Coralligenous assemblages are among the most threatened coastal ecosystems in the Mediterranean, with marine heatwaves being one of the most worrying stressors causing mass mortality events in this key habitat. Hence, obtaining information on their conservation status and distribution is crucial for implementing effective conservation measures. Citizen science is a promising tool to provide this information on broad spatial and temporal scales while raising awareness of ocean conservation issues. Although the data quality of citizen-scientists has often been questioned, the design of volunteer training and the data validation by experts have allowed to overcome these initial concerns ensuring its reliability. This presentation shows how using two of the largest citizen science expert-validated datasets from Observadores del Mar and Reef Check Med can enhance our understanding of the conservation status and distribution of Mediterranean coralligenous species over time. Firstly, our study successfully validated the implementation of training programs for volunteers on assessing the conservation status of coralligenous key species. This highlights the importance of training and expert-validation in long-term citizen science projects. Secondly, this work combined species occurrences datasets from both, science and citizen science, with environmental information using Species Distribution Models, providing valuable insights into the main factors driving coralligenous species distribution. Overall, our results reinforce the role of marine citizen science as a leading pillar in the conservation and management strategies to face the ongoing environmental crisis.

Primary Presenter: Laura Figuerola-Ferrando, University of Barcelona (lfiguerola@ub.edu)

Authors:

Laura Figuerola-Ferrando, Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain.  (lfiguerola@ub.edu)

Cristina Linares, Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain.  (cristinalinares@ub.edu)

David Amblas, GRC Geociències Marines, Departament de Dinàmica de la Terra i de l’Oceà, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain.  (amblas@ub.edu)

Carlo Cerrano, Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell’Ambiente (DiSVA), Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.  (c.cerrano@staff.univpm.it)

Paula López-Sendino, Departament de Biologia Marina, Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.  (plopez@icm.csic.es)

Núria Margarit, Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain.  (nuriamargarit@ub.edu)

Fábio L. Matos, Departamento de Biologia and Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal.  (fmatos@ua.pt)

Massimo Ponti, Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali (BiGeA), Università di Bologna, Ravenna, Italy.  (massimo.ponti@unibo.it)

Eva Turicchia, Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali (BiGeA), Università di Bologna, Ravenna, Italy.  (eva.turicchia2@unibo.it)

Yanis Zentner, Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain.  (yaniszentner@ub.edu)

Joaquim Garrabou, Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain.  (garrabou@icm.csic.es)