Synoptic data collection on Cetacean, Marine birds, Sea turtle, Marine traffic, Marine litter: a multidisciplinary collaboration in Mediterranean sea

Long-term multidisciplinary collaborations are nowadays needed to achieve the ecosystem based approach required by ecology studies and legislative framework.A multidisciplinary approach for collecting integrated data on different taxa and potential pressures is experimented in the Mediterranean Marine Region. At date, more than 20 organizations (universities, research bodies, NGOs, 4 ferry companies) are directly involved in the network. 1700 NM of transborder sampling transects are regularly monitored (41% year-round, 59% June-Sept.; 2-8surveys/month), using ferries as platform of observation. Dedicated observers systematically collect data on Cetaceans, Marine birds, Sea turtles, Marine traffic and Marine litter. Two protocols were established for consistent data collection. Main results, based on more than 260.000 Km of effort, show the potential for a better understanding of key areas/seasons/dynamics for biodiversity conservation. The lesson learned for the long term strategical collaboration is the cost effectiveness of the monitoring and the multi-scale coordination. Each partner is responsible for one/more routes, owns the collected data and coordinates the actions required at the local scale; the general coordination is driven by a super-partes public body that is responsible for the consistency of data collection and guarantees the coherence of the information obtained with legislative requirements and conservation purposes at national and international scale.