Correction to: Scientific Reports https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-52250-1, published online 01 Novenber 2019 The original version of this Article contained errors in the Abstract. "Sponge biomass surfaces created from research survey data using both random forest modeling and a gridded surface revealed 231,140 t of sponges in the area. About 65% of that biomass was protected by current fisheries closures." now reads: "Sponge biomass surface created from research survey data using random forest modeling revealed 231,136 t of sponges in the area. About 42% of that biomass was protected by current fisheries closures." This error has now been corrected in the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.
ABSTRACT Deep-sea sponge grounds are vulnerable marine ecosystems, which through their benthic-pelagic coupling of nutrients, are of functional relevance to the deep-sea realm. The impact of fishing bycatch is here evaluated for the first time at a bathyal, sponge-dominated ecosystem in the high seas managed by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization. Sponge biomass surfaces created from research survey data using both random forest modeling and a gridded surface revealed 231,140 t of sponges in the area. About 65% of that biomass was protected by current fisheries closures. However, projections of trawling tracks estimated that the sponge biomass within them would be wiped out in just 1 year by the current level of fishing activity if directed on the sponges. Because these sponges filter 56,143 ± 15,047 million litres of seawater daily, consume 63.11 ± 11.83 t of organic carbon through respiration, and affect the turnover of several nitrogen nutrients, their removal would likely affect the delicate ecological equilibrium of the deep-sea benthic ecosystem. We estimated that, on Flemish Cap, the economic value associated with seawater filtration by the sponges is nearly double the market value of the fish catch. Hence, fishery closures are essential to reach sponge conservation goals as economic drivers cannot be relied upon. ; DATA AVAILABILITY: The authors confirm that all data underlying the findings are fully available without restriction. Data from Canadian research vessel surveys are deposited in the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) at http://obiscanada.marinebiodiversity.ca/or http://www.iobis.org/. Spanish/EU data are available at Figshare with the https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1165479. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This research has been performed within the scope of the SponGES project, which received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 679849. This document reflects only the authors' views and the Executive Agency for ...
The following protocol is intended to respond to the requirements set by the European Union's Marine Strategy Framework Directives (MSFD) for the D10C3 Criteria reported in the Commission Decision (EU), related to the amount of litter ingested by marine animals. Standardized methodologies for extracting litter items ingested from dead sea turtles along with guidelines on data analysis are provided. The protocol starts with the collection of dead sea turtles and classification of samples according to the decomposition status. Turtle necropsy must be performed in authorized centers and the protocol described here explains the best procedure for gastrointestinal (GI) tract isolation. The three parts of the GI (esophagus, stomach, intestine) should be separated, opened lengthways and contents filtered using a 1 mm mesh sieve. The article describes the classification and quantification of ingested litter, classifying GI contents into seven different categories of marine litter and two categories of natural remains. The quantity of ingested litter should be reported as total dry mass (weight in grams, with two decimal places) and abundance (number of items). The protocol proposes two possible scenarios to achieve the Good Environmental Status (GES). First: "There should be less than X% of sea turtles having Y g or more plastic in the GI in samples of 50-100 dead turtles from each sub-region", where Y is the average weight of plastic ingested and X% is the percentage of sea turtles with more weight (in grams) of plastic than Y. The second one, which considers the food remain versus plastic as a proxy of individual health, is: "There should be less than X% of sea turtles having more weight of plastic (in grams) than food remains in the GI in samples of 50-100 dead turtles from each sub-region".
The following protocol is intended to respond to the requirements set by the European Union's Marine Strategy Framework Directives (MSFD) for the D10C3 Criteria reported in the Commission Decision (EU), related to the amount of litter ingested by marine animals. Standardized methodologies for extracting litter items ingested from dead sea turtles along with guidelines on data analysis are provided. The protocol starts with the collection of dead sea turtles and classification of samples according to the decomposition status. Turtle necropsy must be performed in authorized centers and the protocol described here explains the best procedure for gastrointestinal (GI) tract isolation. The three parts of the GI (esophagus, stomach, intestine) should be separated, opened lengthways and contents filtered using a 1 mm mesh sieve. The article describes the classification and quantification of ingested litter, classifying GI contents into seven different categories of marine litter and two categories of natural remains. The quantity of ingested litter should be reported as total dry mass (weight in grams, with two decimal places) and abundance (number of items). The protocol proposes two possible scenarios to achieve the Good Environmental Status (GES). First: "There should be less than X% of sea turtles having Y g or more plastic in the GI in samples of 50-100 dead turtles from each sub-region", where Y is the average weight of plastic ingested and X% is the percentage of sea turtles with more weight (in grams) of plastic than Y. The second one, which considers the food remain versus plastic as a proxy of individual health, is: "There should be less than X% of sea turtles having more weight of plastic (in grams) than food remains in the GI in samples of 50-100 dead turtles from each sub-region". ; C1 [Matiddi, Marco; Silvestri, Cecilia; Piermarini, Raffaella; Daffina, Roberto; Pisapia, Marco; Genta, Daniela] Italian Natl Inst Environm Protect & Res ISPRA, Rome, Italy. ; [deLucia, Giuseppe A.; Camedda, Andrea] Inst Coastal Marine Environm Natl Res Council IAM, Rome, Italy. ; [Darmon, Gaelle; Gambaiani, Delphine; Miaud, Claude] Univ P Valery, PSL Res Univ, UMR 5175 CE3FE,EPHE, CNRS,UM,IRD,INRA,SupAgro,Biogeog & Ecol Vertebras, Montpellier, France. ; [Tomas, Jesus; Revuelta, Ohiana] Univ Valencia, Cavanilles Inst Biodivers & Evolutionary Biol, Valencia, Spain. ; [Pham, Christopher K.; Vandeperre, Frederic; Rodriguez, Yasmina] Univ Acores, Dept Oceanog & Pescas, Inst Mar Okeanos, Ponta Delgada, Portugal. ; [Vandeperre, Frederic] Univ Acores, MARE Marine & Environm Sci Ctr, Ponta Delgada, Portugal. ; [Claro, Francoise; Moussier, Judicaelle] Museum Natl Hist Nat, Paris, France. ; [Kaska, Yakup; Sozbilen, Dogan] Pamukkale Univ, Sea Turtle Res & Applicat Ctr DEKAMER, Pamukkale, Turkey. ; [Kaberi, Helen; Tsangaris, Catherine] Hellenic Ctr Marine Res, Inst Oceanografy, Anavyssos, Greece. ; [Bradai, Mohamed N.; Chaieb, Olfa] INSTM, Salammbo, Tunisia. ; [Loza, Ana L.] Univ Las Palmas Gran Canaria, Las Palmas Gran Canaria, Spain.
The following protocol is intended to respond to the requirements set by the European Union's Marine Strategy Framework Directives (MSFD) for the D10C3 Criteria reported in the Commission Decision (EU), related to the amount of litter ingested by marine animals. Standardized methodologies for extracting litter items ingested from dead sea turtles along with guidelines on data analysis are provided. The protocol starts with the collection of dead sea turtles and classification of samples according to the decomposition status. Turtle necropsy must be performed in authorized centers and the protocol described here explains the best procedure for gastrointestinal (GI) tract isolation. The three parts of the GI (esophagus, stomach, intestine) should be separated, opened lengthways and contents filtered using a 1 mm mesh sieve. The article describes the classification and quantification of ingested litter, classifying GI contents into seven different categories of marine litter and two categories of natural remains. The quantity of ingested litter should be reported as total dry mass (weight in grams, with two decimal places) and abundance (number of items). The protocol proposes two possible scenarios to achieve the Good Environmental Status (GES). First: "There should be less than X% of sea turtles having Y g or more plastic in the GI in samples of 50-100 dead turtles from each sub-region", where Y is the average weight of plastic ingested and X% is the percentage of sea turtles with more weight (in grams) of plastic than Y. The second one, which considers the food remain versus plastic as a proxy of individual health, is: "There should be less than X% of sea turtles having more weight of plastic (in grams) than food remains in the GI in samples of 50-100 dead turtles from each sub-region". ; C1 [Matiddi, Marco; Silvestri, Cecilia; Piermarini, Raffaella; Daffina, Roberto; Pisapia, Marco; Genta, Daniela] Italian Natl Inst Environm Protect & Res ISPRA, Rome, Italy. ; [deLucia, Giuseppe A.; Camedda, Andrea] Inst Coastal Marine Environm Natl Res Council IAM, Rome, Italy. ; [Darmon, Gaelle; Gambaiani, Delphine; Miaud, Claude] Univ P Valery, PSL Res Univ, UMR 5175 CE3FE,EPHE, CNRS,UM,IRD,INRA,SupAgro,Biogeog & Ecol Vertebras, Montpellier, France. ; [Tomas, Jesus; Revuelta, Ohiana] Univ Valencia, Cavanilles Inst Biodivers & Evolutionary Biol, Valencia, Spain. ; [Pham, Christopher K.; Vandeperre, Frederic; Rodriguez, Yasmina] Univ Acores, Dept Oceanog & Pescas, Inst Mar Okeanos, Ponta Delgada, Portugal. ; [Vandeperre, Frederic] Univ Acores, MARE Marine & Environm Sci Ctr, Ponta Delgada, Portugal. ; [Claro, Francoise; Moussier, Judicaelle] Museum Natl Hist Nat, Paris, France. ; [Kaska, Yakup; Sozbilen, Dogan] Pamukkale Univ, Sea Turtle Res & Applicat Ctr DEKAMER, Pamukkale, Turkey. ; [Kaberi, Helen; Tsangaris, Catherine] Hellenic Ctr Marine Res, Inst Oceanografy, Anavyssos, Greece. ; [Bradai, Mohamed N.; Chaieb, Olfa] INSTM, Salammbo, Tunisia. ; [Loza, Ana L.] Univ Las Palmas Gran Canaria, Las Palmas Gran Canaria, Spain.
