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Article Dans Une Revue Ecology and Evolution Année : 2023

Grouping groupers in the Mediterranean: Ecological baselines revealed by ancient proteins

Rachel Winter
Willemien de Kock
Meaghan Mackie
Max Ramsøe
Elena Desiderà
Matthew Collins
Paolo Guidetti
Samantha Presslee
Marta Munoz Alegre
  • Fonction : Auteur
Arturo Morales Muniz
  • Fonction : Auteur
Dimitris Michailidis
  • Fonction : Auteur
Youri van den Hurk
Alberto Taurozzi
Canan Çakirlar

Résumé

Abstract Marine historical ecology provides a means to establish baselines to inform current fisheries management. Groupers (Epinephelidae) are key species for fisheries in the Mediterranean, which have been heavily overfished. Species abundance and distribution prior to the 20th century in the Mediterranean remains poorly known. To reconstruct the past biogeography of Mediterranean groupers, we investigated whether Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) can be used for identifying intra‐genus grouper bones to species level. We discovered 22 novel, species‐specific ZooMS biomarkers for groupers. Applying these biomarkers to Kinet Höyük, a Mediterranean archaeological site, demonstrated 4000 years of regional Epinephelus aeneus dominance and resiliency through millennia of fishing pressures, habitat degradation and climatic changes. Combining ZooMS identifications with catch size reconstructions revealed the Epinephelus aeneus capacity for growing 30 cm larger than hitherto documented, revising the maximum Total Length from 120 to 150 cm. Our results provide ecological baselines for a key Mediterranean fishery which could be leveraged to define and assess conservation targets.

Dates et versions

hal-04315560 , version 1 (30-11-2023)

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Citer

Rachel Winter, Willemien de Kock, Meaghan Mackie, Max Ramsøe, Elena Desiderà, et al.. Grouping groupers in the Mediterranean: Ecological baselines revealed by ancient proteins. Ecology and Evolution, 2023, 13 (10), ⟨10.1002/ece3.10625⟩. ⟨hal-04315560⟩
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