Evidence of large increases in sedimentation rates due to fish trawling in submarine canyons of the Gulf of Palermo (SW Mediterranean)
Bottom trawling in submarine canyons can affect their natural sedimentation rates, but studies addressing this issue are still scarce. In the Gulf of Palermo (SW Mediterranean), bottom trawling occurs on the slope around Oreto, Arenella and Eleuterio canyons. Analyses of excess 210Pb concentrations...
| Autores: | , , , , , |
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| Tipo de documento: | artigo |
| Data de publicação: | 2021 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| Repositório: | Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ddd.uab.cat:304548 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://ddd.uab.cat/record/304548 https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112861 |
| Access Level: | Acceso aberto |
| Palavra-chave: | Bottom trawling Mediterranean NW Sicily Pb-210 Sedimentation rates Submarine canyons |
| Resumo: | Bottom trawling in submarine canyons can affect their natural sedimentation rates, but studies addressing this issue are still scarce. In the Gulf of Palermo (SW Mediterranean), bottom trawling occurs on the slope around Oreto, Arenella and Eleuterio canyons. Analyses of excess 210Pb concentrations and grain size fractions in sediment cores from their canyon axes revealed that sedimentation rates and silt contents increased in all canyons in the 1980s, due to the expansion of more powerful trawlers (>500 HP) to deeper fishing grounds. In Eleuterio and Arenella canyons, sedimentation rates increased by an order of magnitude (0.1-1.4 cm·yr-1), whereas they increased less (0.1-0.7 cm·yr-1) in Oreto Canyon, since the enhanced trawling-derived sediment fluxes into this canyon are affected by sediment resuspension from trawling along its axis. Considering the global expansion of bottom trawling, we anticipate similar alterations in other trawled canyons, with ecological consequences that should be addressed by management strategies. |
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