DOI: 10.5061/dryad.5bf86
title: Data from: Trophic mechanisms underlying bentho-demersal community recovery in the north-east Atlantic

description: 1. Bottom trawling is considered one of the greatest and most widespread
 causes of anthropogenic change in shelf seas, with major and prolonged
 impacts in areas with a long history of exploitation by fisheries such as
 the North-Atlantic. Here, signs of recovery following the put into force
 of regulations are increasingly being reported. 2. We examined the extent
 to which biological diversity and functionality are restored when fishing
 pressure is reduced by evaluating changes in species biomass and that of
 the main functional groups present in the continental platform, as
 obtained from systematic survey (IBTS) results. Moreover, we examined how
 this recovery is mirrored in the trophic organization of the affected
 communities by assessing variations in link density and strength of the
 main consumer species and investigating whether variations in species
 richness were paralleled by changes in network properties. Finally, we
 investigated whether reductions in fishing pressure (fishing mortality)
 were correlated with the abovementioned variations in community and
 trophic structure of the bentho-demersal assemblages. 3. Our results
 corroborate the apparent recovery of North Atlantic fishing stocks and
 further substantiate the improved welfare of the bentho-demersal
 assemblages of the Southern Bay of Biscay. Specifically, we found an
 increase in species richness and in the abundance of most functional
 groups, especially those more closely related to the benthos with the over
 time reduction in fishing mortality. Increases in overall species richness
 were paralleled by an augment in the number of links and a reduction in
 mean interaction strength connecting the main consumer species with their
 prey items. This is in accordance with ecological theory and could explain
 the mechanism by which bentho-demersal assemblages restructure their
 trophic network towards more stable organizations. 4. 4. Synthesis and
 applications. Detecting patterns of recovery or change to alternative
 stable states following stress release is essential to unravel the effects
 of perturbations and to design effective management strategies. Our study
 shows that trophic network properties provide a convincing tool to
 evaluate and perceive recovery patterns. The trends shown in our study
 appear to be related with the decline in fishing mortality resulting from
 the enforcement of fisheries regulations in the area. They substantiate
 the efficiency of these regulations as a guarantee for an ecosystem
 approach to fisheries management and advocate their enforcement at a wider
 level as a convincing measure to preserve the sustainability of marine
 resources and their welfare.17-Jan-2017
description: Arroyo et
 al.,JApplEcol_Trophic mechanisms underlying community
 recovery_dataThree spreadsheets are
 included: 1) containing the biomass per haul data for all taxa recorded in
 the Demersales surveys, from 1992 to 2013; 2) containing data on the
 number of links per predator species and year; and 3) containing data on
 the mean interaction strengths observed for all predators species in our
 area over time.Arroyo et
 al.,JApplEcol_data.xlsx