An ecological model of the Northern and Central Adriatic Sea.pdf

s 67 (2007) 119–154 /locate/jmarsysJournal of Marine SystemAn ecological model of the Northern and Central Adriatic Sea: Analysis of ecosystem structure and fishing impacts Marta Coll a,?, Alberto Santojanni b, Isabel Palomera a, Sergi Tudela c, Enrico Arneri b a Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM–CSIC), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, 37-49-08003 Barcelona, Spain b Istituto di Scienze Marine (CNR), Sede di Ancona, Largo Fiera della pesca, 2-60125 Ancona, Italy c WWF Mediterranean Programme Office, Canuda, 37, 08002, Barcelona, Spain Received 14 June 2006; received in revised form 25 September 2006; accepted 4 October 2006 Available online 20 November 2006Abstract A trophic mass-balance model was developed to characterise the food web structure and functioning of the Northern and Central Adriatic Sea and to quantify the ecosystem impacts of fishing during the 1990s. Forty functional groups were described, including target and non-target fish and invertebrate groups, and three detritus groups (natural detritus, discards and by-catch of cetaceans and marine turtles). Results highlighted that there was an important coupling between pelagic–benthic production of plankton, benthic invertebrates and detritus. Organisms located at low and medium trophic levels, (i.e. benthic invertebrates, zooplankton and anchovy), as well as dolphins, were identified as keystone groups of the ecosystem. Jellyfish were an important element in terms of consumption and production of trophic flows within the ecosystem. The analysis of trophic flows of zooplankton and detritus groups indirectly underlined the importance of the microbial food web in the Adriatic Sea. Fishing activities inflicted notable impacts on the ecosystem during the 1990s, with a high gross efficiency of the fishery, a high consumption of fishable production, high exploitation rates for various target and non target species, a low trophic level of the catch and medium values of primary production required to sustain the