Threats to marine biodiversity in European protected areas

Antonios D. Mazaris; Athanasios Kallimanis; Elena Gissi; Carlo Pipitone; Roberto Danovaro; Joachim Claudet; Gil Rilov; Fabio Badalamenti; Vanessa Stelzenmüller; Lauric Thiault; Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi; Paul Goriup; Stelios Katsanevakis; Simonetta Fraschetti

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.333

Threats to marine biodiversity in European protected areas

Antonios D. Mazaris, Athanasios Kallimanis, Elena Gissi, Carlo Pipitone, Roberto Danovaro, Joachim Claudet, Gil Rilov, Fabio Badalamenti, Vanessa Stelzenmüller, Lauric Thiault, Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi, Paul Goriup, Stelios Katsanevakis, Simonetta Fraschetti

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Marine protected areas (MPAs) represent the main tool for halting the loss of marine biodiversity. However, there is increasing evidence concerning their limited capacity to reduce or eliminate some threats even within their own boundaries. Here, we analysed a Europe-wide dataset comprising 31,579 threats recorded in 1692 sites of the European Union's Natura 2000 conservation network. Focusing specifically on threats related to marine species and habitats, we found that fishing and outdoor activities were the most widespread threats reported within MPA boundaries, although some spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of threats was apparent. Our results clearly demonstrate the need to reconsider current management plans, standardise monitoring approaches and reporting, refine present threat assessments and improve knowledge of their spatial patterns within and outside MPAs in order to improve conservation capacity and outcomes.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	418-426
Number of pages	9
Journal	Science of the Total Environment
Volume	677
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.333
State	Published - 10 Aug 2019
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This article is based upon work from COST Action 15121 ‘Advancing marine conservation in the European and contiguous seas’ [MarCons ( Katsanevakis et al., 2017 ); http://www.marcons-cost.eu ] - supported by COST ( European Cooperation in Science and Technology , CA15121 ).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier B.V.

Keywords

Conservation effectiveness
Conservation planning
Human-related activities
Protected areas network
Transboundary conservation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Environmental Engineering
Environmental Chemistry
Waste Management and Disposal
Pollution

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.333

Cite this

Mazaris, A. D., Kallimanis, A., Gissi, E., Pipitone, C., Danovaro, R., Claudet, J., Rilov, G., Badalamenti, F., Stelzenmüller, V., Thiault, L., Benedetti-Cecchi, L., Goriup, P., Katsanevakis, S., & Fraschetti, S. (2019). Threats to marine biodiversity in European protected areas. Science of the Total Environment, 677, 418-426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.333

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doi = "10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.333",

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AU - Kallimanis, Athanasios

AU - Gissi, Elena

AU - Pipitone, Carlo

AU - Danovaro, Roberto

AU - Claudet, Joachim

AU - Rilov, Gil

AU - Badalamenti, Fabio

AU - Stelzenmüller, Vanessa

AU - Thiault, Lauric

AU - Benedetti-Cecchi, Lisandro

AU - Goriup, Paul

AU - Katsanevakis, Stelios

AU - Fraschetti, Simonetta

N1 - Funding Information: This article is based upon work from COST Action 15121 ‘Advancing marine conservation in the European and contiguous seas’ [MarCons ( Katsanevakis et al., 2017 ); http://www.marcons-cost.eu ] - supported by COST ( European Cooperation in Science and Technology , CA15121 ). Publisher Copyright: © 2019 Elsevier B.V.

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Threats to marine biodiversity in European protected areas

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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