Atlas de la Surveillance Biologique

ATLAS – 2020 Synthesis

BIOLOGICAL MONITORING AND QUALITY OF MEDITERRANEAN WATERS

The objectives of this work were to better understand all the information acquired through the various monitoring networks (RECOR, TEMPO, IMPACT, etc.), to group them together and to synthesize them in order to establish a more complete diagnosis of the status of each coastal water body ; this through a triple qualification “ecological status, status of ecological functioning, level of pressures”.

Published in 2020, the cartographic atlas of the quality of Mediterranean coastal waters presents the results of the monitoring of the ecological status of Posidonia meadows and coralligenous reefs, their ecological functions and the level of pressures exerted. It is based on 430 recent biological data (less than six years old) that allow the evaluation of the ecological status and the state of functioning of these ecosystems, and on 11 anthropogenic pressures. The choice of indicators used is based on bibliography and expert proposals in view of current knowledge.

This summary atlas allows us to better qualify the ecological state of the seagrass beds and coralligenous, to integrate information on ecological functioning, to refine the identification of priority sectors, and to valorize the results of the evaluation and the information. These data will allow coastal communities, government services and sea users to better understand and therefore better protect underwater biodiversity.

Monitoring stations of the final state of the Posidonia meadow, here in the Calanques National Park.

A map of the Posidonia meadow monitoring stations/sites (lower limit and intermediate depth) and of the coralligenous is available in the project. By clicking on the different water masses, the user has access to a detailed map of the general state of the Posidonia meadows or the coralligenous, thanks to the display of a POP UP window.