Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T16:49:47.912Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Assessment of the ecological status of coastal areas and estuaries in France, using multiple fish-based indicators: a comparative analysis on the Vilaine estuary

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 February 2010

Anik Brind'Amour  and
Jérémy Lobry
Anik Brind'Amour
Affiliation:
IFREMER, Centre de Nantes, rue de l'île d'Yeu, BP 21105, 44311 Nantes Cedex 03, France
Jérémy Lobry
Affiliation:
IFREMER, Centre de Nantes, rue de l'île d'Yeu, BP 21105, 44311 Nantes Cedex 03, France
Get access

Abstract

When reviewing the various fish-based community indicators aiming at assessing the ecological status of marine communities and/or ecosystems, a typology consisting of three major components emerges. The first component highlights the choice of relevant metrics associated with a level of organization (e.g. population or community). The second relies on the method used to combine the metrics (an aggregated indicator or a synoptic table). The third refers to the type of analysis (direct or indirect) that is used to establish the link between the metrics and a given pressure. In this paper we use the Vilaine coastal-estuarine fish communities as a case study to discuss and relate two different approaches to the suggested typology. The first approach (time-trend approach) is based on historical series of data, whereas the second approach (multi-metric index, MMI) is based on a geographic series including various French estuaries. They were developed or adapted from French studies but are representative of the approaches used in Europe. When applied to the case study, they differed in their diagnosis: the time-trend approach indicated that the bay of Vilaine habitat was deteriorating, whereas the MMI, which compares many French estuaries, indicated a good environmental state. Differences and complementarities between the approaches are thoroughly discussed with respect to the three mains components of the typology. This work appears at a particular moment, when several fish-based indicators are being developed in France and the rest of Europe. It intends to serve as an element of the ongoing reflection concerning the limitations of the various approaches that can be used to develop such indicators.

Keywords

Coastal ecosystemsFish communitiesIndicatorsIntegrated approachesMetricTypology of fish indicators
Type
Research Article
Information
Aquatic Living Resources , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , October 2009 , pp. 559 - 572
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, IFREMER, IRD, 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adam S.M. (ed.), 2002, Biological indicators of aquatic system stress. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland.
Babcock, E.A., Pikitch, E.K., McAllister, M.K., Apostolaki, P., Santora, C., 2005, A perspective on the use of spatialized indicators for ecosystem-based fishery management through spatial zoning. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 62, 469–476. CrossRef
Baird, D., Ulanowicz, R.E., 1993, Comparative study of the trophic structure, cycling and ecosystem properties of four tidal estuaries. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 99, 221–237. CrossRef
Basset, A., Abbiati, M., 2004, Challenges to transitional water monitoring: ecological descriptors and scales. Aquat. Conserv. Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. 14, S1–S3. CrossRef
Borja, A., Franco, J., Perez, V., 2000, A marine biotic index to establish the ecological quality of soft-bottom benthos within European estuarine and coastal environments. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 40, 1100–1114. CrossRef
Borja, A., Franco, J., Valencia, V., Bald, J., Muxika, I., Belzunce, M.J., Solaun, O., 2004, Implementation of the European Water Framework Directive from the Basque country (Northern Spain): a methodological approach. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 48, 209–218. CrossRef
Borja, A., Ranasingheb, A., Weisberg, S.B., 2009, Assessing ecological integrity in marine waters, using multiple indices and ecosystem components: Challenges for the future. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 59, 1–4. CrossRef
Breine, J., Maes, J., Quataert, P., Van den Bergh, E., Simoens, I., Van Thuyne, G., Belpaire, C., 2007, A fish-based assessment tool for the ecological quality of the brackish Shelde estuary in Flanders (Belgium). Hydrobiologia 575, 141–159. CrossRef
Cairns, J., McCormick, P.V., Niederlehner, B.R., 1993, A proposed framework for developing indicators of ecosystem health. Hydrobiologia 263, 1-44. CrossRef
Cheung, W.W.L., Pitcher, T.J., Pauly, D., 2005, A fuzzy logic expert system to estimate intrinsic extinction vulnerabilities of marine fishes to fishing. Biol. Conserv. 124, 97–111. CrossRef
Clarke, K.R., Warwick, R.M., 1998, A taxonomic distinctness index and its statistisal properties. J. Appl. Ecol. 335, 523–531. CrossRef
Clarke, K.R., Warwick, R.M., 1999, The taxonomic distinctness measure of biodiversity: weighting of step lengths between hierarchical levels. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 184, 21–29. CrossRef
Clua, E., Beliaeff, B., Chauvet, C., David, G., Ferraris, J., Kronen, M., Kulbicki, M., Labrosse, P., Letourneur, Y., Pelletier, D., Thébaud, O., Léopold, M., 2005, Towards multidisciplinary indicator dashboards for coral reef fisheries management. Aquat. Living Resour. 18, 199-213. CrossRef
Coates, S., Waugh, A., Anwar, A., Robson, M., 2007, Efficacy of a multi-metric fish index as an analysis tool for the transitional fish component of the Water Framework Directive. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 55, 225–240. CrossRef
Costanza, R., d'Arge, R., de Groot, R., Farber, S., Grasso, M., Hannon, B., Limburg, K., Naeem, S., O'Neill, R.V., Paruelo, J., Raskin, R.G., Sutton, P., van den Belt, M., 1997, The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387, 253–260. CrossRef
Costanza, R., Mageau, M., 1999, What is a healthy ecosystem? Aquat. Ecol. 33, 105–115.
Courrat, A., Lobry, J., Nicolas, D., Laffargue, P., Amara, R., Lepage, M., Girradin, M., Le Pape, O., 2009, Anthropogenic disturbance on nursery function of estuarine areas for marine species. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 81, 179–190. CrossRef
Cury, P., Christensen, V., 2005, Quantitative ecosystem indicators for fisheries management. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 62, 307–310. CrossRef
Deegan, L.A., Finn, J.T., Ayvazian, S.G., Ryder-Kieffer, C.A., Buonaccorsi, J., 1997, Development and validation of an estuarine biotic integrity index. Estuaries 20, 601–617. CrossRef
Désaunay, Y., Gue'rault, D., Le Pape, O., Poulard, J.-C., 2006, Changes in occurrence and abundance of northern/southern flatfishes over a 20-year period in a coastal nursery area (Bay of Vilaine) and on the eastern continental shelf of the Bay of Biscay. Scient. Mar. 70 (Suppl. 1), 193–200. CrossRef
Dorel, D., Koutsikopoulos, C., Désaunay, Y., Marchand, J., 1991, Seasonal distribution of youg sole (Solea solea L.) in the nursery ground of the bay of Vilaine (Northern Bay of Biscay). Neth. J. Sea Res. 27, 297–306. CrossRef
Elliott, M., Dewailly, F., 1995, The structure and components of European estuarine fish assemblages. Neth. J. Aquat. Ecol. 29, 397–419. CrossRef
Elliott, M., Quintino, V., 2007, The Estuarine quality paradox, environmental homeostasis and the difficulty of detecting anthropogenic stress in naturally stressed areas. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 54, 640–645. CrossRef
Elliott, M., Whitfield, A.K., Potter, I.C., Blaber, S.J.M., Cyrus, D.P., Nordlie, F.G., Harrison, T.D., 2007, The guild approach to categorizing estuarine fish assemblages: a global review. Fish Fish. 8, 241–268. CrossRef
EEA, 1999, State and Pressures of the Marine and Coastal Mediterranean Environment. Environmental Assessment Series. European Environment Agency, Copenhagen.
EU, 2000, Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy. Official Journal of the European Communities L327, pp. 1–72.
Fletcher R., Chesson J., Fisher M., Sainsbury K., Hundloe T., Smith T., Whitworth B., 2002, National ESD reporting framework for Australian fisheries: the “how to” guide for wild capture fisheries. Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. Canberra, FRDC Project 2000/145.
Forget, J., Beliaeff, B., Bocquené, G., 2003, Acetylcholinesterase activity in copepods from the Vilaine River estuary, France, as a biomarker of neurotoxic contaminants. Aquat. Toxicol. 62, 195–204. CrossRef
Gili, J.-M., 2002, Towards a transitory or ephemeral key habitat concept. Trends Ecol. Evol. 17, 453. CrossRef
Gilliers, C., Le Pape, O., Desaunay, Y, Morin, J., Guérault, D., Amara, R., 2006, Are growth and density quantitative indicators of essential fish habitat quality? An application to the common sole Solea solea nursery grounds. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 69, 96–106. CrossRef
Greenstreet S.P.R., Rogers S.I., 2006, Indicators of the health of the fish community of the North Sea: identifying reference levels for an ecosystem approach to management. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 63, 573–593.
Guillaud, J.-F., Aminot, A., Delmas, D., Gohin, F., Lunven, M., Labry, C., Herbland, A., 2008, Seasonal variation of riverine nutrient inputs in the northern Bay of Biscay (France), and patterns of marine phytoplankton response. J. Mar. Syst. 72, 309–319. CrossRef
Harrison, T.D., Whitfield, A.K., 2004, A multi-metric fish index to assess the environmental condition of estuaries. J. Fish Biol. 65, 683–710. CrossRef
Harrison, T.D., Whitfield, A.K., 2006, Application of a multimetric fish index to assess the environmental condition of South African estuaries. Estuar. Coasts 29, 1108–1120. CrossRef
Hénocque Y., Denis J. (Eds), 2001, A Methodological Guide: Steps and Tools Towards Integrated Coastal Area management. Manuals and Guides 42. Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, Paris.
Henriques, S., Pais, M.P., Costa, M.J., Cabral, H., 2008, Development of a fish-based multimetric index to assess the ecological quality of marine habitats: the marine fish community index. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 56, 1913–1934. CrossRef
Hosack, G.R., Hayes, K.R., Dambacher, J.M., 2008, Assessing model structure uncertainty through an analysis of system feedback and Bayesian networks. Ecol. Appl. 18, 1070–1082. CrossRef
Hughes, R.M., Kaufmann, P.R., Herlihy, A.T., Kincaid, T.M., Reynolds, L., Larsen, D.P., 1998, A process for developing and evaluating indices of fish assemblage integrity. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 55, 1618–1631. CrossRef
ISRS, 2004, Sustainable fisheries management in coral reef ecosystems, International Society for Reef Studies, pp. 14–27.
Karr, J.R., 1981, Assessment of biotic integrity using fish communities. Fisheries 6, 21–27. 2.0.CO;2>CrossRef
Le Pape, O., Holley, J., Guérault, D., Désaunay, Y., 2003, Quality of coastal and estuarine essential fish habitats: estimations based on the size of juvenile common sole (Solea solea L.). Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 58, 793–803. CrossRef
Léauté J.-P., 2006, Les flottilles de pêche dans la mer territoriale du golfe de Gascogne. In : Chaussade J., Guillaume J. (eds.) Pêche et Aquaculture - Pour une exploitation durable des ressources vivantes de la mer et du littoral. Presses Universitaires de Rennes, pp. 337–352.
Link, J.S., 2005, Translating ecosystem indicators into decision criteria. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 62, 569–576. CrossRef
Lobry, J., Mourand, L., Rochard, E., Elie, P., 2003, Structure of the Gironde estuarine fish assemblages: a comparison of European estuaries perspective. Aquat. Living Resour. 16, 47–58. CrossRef
McLusky D.S., Elliott M., 2007, The estuarine ecosystem: ecology, threats and management, Third edition. Oxford University Press Inc.
Mercado-Silva, N., Lyons, J., Salgado-Maldonado, G., Medina-Nava, M., 2002, Validation of a fish-based index of biotic integrity for the streams and rivers of central Mexico. Rev. Fish Biol. Fish. 12, 179–191. CrossRef
Methratta, E.T., Link, J.S., 2006, Evaluation of quantitative indicators for marine fish communities. Ecol. Indic. 6, 575–588. CrossRef
Mouillot, D., Spatharis, S., Reizopoulou, S., Laugier, T., Sabetta, L., Basset, A., Do Chi, T., 2006, Alternatives to taxonomic-based approaches to assess changes in transitional water communities. Aquat. Conserv. Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. 16, 469–482. CrossRef
Neuheimer, A.B., Taggart, C.T., 2007, The growing degree-day and fish size-at-age: the overlooked metric. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 64, 375–385. CrossRef
Rice, J., 2003, Environmental health indicators. Ocean Coast. Manage. 46, 235–259. CrossRef
Rochet, M.-J., Whitfiel, A.K., Potte, I.C., Blabe, S.J.M., Cyrus, D.P., Nordlie, F.G., Harrison, T.D., 2005, Combining indicator trends to assess ongoing changes in exploited fish communities: diagnostic of communities off the coasts of France. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 62, 1647–1664. CrossRef
Rochet, M.-J., Trenkel, V.M., 2003, Which community indicators can measure the impact of fishing? A review and proposals. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 60, 86–99. CrossRef
Roset, N., Grenouillet, G., Goffaux, D., Pont, D., Kestemont, P., 2007, A review of existing fish assemblage indicators and methodologies. Fish. Manage. Ecol. 14, 393–405. CrossRef
Shin, Y.J., Rochet, M.J., Jennings, S., Field, J.G., H. Gislason, H., 2005, Using size-based indicators to evaluate the ecosystem effects of fishing. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 62, 384–396. CrossRef
Thiel, R., Sepulveda, A., Kafemann, R., Nellen, W., 1995, Environmental factors as forces structuring the fish community of the Elbe Estuary. J. Fish Biol. 46, 47–69. CrossRef
Wasson J.G., Villeneuve B., Mengin N., Pella H., Chandesris A., 2005, Modèles pressions / impacts. Approche méthodologique, modèles d'extrapolation spatiale et modèles de diagnostic de l'état écologique basés sur les invertébrés en rivière (IBGN, Indice biologique global normalisé). Rapp. Cemagref Lyon BEA/LHQ, Lyon.
Whitfield, A.K., Elliott, M., 2002, Fishes as indicators of environmental and ecological changes within estuaries: a review of progress and some suggestions for the future. J. Fish Biol. 61, 229–250. CrossRef