@article{puts_insights_2020,

title = {Insights on integrating habitat preferences in process-oriented ecological models \textendash a case study of the southern North Sea},

author = {M. P\"{u}ts and M. Taylor and I. N\'{u}\~{n}ez-Riboni and J. Steenbeek and M. St\"{a}bler and C. M\"{o}llmann and A. Kempf},

url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030438002030260X},

doi = {10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109189},

issn = {0304-3800},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-01-01},

urldate = {2020-06-30},

journal = {Ecological Modelling},

volume = {431},

pages = {109189},

abstract = {One of the most applied tools to create ecosystem models to support management decisions in the light of ecosystem-based fisheries management is Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE). Recently, its spatial routine Ecospace has evolved due to the addition of the Habitat Foraging Capacity Model (HFCM), a spatial-temporal dynamic niche model to drive the foraging capacity to distribute biomass over model grid cells. The HFCM allows for continuous implementation of externally derived habitat preference maps based on single species distribution models. So far, guidelines are lacking on how to best define habitat preferences for inclusion in process-oriented trophic modeling studies. As one of the first studies, we applied the newest Ecospace development to an existing EwE model of the southern North Sea with the aim to identify which definition of habitat preference leads to the best model fit. Another key aim of our study was to test for the sensitivity of implementing externally derived habitat preference maps within Ecospace to different time-scales (seasonal, yearly, multi-year, and static). For this purpose, generalized additive models (GAM) were fit to scientific survey data using either presence/absence or abundance as differing criteria of habitat preference. Our results show that Ecospace runs using habitat preference maps based on presence/absence data compared best to empirical data. The optimal time-scale for habitat updating differed for biomass and catch, but implementing variable habitats was generally superior to a static habitat representation. Our study hence highlights the importance of a sigmoidal representation of habitat (e.g. presence/absence) and variable habitat preferences (e.g. multi-year) when combining species distribution models with an ecosystem model. It demonstrates that the interpretation of habitat preference can have a major influence on the model fit and outcome.},

keywords = {Ecopath with Ecosim, Ecospace, food web, GIS, local study, niches, North Sea, species distributions},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{christensen_representing_2014,

title = {Representing Variable Habitat Quality in a Spatial Food Web Model},

author = {V. Christensen and M. Coll and J. Steenbeek and J. Buszowski and D. Chagaris and C. J. Walters},

url = {http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10021-014-9803-3},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-014-9803-3},

issn = {1432-9840, 1435-0629},

year  = {2014},

date = {2014-01-01},

urldate = {2014-01-01},

journal = {Ecosystems},

volume = {17},

number = {8},

pages = {1397--1412},

abstract = {Why are marine species where they are? The scientific community is faced with an urgent need to understand aquatic ecosystem dynamics in the context of global change. This requires development of scientific tools with the capability to predict how biodiversity, natural resources, and ecosystem services will change in response to stressors such as climate change and further expansion of fishing. Species distribution models and ecosystem models are two methodologies that are being developed to further this understanding. To date, these methodologies offer limited capabilities to work jointly to produce integrated assessments that take both food web dynamics and spatial-temporal environmental variability into account. We here present a new habitat capacity model as an implementation of the spatial-temporal model Ecospace of the Ecopath with Ecosim approach. The new model offers the ability to drive foraging capacity of species from the cumulative impacts of multiple physical, oceanographic, and environmental factors such as depth, bottom type, temperature, salinity, oxygen concentrations, and so on. We use a simulation modeling procedure to evaluate sampling characteristics of the new habitat capacity model. This development bridges the gap between envelope environmental models and classic ecosystem food web models, progressing toward the ability to predict changes in marine ecosystems under scenarios of global change and explicitly taking food web direct and indirect interactions into account.},

note = {00000},

keywords = {Ecospace, food web, habitat modeling, species distributions},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{pennino_current_2020b,

title = {Current and Future Influence of Environmental Factors on Small Pelagic Fish Distributions in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea},

author = {M. Grazia Pennino and M. Coll and M. Albo-Puigserver and E. Fern\'{a}ndez-Corredor and J. Steenbeek and A. Gir\'{a}ldez and M. Gonz\'{a}lez and A. Esteban and J. M. Bellido},

url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00622/full?\&utm_source=Email_to_authors_\&utm_medium=Email\&utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author\&utm_campaign=Email_publication\&field=\&journalName=Frontiers_in_Marine_Science\&id=566340},

doi = {10.3389/fmars.2020.00622},

isbn = {2296-7745},

journal = {Frontiers of Marine Science},

volume = {7},

pages = {662},

abstract = {In the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea, the European sardine (Sardina pilchardus) and the European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) are the most important small pelagic fish in terms of biomass and commercial interest. During the last years, these species have experimented changes in their abundance and biomass trends in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea, in addition to changes in growth, reproduction and body condition. These species are particularly sensitive to environmental fluctuations with possible cascading effects as they play a key role in connecting the lower and upper trophic levels of marine food webs. It is therefore essential to understand the factors that most profoundly affect sardine and anchovy dynamics. This study used a two-step approach to understand how the environment influences the adult stages of these species in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea. First, we explored the effects of environmental change over time using Random Forests and available datasets of species occurrence, abundance, biomass and landings. We then applied species distribution models to test the impact of the extreme pessimistic and optimistic Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) pathway scenarios, and to identify possible climate refuges: areas where these species may be able to persist under future environmental change. Findings from the temporal modelling showed mixed effects between environmental variables and for anchovy and sardine datasets. Future pathway projections highlight that both anchovy and sardine will undergo a reduction in their spatial distributions due to future climate conditions. The future climate refuges are the waters around the Rhone River (France) and the Ebro River (Spain) for both species. This study also highlights important knowledge gaps in our understanding of the dynamics of small pelagic fish in the region, which is needed to progress towards an ecosystem approach to fisheries management.},

keywords = {climate change impacts, climate refuges, futures scenarios, NW Mediterranean, regional study, small pelagic fish, species distributions},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}