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7 pages, 5 figures, supplementary data https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.softx.2018.06.004 ; The widely used Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) food web modelling approach has been extended with a new module to measure the impact of input parameter sensitivity on its results. Ecosampler records samples – alternate mass-balanced parameter sets for a food web model – from the built-in Monte Carlo routine, and replays these samples through all of EwE modules and any loaded plug-in. Via Ecosampler, output variation due to base input parameter sensitivity can be captured, of any computational component including the temporal module Ecosim, the spatial–temporal module Ecospace, and plug-ins such as Ecological Network Analysis, Value Chain, and Ecological Indicators ; Ecosampler was realized through funding from the European Commission through the Marie Curie Career Integration Grant Fellowships PCIG10-GA-2011-303534 to the BIOWEB project. This study is a contribution to the projects SafeNET (EU-DGMARE MARE/2014/41) and MERCES (European Union's Horizon research and innovation programme grant agreement No 689518). XC was supported by an IOLR scholarship under the DESSIM project ("A Decision Support System for the management of Israel's Mediterranean Exclusive Economic Zone") ; Peer Reviewed

16 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, supplementary material https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32666-x ; Using a temporal-dynamic calibrated Ecosim food web model, we assess the effects of future changes on marine resources and ecosystem conditions of the Israeli Mediterranean continental shelf. This region has been intensely invaded by Indo-Pacific species. The region is exposed to extreme environmental conditions, is subjected to high rates of climate change and has experienced intense fishing pressure. We test the impacts of a new set of fishing regulations currently being implemented, a continued increase in sea temperatures following IPCC projections, and a continued increase in alien species biomass. We first investigate the impacts of the stressors separately, and then we combine them to evaluate their cumulative effects. Our results show overall potential future benefits of fishing effort reductions, and detrimental impacts of increasing sea temperature and increasing biomass of alien species. Cumulative scenarios suggest that the beneficial effects of fisheries reduction may be dampened by the impact of increasing sea temperature and alien species when acting together. These results illustrate the importance of including stressors other than fisheries, such as climate change and biological invasions, in an ecosystem-based management approach. These results support the need for reducing local and regional stressors, such as fishing and biological invasions, in order to promote resilience to sea warming ; XC was supported by an IOLR scholarship under the DESSIM project ("A Decision Support System for the management of Israel's Mediterranean Exclusive Economic Zone"). MC was partially funded by the European Commission through the Marie Curie Career Integration Grant Fellowships – PCIG10-GA-2011-303534 - to the BIOWEB project. MC and JS were partially funded by the European Union's Horizon research program grant agreement No. 689518 for the MERCES project ; Peer Reviewed

This research is part of POLARCSIC activities.-- 15 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables, supplementary data https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2019.103268 ; The flow of non-living carbon (detritus) is considered an important process because it connects ecosystems and fuels benthic communities. In Norwegian kelp forests, 90% of the kelp production is exported to adjacent ecosystems where it can play a significant role in shaping benthic communities. We quantified the major structural and functional traits of an Arctic deep-sea ecosystem associated with kelp exports and assessed the ecological role of kelp export into the deep-sea system. We first developed a food-web model using the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) approach to represent the state of the deep (450 m) ecosystem of the Malangen fjord (Northern Norway) in 2017. Subsequently, we used the temporal dynamic model Ecosim to explore the structure and functioning traits of a theoretical deep-sea ecosystem projecting a decrease of kelp detritus biomass reaching the deep-sea ecosystem. Overall, our findings reveal that kelp detritus from shallow coastal areas has a small but noticeable role structuring the deep-sea ecosystem of Malangen. The temporal simulations show important differences depending on the application of mediating effects, which allow considering the detritus as a mediating group in prey-predator interaction, in addition to its direct role in trophic relationships. When mediating effects are applied, biomass increases for benthopelagic shrimps and suprabenthos groups and decreases for rays and skates, velvet belly, rabbitfish and other commercial demersal fishes under the low kelp detritus scenarios. Biomass-based and trophic-based indicators reveal a noticeable impact on the deep-sea ecosystem structure due to depletion of kelp detritus. To further assess future changes of the Arctic deep-sea ecosystems, dependencies with adjacent ecosystems, such as kelp detritus production, should be included ; This work was funded by MARINFORSK Norwegian Research Council through the KELPEX project (NRC Grant no. 255085/E40). [.] MC acknowledges partial funding by the European Union's Horizon research program grant agreement No 689518 for the MERCES project