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Cumulative impacts from multiple human activities on seagrass meadows in eastern Mediterranean waters: the case of Saronikos Gulf (Aegean Sea, Greece)

  • Protection and Restoration of the Environment
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Abstract

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) addresses the fundamental need to account for cumulative impacts of human activities with the aim of sustainably delivering ecosystem services. The Saronikos Gulf, a large embayment of the Aegean Sea, provides a wide range of ecosystem services that are impacted by multiple human activities, deriving from the metropolitan area of Athens (situated at the northeast part of the Gulf). The anthropogenic impacts affect the status of several marine ecosystem components, e.g., seagrass meadows. Cymodocea nodosa meadows are only present at the most confined western part of the Gulf, whereas Posidonia oceanica meadows are mainly distributed in the inner and outer part of the Gulf. The aim of this study is to assess the cumulative impacts from multiple human activities on the seagrass meadows in the Gulf. The main results indicated that most impacted meadows are P. oceanica in the inner part of the Gulf, adjacent to the most urbanized coastal areas, and near port infrastructures. Land-based pollution, as well as physical damage and loss seem to be the main pressures exerted on the meadows. Understanding cumulative impacts is crucial for informing policy decisions under an EBM approach.

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Funding

This research was funded by the Marine Environmental targets linked to Regional Management schemes based on Indicators Developed for the Mediterranean (MERMAID) project (ERANET 12SEAS-12-C1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, PO BOX 712, 19013, Anavyssos, Greece

    Maren Myrto Brodersen, Maria Pantazi, Athina Kokkali, Irida Maina, Stefanos Kavadas & Vassiliki Vassilopoulou

  2. Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Oceanography, PO BOX 712, 19013, Anavyssos, Greece

    Panayotis Panayotidis, Vasilis Gerakaris & Helen Kaberi

Authors
  1. Maren Myrto Brodersen
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  2. Maria Pantazi
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  3. Athina Kokkali
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  4. Panayotis Panayotidis
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  9. Vassiliki Vassilopoulou
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Correspondence to Maren Myrto Brodersen.

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Brodersen, M.M., Pantazi, M., Kokkali, A. et al. Cumulative impacts from multiple human activities on seagrass meadows in eastern Mediterranean waters: the case of Saronikos Gulf (Aegean Sea, Greece). Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 26809–26822 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0848-7

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