EUNIS and Mediterranean marine habitats Sabrina Agnesi, Giulia Mo, Leonardo Tunesi

1. EUNIS and Mediterranean marine habitats Sabrina Agnesi, Giulia Mo, Leonardo Tunesi ISPRA - Rome, Italy (ETC-BD partner) The EUNIS habitat classification, governance & future developments 3-4 October, 2011 European Environment Agency , Copenhagen

2. PREMISE • Mediterranean marine benthic habitats were incorporated into the EUNIS habitat classification in early 2000s • Mediterranean habitats (biocenoesis, facies and associations) were inserted into the hierarchical system based on an analysis of their known characteristics with respect to a specific EUNIS template. • Aspects which were considered in the process were known determining parameters for each habitat type distribution such as: • depth zone, • substrate type, • energy, • characteristic and accompanying species etc.

3. The zoning in the Mediterranean benthic habitat classification Biological communities fall within specific biological zones determined by delimiting parameters such as: exposure to seawater and spray (for the shallow superficial zones), amount of light reaching the seabottom, and slope angle change (for the deepest zones). S = supralittoral: reachedbyseaspray and neversubmerged . M=mesolitoral: determinedby high and low tide I=infralittoral: extendsfromlowerlimitof the tideuntilmaxdepthwherephotosynthesysofPosidonia oceanica and photophilicalgaeoccurs C=circalittoral: deepestphytal (whereplant life can occur) zone; lowerlimitdeterminedbyshelf break B= bathyal: characterisedbyslopeofcontinentalshelfmargin A=abyssal: startswhereslope angle changesintoflattenedarea

4. Which habitat reference list was taken into account when the habitats were first inserted into EUNIS? • “Classification of benthic marine Habitat types for the Mediterranean Region” • (UNEP (OCA)/MED WG 149/5 Rev. 1) • a habitat revision collated under the frame work of the SPA/BIO secretariat of UNEP’s Barcelona Convention • aim of the document: define a list of univocal assemblages existing in the Mediterranean, and then identify those with highest conservation interest UNEP (OCA)/MED WG 149/5 Rev. 1

5. “Barcelona Convention” classification system recognizes the existenceofdistinctbioceonosis and facies/associationsoccurringunivocally in eachbiological zone UNEP (OCA)/MED WG 149/5 Rev. 1 All the main Mediterranean benthic habitats listed by Barcelona Convention have been incorporated into EUNIS (ETC/BD activity).

6. Proposal for discussion and future work • What updates are needed? • a) Some of the existing text definitions present in the system could be enriched to the benefit of the user. • Proposal: • -Provide a more thorough text definition for some of the presently listed Med habitat types. • -Upload this into the system. • Note: at the moment ISPRA has revised most habitat text definitions (covered up to part of the circalittoral) and with minor effort remaining deeper habitats can be defined. • b) It is possible that some small assemblages may have been ignored in the Barcelona convention habitat recognition process (i.e. facies of Mytilusgalloprovincialis in polluted waters). These should be inserted as new entries. • Proposal: • -These can be revised within the framework of the revision effort of point a) above.

7. Proposal for discussion and future work What updates are needed? (cont.) c) any recent knowledge on new habitats needing amendment in EUNIS? EUSeaMap1 (DG-Mare funded project) identified new habitats in Mediterranean deep waters. These were given a general existing EUNIS code as follows: A6.2 Deep sea mixed sediments Bathyal A6.4 Deep sea muddy sand Bathyal A6.2 Deep sea mixed sediments Abyssal zone A6.3 Deep sea sand Abyssal zone A6.4 Deep sea muddy sand Abyssal zone Though they need to be studied from a biological community point of view, the project shows their existence in the region and they have different characteristics in terms of depth zones. Proposal: Modify category A6 (deep sea) into two broad categories that would account for the different substrate types according to distinct biological zones. 1Cameron, A. and Askew, N. (eds.). 2011. EUSeaMap - Preparatory Action for development and assessment of a European broad-scale seabed habitat map final report. Available at http://jncc.gov.uk/euseamap

8. Proposal for discussion and future work Considerations on the system’s structure functional to future application 1) All main “Barcelona convention“ habitats are presently “fitted” into EUNIS. The EUNIS habitat classification objective to give a nomenclature code to each habitat /community known to exist in European waters has been reached ( except for minor updates and modifications of points a & b before). 2) Usage of the hierarchical positioning of each habitat type to draw comparisons amongst habitats that are grouped in similar hierarchical ranking groupings can currently lead to non homogenous habitat considerations for Mediterranean habitats (i.e. when proposing that habitats be monitored or mapped etc. at a given set EUNIS level). Why? Criteria guiding the subdivision at some of the level 2 and 3 are not homogenous between groups. This leads to ecologically uneven subdivisions amongst some A2 and A3 groupings (i.e. habitat groupings are not being differentiated with a similar approach - i.e. major substrate – hard vs. soft, and depth zone –infralittoral, circalittoral, bathyal, abyssal). This is particularly evident in the way Mediterranean habitats fit in EUNIS. Let’s look at this a little more in detail……………

9. Biological Zone Substratecategory EUNIS II Level Coastal habitats A3 A4 A1 A6 A5 A2 Infralittoral rock Circalittoral rock Littoralsediment Deep-seabed Sublittoralsediment Littoral rock & other hard substrata

10. Coastal habitats A3 A4 A1 A6 A5 A2 Infralittoral and circalittoral soft bottoms are alllisted under A5 Bathyal and abyssal, soft and hard bottoms are alllisted under A6 Infralittoral rock Circalittoral rock Littoralsediment Deep-seabed Sublittoralsediment Littoral rock & other hard substrata

11. Differentiation per grosssubstrate (hard vs. soft) Differentiation per biological zone Differentiation per grosssubstrate Differentiation per biological zone Differentiation per biological zone

12. Proposal for discussion and future work Considerations on the system’s structure functional to future application (cont.) 2) Considerations on the hiearchicalsubdivisions at level 2 and 3 Proposal: WoulditbepossibletosubdivideA5 (sublittoralsediments) intotwodistinctlevel 2 categories: infralittoral and circalittoral? Woulditbepossibletodifferentiate A6 (deepsea) intothreedistinctlevel 2 categories: - Bathyal rock - Bathyal sediments - Abyssalsediments

13. Proposal for discussion and future work Considerations on the system’s structure functional to future application (cont.) 3) EUNIS habitat classification is the most exhaustive database tool containing updated description on the characteristics of all marine habitats across European seas. This habitat coding will allow wide-range mapping initiatives which will produce cartographies using a univocal habitat coding language. This will allow to visualize the spatial extent of each habitat /community type in Europe and show how the European habitat biodiversity is distributed and abundant throughout space. It will take some time for this to happen throughout all of Europe. Meanwhile, can we enrich the system, and then interrogate it so as to evaluate which components of habitat diversity are present/absent in the different geographic seas? Proposal: This could be done by inserting a “flag-up” option per biogeographic sea in every habitat definition that we have so far inserted.