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- Final Programme

List of Abstracts (including papers suggested by the speakers)

HISTORICAL LOSS AND RECOVERY PROSPECTS OF MEDITERRANEAN COASTAL MARINE HABITATS

Laura Airoldi, Dipartimento di Biologia Evoluzionistica Sperimentale and Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca per le Scienze Ambientali in Ravenna, University of Bologna, Italy
I will present the results of an extensive work of review of available information on estimates of the historical loss of temperate marine habitats that I am doing in collaboration with a multinational research team lead by The Nature Concervancy, USA. First I will focus on the sources of data, interpretation and data handling/analysis. Then results on the distributions and status of Mediterranean and Black sea coastal habitats will be presented. Conspicuous declines of coastal wetlands, seagrasses, biogenic reefs, and complex macroalgae have been observed in several countries. In some regions, most valuable habitats were already severely degraded or driven to virtual extinction well before 1900. Nowadays less than 15% of the coastline is considered in "good" condition. Those fragments of native habitats that remain are under threat, and most current policy and management decisions continue to lead to the functional extinction of these ecosystems. I also discuss recovery prospects for some of these habitats and possible solutions in conservation, habitat restoration, and fishery management that could reverse these losses.

SUGGESTED READINGS: Airoldi1; Airoldi2

FROM THE GLOBAL TO THE REGIONAL WARMING: THE MEDITERRANEAN CASE FROM OBSERVATIONS OF THE LAST CENTURIES

Vincenzo Artale1, Salvatore Marullo1, Rosalia Santoleri2, 1 Enea, Casaccia, Rome, Italy; 2 Cnr, Rome, Italy
The Mediterranean Sea is a mid-latitude semi-enclosed marginal sea with a maximum depth of over 4000 meters that directly experiences the influence of North Atlantic atmospheric perturbations. In fact the strong air-sea interaction make this basin an evaporative basin that exchanges water with the Atlantic Ocean through the shallow and narrow Strait of Gibraltar. The Mediterranean may give a contribution to the global thermohaline ocean circulation through its exchange of water at intermediate depth with the North Atlantic. The Mediterranean Sea for its own characteristic can be considered as a hot spot basin. Experimental data spanning several decades show that the circulation of the Mediterranean Sea and the processes of water mass formation that it hosts are subject to pronounced variability and change. The Eastern Mediterranean Transient (EMT), which was detected in the 90s constitutes a direct observational evidence of such variability. From in-situ data provided by the MEDAR/MEDATLAS data-base was observed trends in the interior of the basin as in the Mediterranean outflow in the gulf of Cadiz. Recent data analysis within the Strait of Gibraltar and in particular at Camarinal Sill South, point out an anomaly warming and salinification, from the early 2000s to today, corresponding to ~0.3 °C and to ~0.06 respectively. However, during the twentieth century also the Mediterranean basin has warmed quite significantly in the deep waters as well as in the surface layer. We also discuss the annual sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) during the last 150 years that can be estimated using several datasets. An important characteristic of this mode of SST variability is that the SST anomalies have the same sign across the entire North Atlantic and resemble the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). As a future follow-up of these studies the role of the Mediterranean Sea on nearby and remote regions will be investigated in the context of present and future climate.

SUGGESTED READINGS: Artale1; Artale2

ROMAN FISHING TECHNOLOGY IN CONTEXT

Tønnes Bekker-Nielsen, University of Southern Denmark, Kolding, Denmark
Twentieth-century overfishing has largely been due to the unrestricted application of efficient new fishing technologies. There is good reason to believe that from the turn of our era onwards, the Mediterranean witnessed an increased exploitation of marine resources, even overfishing. The fishing technology itself had not undergone significant changes; rather, the increase in harvesting was driven by developments in other fields, e.g., fish preservation, processing and possibly marketing. The paper will explore the interplay of these and factors such as legal and taxation regimes, demographic trends and changing consumer preferences in the first to sixth centuries AD and their potential impact on Mediterranean fish stocks.

SUGGESTED READINGS: Bekker-Nielsen1; Bekker-Nielsen2; Bekker-Nielsen3; Bekker-Nielsen4; Bekker-Nielsen5.

ECOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA: THE CASE-STUDY OF THE ADRIATIC

Ferdinando Boero, DiSTeBA (Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche e Ambientali) University of Salento, Italy
The distribution of organisms is explained by two main models. The ecological one postulates that species are present where their life requirements are met, whereas the historical one envisages in past events (e.g. geological or climatic changes) the main drivers for organism distribution. Both models concur in explaining the observed patterns. The Mediterranean Sea is going through a deep biological change, with phenomena termed as meridionalization and tropicalization. The Adriatic Sea, in the last thirty years, underwent deep modifications that are at least partly independent from these phenomena. Frome a phase with abundant fish populations, the Adriatic biota shifted to periods with the prevalence of jellyfish, of dinoflagellates (red tides) and bacteria (mucilages), with an original history of great change. The Northern Adriatic, furthermore, hosts a contingent of endemic species of cold water affinity, probably affected by global change.

SUGGESTED READINGS: Boero1; Boero2; Boero3; Boero4; Boero5.

THE MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE OVER THE LAST MILLENNIUM. A DISCUSSION ABOUT METHODOLOGIES, RESULTS AND THE SUBMERSION OF VENICE AS A CASE STUDY

Dario Camuffo, CNR-ISAC, Padova, Italy
Aim of this lecture is to present the state-of-the-art about or knowledge of the climate and landscape change in the Mediterranean Basin over the last Millennium. The main sources of information are written documents, some pictorial evidence, tree rings and, finally, instrumental observations for the most recent period, i.e. after the invention of the meteorological instruments and the first meteorological Network (1657-1670) established by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinand II. A short history is made about the proxy and instrumental sources, commenting indexing, observational methodologies, instruments evolution, uncertainties and achievements. The present-day warming is observed in the complex framework of the profound transformation that has affected atmosphere, landscape and society. Moreover, global warming means sea level rise and submersion of coastal areas. The problem becomes dramatic when a city is based in a coastal area and in addition land subsidence accelerates sinking. Venice is a unique case study for the precise documentation going back for centuries, e.g. tide gauge since 1873, written documents covering 1200 years, and for the fortunate visual information provided by Paolo Veronese in 1571, Antonio Canaletto and Bernardo Bellotto (paintings 1723-1770) who provided photographic views with the help of a “camera obscura”. Fortunately, these objective views include a biological indicator of the average high-tide level: the green belt of algae on the building façades. A comparison with the today algae level on the same buildings permits to establish the relative sea level rise over the last 500 years.

SUGGESTED READINGS: Camuffo1; Camuffo2; Camuffo3.

THE KNOWN AND UNKNOWN OF MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY AND ECOSYSTEMS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEA, SINCE THE BYZANTINE UNTIL EARLY MODERN PERIODS

Ruthy Gertwagen, HMAP Mediterranean and the Black Sea Project coordinator and Teams leader, University of Haifa, Israel
The study of marine environmental history of the Mediterranean and Black Sea since the Byzantine until Early Modern period is a new field. It has been dealt with mainly from historic, archaeologist and a bit of zoo-archaeologist points of view. Even though the information is very fragmental in terms of periods and geographically. The lecture has several aims: 1. to review what is known of the ecosystems, according to the diversified historic, archaeological and zoo-archaeological information 2. to review what is known about fishing, fishing ‘industry’ and trade in those periods 3. to review what might be other human or natural (i.e. climate) effects on coastal/marine ecosystems in those periods. These issues will be treated while comparing between the two basins of the Mediterranean, by comparing between its northern and southern shores and between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Furthermore, since there is more solid information on the Roman period, this period will also be used as a base of comparison, to pinpoint changes or continuation. To sum up the lecture, the crucial question to be dealt with is: due to the multidisciplinary approach presented by this lecture, one should ask what use could the historian/archaeologist find in collaboration with an ecologist, environmentalist and with climatologist in order to reconstruct long-term changes in marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. This question includes now the “language” issue that is in the core of the summerschool.

SUGGESTED READINGS: Gertwagen; Gertwagen Bibliography.

RECONSTRUCTING AND UNDERSTANDING THE PAST EVOLUTION OF THE BIOGEOCHEMISTRY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA: POTENTIALITIES AND CRITICALITIES OF THE NUMERICAL APPROACHES

Paolo Lazzari, Simone Libralato, Donata Melaku Canu, Cosimo Solidoro, Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale – OGS, Sgonico (TS), Italy
Quantitative tools are increasingly used in analyses of biogeochemical and ecological properties of natural marine systems. In particular numerical models can contribute to reconstruct and understand present, past and future dynamics of ecosystems. This talk describes the state of the art of numerical models developed to simulate biogeochemical fluxes regarding the transformation of energy and matter in marine ecosystems. Different temporal and spatial scales, ranging from decadal to daily ones and from global to local, characterize models presented. The discussion will highlight that the capability of such mathematical models to reconstruct past scenarios is strictly related to the availability of: A) data needed to calibrate the model internal parameters and to validate the system dynamics over time; B) historical data, regarding state variables in the model (e.g. density of marine population); and C) information on environmental factors (e.g. meteorological forcing) driving system evolution. Potentialities of such numerical tools will be discussed as well.

SUGGESTED READINGS: Introduction to Modelling

APPLICATIONS OF HISTORICAL DATA FOR UNDERSTANDING LONG-TERM DYNAMICS OF MARINE POPULATIONS AND ECOSYSTEMS

Brian MacKenzie, DTU Aqua, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
The lecture will illustrate and emphasize how various kinds of historical data can be used to understand population dynamics and foodweb processes in marine ecosystems. Data sources and some applications will include written data (e. g., commercial catch and effort data, research surveys, tax accounts, export records, maps), archaeological data and paleographic data. The lecture will address the following topics: - brief discussion of the current state of fish populations on a global basis and how humans are impacting marine ecosystems; - data sources that can be used in historical marine ecological research and their advantages and limitations; - understanding and interpreting fishery data (e. g., landings, abundances) - applications of historical data in selected case studies to explore effects of humans and natural environmental variability on fish populations. One of these case studies will focus on bluefin tuna in the entire northeast Atlantic-Mediterranean-Black Sea region.

SUGGESTED READINGS: MacKenzie1; MacKenzie2; MacKenzie3 MacKenzie4; MacKenzie5; MacKenzie6; MacKenzie7.

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO FISHERIES MANAGEMENT IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEA

Matthew Camilleri, International Institutions and Liaison Service, Fisheries and Aquaculture Economics and Policy Division, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Rome, Italy
The particular characteristics of Mediterranean ecosystems in conjunction with multi-species and multi-gear fisheries operating in the Region present intricate scenarios which add complexity to the implementation of regional fisheries management schemes. Nonetheless, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean strives to conserve the ecosystem and control the impact of fisheries on living resources, with the ultimate goal of ensuring sustainable exploitation of fish stocks on which the livelihood of fishers and other stakeholders depends. The GFCM’s fisheries management strategy is essentially based on fishing effort control systems accompanied by other technical measures, whereby effort is managed by categories of vessels or Operational Units. Within the framework of the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries, data and information underpin all stages in the management process including formulating policy, developing management plans, evaluating progress and updating policy and plans to provide for continuous improvement (FAO, 2003). In this context, the GFCM has established a multidisciplinary regional data collection scheme, TASK 1, through which information is compiled by Geographical Sub-Area, fleet segments and Operational Units. This information is used both as an input to the management advisory process as well as in the management decision phase to determine precise limitations on fishing activities and to forecast the effects of such measures on the fisheries ecosystem and fishing industry.

ZOO-MS: ZOOARCHAEOLOGY BY MASS SPECTROMETRY, COLLAGEN AS A MOLECULAR FINGERPRINT FOR FISH REMAINS?

Matthew Collins1, Jen Harland1, Mike Buckley1 and Andrew Jones2, 1 BioArCh, S Block, Departments of Archaeology and Biology, University of York, UK; 2 York Archaeological Trust, York, UK
Zooarchaeology (or Archaeozoology) is the study of preserved animal remains (bones/shells) from archaeological sites. These remains represent food waste or other uses of the animals on the site, and are used to help understand past economies and subsistence strategies. In addition changes in faunal diversity offer glimpses into changing environmental conditions. Unfortunately, many of the animal remains on a site are fragmented and/or lack diagnostic features. Molecular data is increasingly being used in zooarchaeological research and can identify these remains by directly sequencing molecules which persist in the samples. Much attention has been focused on DNA. DNA fingerprinting uses enzymes to cut DNA at specific sites, revealing differences in sequence as differences in mass, however DNA degrades rapidly and more costly analyses are required to identify ancient samples. ZooMS (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry) works in the same way as DNA fingerprinting, but uses a protein - bone collagen. ZooMS works by cutting the collagen into a series of peptides and uses the differences between peptide masses, measured by mass spectrometry to identify fish species. Unlike DNA, which is present often in vanishingly small quantities, and can easily be contaminated, collagen is the major constituent of bone or fish scale. There is no need to amplify the signal and the masses can be measured at a rate of one sample every few seconds. We propose this approach for use in the identification of archaeological fish bones and scales.

SUGGESTED READINGS: Collins1; Collins2; Collins3; Collins4; Collins5; Collins6; Collins7.

THE USE OF LOCAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE TO RECONSTRUCT THE HISTORY OF MARINE ANIMAL POPULATIONS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA. POTENTIAL AND LIMITATIONS

Saša Raicevich, Tomaso Fortibuoni, Gianluca Franceschini, Igor Celic, Otello Giovanardi, Istituto Superiore per la Ricerca e la Protezione Ambientale (ISPRA), Chioggia (Venice), Italy
Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) is an emerging tool in the study of recent trends of marine animal populations. In particular fishermen are deemed to be the repository of large amount of valuable information regarding both specie’s ecology and fluctuations in time and space, and the development of fishing activities, including changes in technical features and yields over time. The availability of these data is fundamental when comparing the present status of marine resources to their previous occurrence. In this lecture, the theoretical basis and practical approach to be applied when collecting and analysing LEK will be introduced and discussed basing on recent literature. Particular attention will be also paid to data analysis and their integration with fishery dependent and fishery independent data. The application of this approach in the Mediterranean Sea and the early findings of a preliminary field study carried out in this area will be also discussed.

SUGGESTED READINGS: Raic1; Raic2; Raic3.

MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA AND ITS CONTRIBUTE TO UNDERSTAND CHANGES IN SEASCAPE AND MARINE BIODIVERSITY

Francesco Tiboni, APG University of Leicester, UK
Underwater and marine archaeology can be considered one of the most important way to understand and analyze the evolution of the relationship between man and sea in ancient time. In fact, the analysis of all the different human activities connected with the sea, as for instance fishing, sea-trade of raw materials and goods or sea explorations, allows us to clearly recognize the effect these activities had on seascape and coastal landscape. The analysis of the different archaeological sciences used in underwater studies could be a good starting point to better understand how and when it could be possible to put in light the different human interferences on natural seascape, in our case fishing. The investigation of the sea and coastal exploitation, particularly in the Western Mediterranean area between prehistory and Roman era, could permit us to stress our attention on changes linked to fishing: fishing techniques and boats, fish preservation, processing and trade. Can we notice successive evolvements or there are too many gaps to talk linearly in terms of archaeological evidence?

LUXURY FROM THE SEA: PURPLE PRODUCTION IN ANTIQUITY

Carmen Alfaro Giner, University of Valencia Department of Ancient History, Spain
Just as it is today, colour was also one of the most important aspects of dress in Antiquity. A wide range of hues was provided by colourings of various origins: mineral, vegetable and animal. I am going to talk about the marine gastropods that for many centuries supplied the most spectacular splendour, the most sought-after iridescences. To achieve the luxury of the complex clothes of the Imperial Court of the Lower Roman Empire, for example, or for colour to become one of the most distinctive features of a social class seeking to attain social prominence, the development of an enormous set of experiences and knowledge was required. From the Late Bronze Age tradition and technological progress combined in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea to reach the sublime heights of the harnessing of this major marine resource. Traditional knowledge gradually evolved into a broad array of techniques linked to each other by a common purpose: the development of purple dye production, a phenomenon that constituted one of the biggest businesses of Antiquity. Beginning with classicism and early Hellenism, Greece furnished careful descriptions of the life and forms of exploitation of the animals that produce the purple liquid. The works of Aristotle as a biologist (Historia Animalium, PA, GA) laid the scientific foundations for subsequent additions to this information. Pliny the Elder was one of the foremost continuators of this work and he also tells us about the dye production systems. The practical methods of capture depending on the different types of sea bed and the hard work of extracting the colouring liquid from the animals that produced it in these parts (Hexaplex trunculus, Bolinus brandaris and Purpura haemastoma) are a complex, but thrilling chapter of this story. To this must be added the enormous amount of information Antiquity has left to us about fishing rights (through Greek epigraphy and especially the laws in the different Codes of the Lower Empire), about the control of fishing (Notitia Dignitatum), about how the various industrial and commercial activities were carried out and what they were worth, about the value of purple-dyed garments and about the social value of such items.

SUGGESTED READINGS: Alfaro1; Alfaro2; Alfaro3.

MEDITERRANEAN ECOSYSTEMS, SHIFTING BASELINES AND DATABASES

Kostas Stergiou, University of Thessaloniki, Greece
There are many pictorial and written descriptions of various aspects of marine life and biodiversity, fishes, fishing methods, and the life of fishers (e.g. frescos, scripts of ‘classic’ writers, such as Homer, Aristotle, Oppianos). A good example is the fresco known as the Little fisher from Santorini, from which one can reconstruct the length frequency of the fishes that are hold by the fisher. All such pictorial and written sources together with various archaeological findings are of high scientific value for establishing ‘baselines’ and reconstructing the history of marine animal populations. However, for such diverse ‘seemingly irrelevant’ pieces of information to be really useful there must be an interactive framework which will fully embody it and provide the basis for comparative analysis. One such framework is FishBase (www.fishbase.org) for fishes. FishBase is a modern ecological tool of multiple uses (e.g., education, research, source, informing and sensitizing the public) that can be used to answer high-order scientific questions. FishBase can be used for storing historical maximum lengths, weight, and age, and length frequencies reconstructed from frescoes, other written sources and archaeological remains as well as those that have been collected routinely in the last centuries. This information can then be used to identify trends in these main biological characteristics that will be very useful for the conservation of marine populations. The same principle can be extended to other databases such as SeaLifeBase (www.sealifebase.org) which covers and non-fish marine organisms.

SUGGESTED READINGS: Kostas1; Kostas2; Kostas3; Kostas4; Kostas5; Kostas6; Kostas7; Kostas8.