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© Inter-Research 2015. Interpopulation mixing of migratory species at particular stopover and wintering hotspots increases their vulnerability to anthropogenic impacts. Animal associations with human activities at this time of the annual cycle should, therefore, inform management policies. The Gulf of Cadiz, Spain is a key non-breeding area for the Near-Threatened Audouin's gull Ichthyaetus audouinii and the over-abundant lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus, both of which heavily depend on human fisheries. Here, we used long-term (1990-2013) data on coastal censuses, along with spatially-explicit information on fish landings (2000-2014) and on-board surveys of fishing vessels (2012-2013), to unravel the association of these gulls with human fisheries and evaluate its role in shaping their distribution at this important non-breeding hotspot. Fishing discards from trawlers were extensively used by lesser black-backed gulls, whereas Audouin's gulls apparently benefited from fish aggregations that occurred where purse seines were retrieved. Fishing influence was identified as an important driver of the non-breeding distribution of these gulls, particularly for the lesser black-backed gull, which congregated near main fishing ports. Within this scenario, we speculate that changes in fishing practices, such as those proposed by the upcoming EU Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy that includes a ban on fishing discards, will almost certainly impact the lesser black-backed gull. In contrast, the impact on the Audouin's gull remains unclear and will likely depend on how the proposed ban is implemented. ; Peer Reviewed

10 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, supplementary data https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118377 ; Concentrations of organophosphate esters (OPEs) plasticizers were analysed in the present study. Fifty-five fish samples belonging to three highly commercial species, European sardine (Sardina pilchardus), European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus), and European hake (Merluccius merluccius), were taken from the Western Mediterranean Sea. OPEs were detected in all individuals, except for two hake samples, with concentrations between 0.38 and 73.4 ng/g wet weight (ww). Sardines presented the highest mean value with 20.5 ± 20.1 ng/g ww, followed by anchovies with 14.1 ± 8.91 ng/g ww and hake with 2.48 ± 1.76 ng/g ww. The lowest OPE concentrations found in hake, which is a partial predator of anchovy and sardine, and the higher δ15N values (as a proxy of trophic position), may indicate the absence of OPEs biomagnification. Eleven out of thirteen tested OPEs compounds were detected, being diphenyl cresyl phosphate (DCP) one of the most frequently detected in all the species. The highest concentration values were obtained for tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDClPP), trihexyl phosphate (THP), and tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBOEP), for sardines, anchovies, and hakes, respectively. The human health risk associated with the consumption of these fish species showing that their individual consumption would not pose a considerable threat to public health regarding OPE intake ; This study has been partially funded by PELCAT project (CAT 152CAT00013, TAIS ARP059/19/00005), PELWEB project (ES-PN-2017-CTM 2017-88939-R, Spanish Government), EXPOPLAS project (PID2019-110576RB-I00), Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation) and the Generalitat de Catalunya (Consolidated Research Group Water and Soil Quality Unit 2017 SGR 1404). MEDITS data collection has been co-funded by the EU through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) within the National Program of collection, management and use of data in the fisheries sector and support for scientific advice regarding the Common Fisheries Policy. [.] This work acknowledges the 'Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence' accreditations (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation to IDAEA and ICM (Project CEX2018-000794-S and CEX2019-000928-S, respectively).EL-L was supported by a FPU grant (FPU1704395, Spanish Ministry of Education) ; Peer reviewed

17 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables, supporting Information https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8293.-- Data availability statement: All the DNA metabarcoding raw reads of prey species obtained from the stomach contents were deposited in the BioProject database (Gen-Bank, NCBI, 1988) as BioProject PRJNA653773. All other data used in the manuscript are included in the manuscript or as Supporting Information ; The northward expansion of round sardinella (Sardinella aurita) in the Mediterranean Sea, together with declines and fluctuations in biomass and landings of European sardine (Sardina pilchardus) and anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) observed in recent decades, may suggest potential inter-specific competition in the pelagic domain. The coexistence of sympatric zooplanktivorous fish species might therefore be exposed in part to trophic niche overlap and competition for food. Combining visual diet characterization under the microscope with DNA metabarcoding from stomach contents of fish collected in spring results show that predation on relatively large krill is equally important for sardinella than for the other two niche overlapping species. Furthermore, an important overlap is found in their isotopic niche, especially with anchovy, using nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C) stable isotopes in muscle tissue. In fact, the three fish species are able to feed effectively in the whole prey size spectrum available during the sampled season, from the smallest diatoms and copepods to the larger prey (i.e., decapods and euphausiids), including fish larvae. Moreover, effective predation upon other large prey like siphonophores, which is observed only when multi-proxy analyses in stomach contents are applied, might also be relevant in the diet of sardinella. The overlapping diet composition in spring, together with the effective use of food resource by sardinella, can be of special interest in potential future scenarios with warmer water temperature leading to lower zooplankton and/or higher jellyfish availability, where sardinella may take advantage over other species due to its feeding plasticity ; This study was partially funded by the projects PELWEB (ES-PN-2017-CTM 2017-88939-R) and PELCAT (CAT 152CAT00013, TAIS ARP059/19/00005). MEDITS data collection has been co-funded by the EU through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) within the National Program of collection, management, and use of data in the fisheries sector and support for scientific advice regarding the Common Fisheries Policy. This work acknowledges the "Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence" accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S) to the Institute of Marine Science (ICM-CSIC) ; Peer reviewed

10 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, supplementary data https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138118 ; Ecosystem-based management requires an assessment of the cumulative effects of human pressures and environmental change. The operationalization and integration of cumulative effects assessments (CEA) into decision-making processes often lacks a comprehensive and transparent framework. A risk-based CEA framework that divides a CEA in risk identification, risk analysis and risk evaluation, could structure such complex analyses and facilitate the establishment of direct science-policy links. Here, we examine carefully the operationalization of such a risk-based CEA framework with the help of eleven contrasting case studies located in Europe, French Polynesia, and Canada. We show that the CEA framework used at local, sub-regional, and regional scales allowed for a consistent, coherent, and transparent comparison of complex assessments. From our analysis, we pinpoint four emerging issues that, if accurately addressed, can improve the take up of CEA outcomes by management: 1) framing of the CEA context and defining risk criteria; 2) describing the roles of scientists and decision-makers; 3) reducing and structuring complexity; and 4) communicating uncertainty. Moreover, with a set of customized tools we describe and analyze for each case study the nature and location of uncertainty as well as trade-offs regarding available knowledge and data used for the CEA. Ultimately, these tools aid decision-makers to recognize potential caveats and repercussions of management decisions. One key recommendation is to differentiate CEA processes and their context in relation to governance advice, marine spatial planning or regulatory advice. We conclude that future research needs to evaluate how effective management measures are in reducing the risk of cumulative effects. Changing governance structures takes time and is often difficult, but we postulate that well-framed and structured CEA can function as a strategic tool to integrate ecosystem considerations across multiple sectorial policies. ; This article is a product of the working group on cumulative effects assessment under the framework of COST Action 15121 "Advancing marine conservation in the European and contiguous seas" (MarCons; http://www.marcons-cost.eu; (Katsanevakis et al., 2017)—supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology, CA15121)

Organochlorine (OC) pesticides and the more persistent polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have well-established dose-dependent toxicities to birds, fish and mammals in experimental studies, but the actual impact of OC pollutants on European marine top predators remains unknown. Here we show that several cetacean species have very high mean blubber PCB concentrations likely to cause population declines and suppress population recovery. In a large pan-European meta-analysis of stranded (n = 929) or biopsied (n = 152) cetaceans, three out of four species:- striped dolphins (SDs), bottlenose dolphins (BNDs) and killer whales (KWs) had mean PCB levels that markedly exceeded all known marine mammal PCB toxicity thresholds. Some locations (e.g. western Mediterranean Sea, south-west Iberian Peninsula) are global PCB "hotspots" for marine mammals. Blubber PCB concentrations initially declined following a mid-1980s EU ban, but have since stabilised in UK harbour porpoises and SDs in the western Mediterranean Sea. Some small or declining populations of BNDs and KWs in the NE Atlantic were associated with low recruitment, consistent with PCB-induced reproductive toxicity. Despite regulations and mitigation measures to reduce PCB pollution, their biomagnification in marine food webs continues to cause severe impacts among cetacean top predators in European seas. ; The research was conducted by the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Program (CSIP) and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) under contract to the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales. Additional funding for toxicological analyses was provided by ASCOBANS under contract "SSFA2010-3" and by the Fundació Barcelona Zoo. The Gulf of Cádiz and Strait of Gibraltar samples collection were sponsored by Loro Parque Foundation, Fundación Biodiversidad, CEPSA and ECOCET Project (CGL2011-25543) and logistical support for sample sexing was provided by Laboratorio de Ecología Molecular, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC (LEM-EBD). Samples from Galicia were obtained with the support of Direccion Xeral de Conservacion da Natureza-Xunta de Galicia, co-financed with European Regional Development Funds (ERDF/FEDER). S. Murphy was supported by a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship within the Seventh European Community Framework Programme. R. de Stephanis and J. Giménez were supported by the Severo Ochoa Programme for Centres of Excellence in R + D + I (SEV-2012-0262). A. D. Foote was supported by a Lawski Foundation stipend. ; Peer reviewed