Seascape integrity assessment: A proposed index for the mediterranean coast

Abstract

Landscape ecology is a multidisciplinary field that combines the spatial approach of geography with functional ecology. Concerning marine environment, a submerged landscape, called seascape, is defined as a spatially heterogeneous area of coastal environment (i.e. intertidal, brackish). Measurement of spatial patterns plays a central role in monitoring environmental change and for studying the multi-scale processes that drive organism distributions and biodiversity. The aim of this paper is to propose a relevant seascape index focusing on Mediterranean littoral areas, moreover rocky habitat that constitutes one of the most important and characteristic habitats of the north-western Mediterranean coastal areas. The methodology proposed to score marine sites addresses three factors: biological, geomorphologic (i.e. 3D complexity) and anthropogenic. The goal was to build a functional and relevant tool that could eventually be used for a large scale geographical analysis of submarine landscapes along the north-western Mediterranean coast. The proposed index can qualitatively assess the value of the seascape within a site. Statistical tests showed that the proposed index is an accurate and relevant proxy of the seascape complexity value. The seascape integrity index we developed can then be a new tool that could complement other existing biological indices.