Early ecological responses of bentho-demersal communities to new Fishery No-Take Zones in the NW Mediterranean: evidence of passive restoration

Early ecological responses of bentho-demersal communities to new Fishery No-Take Zones in the NW Mediterranean: evidence of passive restoration | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Early ecological responses of bentho-demersal communities to new Fishery No-Take Zones in the NW Mediterranean: evidence of passive restoration Marina Biel-Cabanelas, Andreu Santín, Gabriel Rivas-Mena, Sofia Faramelli, and 9 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8258388/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Fishery no-take Zones (FNTZs) are increasingly being used as a spatial management tool to promote marine habitat recovery and enhance the sustainable use of fishery resources. To evaluate their effectiveness in shelf edge and upper continental slope habitats, a characterization of sessile and motile fauna within eleven FNTZs implemented along the Catalan margin was conducted. Surveys were conducted between 2023 and 2024 using Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) video-transects across two depth ranges (100–300 m and > 300 m), covering both protected and adjacent Control areas. Sessile and motile fauna were analyzed separately, to assess the different response in organisms with different life strategies. Results revealed that the effects of protection varied across depths and locations. Sessile fauna exhibited significantly higher densities, richness, and diversity in several FNTZs, especially at the shelf edge, while motile fauna displayed less consistent trends. Community analyses showed differences between protected and control sites, with FNTZs hosting more habitat-forming species opposed to motile species which were more represented in Control areas. Despite initial signs of structural differentiation, results indicate that ecological recovery in soft-sediment at this depth remains slow and spatially variable, likely restricted by the habitat physical degradation consequence of decades of trawling. This research provides the first regional-scale, non-destructive assessment of FNTZs effectiveness on Mediterranean soft sediments and establishes critical reference data for future monitoring. ecological restoration baseline monitoring spatial management bentho-demersal communities soft sediments habitats no-take MPAs Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Supplementarymaterialdir.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 09 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 04 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 03 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Jan, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 07 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 04 Dec, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 04 Dec, 2025 First submitted to journal 02 Dec, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8258388","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":570837232,"identity":"3ca4af9a-9cbf-4084-9922-f775e3e65e7e","order_by":0,"name":"Marina Biel-Cabanelas","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA5UlEQVRIie2QsQrCMBCGI4G6XHCtIOQJhLg4CX2VTro4+AAOQsFO6qpv0alz5MBJcXXo0CJ0VgRREPGIm2jo6JCPEDjId3d/GHM4/hRNB1ida21KXlnhXlhdeVscVLW37XhX4GictRoczvo+ZFLGPGenx2+lux0oXG5KaEYiWc9S1knQU7XV1KLoPkPwEBSKBGspCxWnXGJiUfYlKU+EACE3ioxIedgWO9AUMaUp1Nwo1IE+zbMpNEXMS/ApAmXxTZb1zJZl3+cXuGZBI46Op3vak3KBRX6zLPaJb25dXXA4HA7HN16CE1ERjqjS2gAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC)","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marina","middleName":"","lastName":"Biel-Cabanelas","suffix":""},{"id":570837233,"identity":"e06e1a31-81c1-4020-b59b-105922adb261","order_by":1,"name":"Andreu Santín","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"CIIMAR–Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Andreu","middleName":"","lastName":"Santín","suffix":""},{"id":570837234,"identity":"e0bd957c-35ac-422c-a1b2-8d755088a1ea","order_by":2,"name":"Gabriel Rivas-Mena","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Montenegro","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gabriel","middleName":"","lastName":"Rivas-Mena","suffix":""},{"id":570837235,"identity":"4b80638d-530e-494d-831e-ab35d87a9608","order_by":3,"name":"Sofia Faramelli","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sofia","middleName":"","lastName":"Faramelli","suffix":""},{"id":570837236,"identity":"a65db6f8-56ae-4efb-9e21-72b72d8d2cfa","order_by":4,"name":"Cristina Martín","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Cristina","middleName":"","lastName":"Martín","suffix":""},{"id":570837237,"identity":"73547a1b-d4b3-449d-b3a3-b68def70bea2","order_by":5,"name":"Fabiola Maria Cecchini","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fabiola","middleName":"Maria","lastName":"Cecchini","suffix":""},{"id":570837238,"identity":"eb1a57df-2786-4777-882f-08103607d651","order_by":6,"name":"Miguel López","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Miguel","middleName":"","lastName":"López","suffix":""},{"id":570837239,"identity":"c7cb47c7-b26f-4add-8414-f1db42bece14","order_by":7,"name":"Antoni Sánchez","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Antoni","middleName":"","lastName":"Sánchez","suffix":""},{"id":570837240,"identity":"a33ca307-b725-4e9f-aa6c-0fba7585cf59","order_by":8,"name":"José Antonio García","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"José","middleName":"Antonio","lastName":"García","suffix":""},{"id":570837241,"identity":"da5d7576-7205-4a7a-a199-ad52833477f8","order_by":9,"name":"Nixon Bahamon","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nixon","middleName":"","lastName":"Bahamon","suffix":""},{"id":570837242,"identity":"2e9d1dd4-87bb-44e8-a071-6a366af68846","order_by":10,"name":"Jacopo Aguzzi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jacopo","middleName":"","lastName":"Aguzzi","suffix":""},{"id":570837244,"identity":"3a24bba4-8efa-41ad-bd28-89c34845f3a0","order_by":11,"name":"Joan B. 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To evaluate their effectiveness in shelf edge and upper continental slope habitats, a characterization of sessile and motile fauna within eleven FNTZs implemented along the Catalan margin was conducted. Surveys were conducted between 2023 and 2024 using Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) video-transects across two depth ranges (100\u0026ndash;300 m and \u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;300 m), covering both protected and adjacent Control areas. Sessile and motile fauna were analyzed separately, to assess the different response in organisms with different life strategies. Results revealed that the effects of protection varied across depths and locations. Sessile fauna exhibited significantly higher densities, richness, and diversity in several FNTZs, especially at the shelf edge, while motile fauna displayed less consistent trends. Community analyses showed differences between protected and control sites, with FNTZs hosting more habitat-forming species opposed to motile species which were more represented in Control areas. Despite initial signs of structural differentiation, results indicate that ecological recovery in soft-sediment at this depth remains slow and spatially variable, likely restricted by the habitat physical degradation consequence of decades of trawling. This research provides the first regional-scale, non-destructive assessment of FNTZs effectiveness on Mediterranean soft sediments and establishes critical reference data for future monitoring.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Early ecological responses of bentho-demersal communities to new Fishery No-Take Zones in the NW Mediterranean: evidence of passive restoration","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-08 14:28:45","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8258388/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-02-09T12:35:50+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-04T22:10:06+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-03T15:58:41+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"183956588214916439100147095813389639019","date":"2026-01-08T08:57:31+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"93053743440887551342803674924419670783","date":"2026-01-07T12:14:31+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-01-07T11:35:52+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-12-04T14:59:36+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-12-04T14:58:13+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries","date":"2025-12-02T09:01:40+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"reviews-in-fish-biology-and-fisheries","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries](https://link.springer.com/journal/11160)","snPcode":"11160","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11160/3","title":"Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"04245fd4-9c42-4ddb-a429-e0e6953456a4","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 8th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-04T13:38:31+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-08 14:28:45","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8258388","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8258388","identity":"rs-8258388","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}