Perry SL, DeMaster DP, Silber GK. 1999. The great whales: history and status of six species listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973. Mar Fish Rev Sp Issue 61:1–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinardi N, Arneri E, Crise A, Ravaioli M, Zavatarelli M. 2006. The physical, sedimentary and ecological structure and variability of shelf areas in the Mediterranean Sea. Robinson AR, Brink KH, editors. The Sea Vol. 14. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. p1243-1330.

  • Plinii Secundi C. 1513. Naturalis historiae. Libri XXXVII. Venice, Italy

  • Pronzato R. 1999. Sponge-fishing, disease and farming in the Mediterranean Sea. Aquat Conserv Mar Freshw Ecosyst 9:485–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pronzato R, Manconi R. 2008. Mediterranean commercial sponges: over 5000 years of natural history and cultural heritage. Mar Ecol 29:146–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Puškaric S, Berger GW, Jorissen FJ. 1990. Successive appearance of subfossil phytoplankton species in Holocene sediments of the Northern Adriatic and its relation to the increased eutrophication pressure. Estuar Coastal Shelf Sci 31:177–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Radcliffe W. 1921. Fishing from the earliest times. Chicago: Ares. p 478.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raicevich S, Libralato S, Giovanardi O, Pranovi F. 2004. Historical data of ecosystem driving forces and anthropogenic disturbance in the Northern Adriatic Sea. HMAP 1st Mediterranean Workshop. 20–22 Sept 2004. Institute of Marine Science, Barcelona. Spain.

  • Ravier C, Fromentin J-M. 2004. Are the long-term fluctuations in Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) population related to environmental changes? Fish Oceanogr 13:145–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rick TC, Erlandson JM. 2008. Human impacts on ancient marine ecosystems: a global perspective. Berkely: University of California Press. p 319.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roopnarine PD, Angielczyk KD, Wang SC, Hertog R. 2007. Trophic network models explain instability of Early Triassic terrestrial communities. Proc R Soc B 274:2077–86.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sala E. 2004. The past and present topology and structure of Mediterranean subtidal rocky-shore food webs. Ecosystems 7:333–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sangiorgi F, Donders TH. 2004. Reconstructing 150 years of eutrophication in the north-western Adriatic Sea (Italy) using dinoflagellate cysts, pollen and spores. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 60:69–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santojanni A, Arneri E, Barry C, Belardinelli A, Cingolani N, Giannetti G, Kirkwood G. 2003. Trends of anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus L.) biomass in the northern and central Adriatic Sea. Sci Marina 67:327–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Santojanni A, Cingolani N, Arneri E, Kirkwood G, Belardinelli A, Giannetti G, Colella S, Donato F, Barry C. 2005. Stock assessment of sardine (Sardina pilchardus Walb.) in the Adriatic Sea, with an estimate of discards. Scientia Marina 69:603–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sergeant D, Ronald K, Boulva J, Berkes F. 1979. The recent status of Monachus monachus the Mediterranean Monk Seal. In: Ronald K, Duguy R, Eds. The Mediterranean monk seal. Oxford: Pergamon Press. p 31–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stachowitsch M. 1984. Mass mortality in the Gulf of Trieste: the course of community destruction. Mar Ecol 5:243–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stachowitsch M. 1991. Anoxia in the Northern Adriatic Sea: rapid death, slow recovery. Geol Soc Lond Sp Publ 58:119–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stefani M, Vincenti S. 2005. The interplay of eustasy, climate and human activity in the late Quaternary depositional evolution and sedimentary architecture of the Po Delta system. Mar Geol 222–223:19–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stergiou KI, Koulouris ML. 2000. Fishing down the marine food webs in the Hellenic Seas. CIESM Workshop Monogr 12:73–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tout P. 1995. Birds of the Northern Adriatic Region. http://www.istrianet.org/istria/fauna/birds/birds-adriatic.htm.

  • Trakadas LA. 2006. Exhausted by fishermen’s nets’: Roman sea fisheries and their management. J Mediterr Stud 16:259–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tudela S. 2004. Ecosystem effects of fishing in the Mediterranean: an analysis of the major threats of fishing gear and practices to biodiversity and marine habitats, General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean. Stud Rev 74:44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turk R, Odorico R. 2009. Marine protected areas in the Northern Adriatic. Varstvo Narave 22:33–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • USGS (U.S. Geological Survey). 2006. The cranes: status survey and conservation action plan Eurasian crane (Grus grus). U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/cranes/grusgrus.htm.

  • Vollenweider RA, Montanari G, Rinaldi A. 1995. Statistical inferences about the mucilage events in the Adriatic Sea, with special reference to recurrence patterns and claimed relationship to sun activity cycles. Sci Total Environ 165:213–24.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Volpi LB. 1996. La spettacolare pesca del tonno nel golfo di Trieste. Trieste: Mladika.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vrgoc N, Arneri E, Jukic-Peladic S, Krstulovic Sifner S, Mannini P, Marceta B, Osmani K, Piccinetti C, Ungaro N. 2004. Review of current knowledge on shared demersal stocks of the Adriatic Sea. FAO-Adriamed Tech Doc 12:105p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watermeyer KE, Shannon LJ, Griffiths CL. 2008. Changes in the trophic structure of the southern Benguela before and after the onset of industrial fishing. Afr J Mar Sci 30:351–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitehead H. 2002. Estimates of the current global population size and historical trajectory for sperm whales. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 242:295–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams RJ, Martinez ND. 2000. Simple rules yield complex food webs. Nature 404:180–3.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Worm B, Hilborn R, Baum JK, Branch TA, Collie JS, Costello C, Fogarty MJ, Fulton EA, Hutchings JA, Jennings S, Jensen OP, Lotze HK, Mace PM, McClanahan TR, Minto C, Palumbi SR, Parma AM, Ricard D, Rosenberg AA, Watson R, Zeller D. 2009. Rebuilding global fisheries. Science 325:578–85.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zavatarelli M, Raicich F, Bregant D, Russo A, Artegiani A. 1998. Climatological biogeochemical characteristics of the Adriatic Sea. J Mar Syst 18:227–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zenetos A, Gofas S, Russo G, Templado J. 2004. CIESM Atlas of Exotic Species in the Mediterranean 3: Molluscs. Monaco: CIESM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ziderman I. 1990. Seashells and ancient purple dyeing. Biblical Archaeol 53:98–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to S. Kidwell, M. Kirby, H. Lenihan, S. Raicevich, and F. Ferretti for historical information, and to T. Romanuk for advice on food-web modelling. Financial support was provided by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis’ Long-term Marine Records working group, the Census of Marine Life’s FMAP project, and post-doctoral fellowships to M.C. from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology and the Marie-Curie International Outgoing Fellowships (IOF; Call: FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-1-IOF) to ECOFUN.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biology Department, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax, NS, B3H 4J1, Canada

    Heike K. Lotze & Marta Coll

  2. Institut de Ciencies del Mar (ICM-CSIC), Passeig maritim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

    Marta Coll

  3. Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87501, USA

    Jennifer A. Dunne

  4. Pacific Ecoinformatics and Computational Ecology Lab, 1604 McGee Avenue, Berkeley, California, 94703, USA

    Jennifer A. Dunne

Authors
  1. Heike K. Lotze
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marta Coll
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jennifer A. Dunne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Heike K. Lotze.

Additional information

Author Contributions

HKL and MC designed the study, performed the research, analyzed the data, contributed new methods or models, HKL, MC and JAD wrote the paper.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 772 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lotze, H.K., Coll, M. & Dunne, J.A. Historical Changes in Marine Resources, Food-web Structure and Ecosystem Functioning in the Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean. Ecosystems 14, 198–222 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-010-9404-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-010-9404-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation