Page 30 - climate-change2013

Following the evaluation of a long list of indicators by regional
scientists using the criteria described above, five categories of
indicators were selected as being of priority interest:

1. Physical and biochemical condition

2. Changes in reproduction and breeding dates of key species

3. Episodic events

4. Shifts in species distribution patterns

5. Migration changes

Monitoring needs to occur at multiple scales and there
is no single method or indicator that ‘fits all’. Each MPA
is unique and represents a particular set of ecosystems,
biodiversity, environmental conditions and human uses,
all of which result in a specific degree of vulnerability
to conditions associated with climate change. Besides,
not all monitoring programmes can be relevant to all
MPAs. Within this framework, monitoring will serve two
goals:

• For individual MPAs, a monitoring programme
will track changes in key ecosystem components
within the MPA;
• For the network of MPAs, the monitoring pro-
gramme will provide a joint indication of the
changes in biodiversity at a Mediterranean scale.

The proposed indicators represent an initial attempt
to put together a climate change-orientated monitor-
ing programme for Mediterranean MPAs. They could
include:

• Marine species selected for their rapid poten-
tial response to climate change that are already
being monitored or could be monitored by the
MPAs themselves, and which also provide good
information for understanding climate change im-
pacts;

• Specific parameters or species that can elucidate
biodiversity responses;

• Other elements (e.g. sea-surface temperature and
pH) that can link MPAs to existing monitoring pro-
grammes in the region while providing information
for assessing impacts and potential adaptive ap-
proaches. The fan shell Pinna nobilis, a Mediterranean endemic mollusc.
Photo: J. Cuetos, OCEANA

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