@article{fdi:010055980,
  title = {{S}patio-temporal patterns of key exploited marine species in the {N}orthwestern {M}editerranean {S}ea},
  author = {{M}orfin, {M}. and {F}romentin, {J}. {M}. and {J}adaud, {A}. and {B}ez, {N}icolas},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}his study analyzes the temporal variability/stability of the spatial distributions of key exploited species in the {G}ulf of {L}ions ({N}orthwestern {M}editerranean {S}ea). {T}o do so, we analyzed data from the {MEDITS} bottom-trawl scientific surveys from 1994 to 2010 at 66 fixed stations and selected 12 key exploited species. {W}e proposed a geostatistical approach to handle zero-inflated and non-stationary distributions and to test for the temporal stability of the spatial structures. {E}mpirical {O}rthogonal {F}unctions and other descriptors were then applied to investigate the temporal persistence and the characteristics of the spatial patterns. {T}he spatial structure of the distribution (i.e. the pattern of spatial autocorrelation) of the 12 key species studied remained highly stable over the time period sampled. {T}he spatial distributions of all species obtained through kriging also appeared to be stable over time, while each species displayed a specific spatial distribution. {F}urthermore, adults were generally more densely concentrated than juveniles and occupied areas included in the distribution of juveniles. {D}espite the strong persistence of spatial distributions, we also observed that the area occupied by each species was correlated to its abundance: the more abundant the species, the larger the occupation area. {S}uch a result tends to support {M}ac{C}all's basin theory, according to which density-dependence responses would drive the expansion of those 12 key species in the {G}ulf of {L}ions. {F}urther analyses showed that these species never saturated their habitats, suggesting that they are below their carrying capacity; an assumption in agreement with the overexploitation of several of these species. {F}inally, the stability of their spatial distributions over time and their potential ability to diffuse outside their main habitats give support to {M}arine {P}rotected {A}reas as a potential pertinent management tool.},
  keywords = {},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{P}los {O}ne},
  volume = {7},
  numero = {5},
  pages = {e37907},
  ISSN = {1932-6203},
  year = {2012},
  DOI = {10.1371/journal.pone.0037907},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010055980},
}