Europe has a long tradition of exploiting marine fishes and is promoting marine economic activity through its Blue Growth strategy. This increase in anthropogenic pressure, along with climate change, threatens the biodiversity of fishes and food security. Here, we examine the conservation status of 1,020 species of European marine fishes and identify factors that contribute to their extinction risk. Large fish species (greater than 1.5 m total length) are most at risk; half of these are threatened with extinction, predominantly sharks, rays and sturgeons. This analysis was based on the latest International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) European regional Red List of marine fishes, which was coherent with assessments of the status of fish stocks carried out independently by fisheries management agencies: no species classified by IUCN as threatened were considered sustainable by these agencies. A remarkable geographic divergence in stock status was also evident: in northern Europe, most stocks were not overfished, whereas in the Mediterranean Sea, almost all stocks were overfished. As Europe proceeds with its sustainable Blue Growth agenda, two main issues stand out as needing priority actions in relation to its marine fishes: the conservation of marine fish megafauna and the sustainability of Mediterranean fish stocks.arine fishes exhibit high biodiversity 1,2 and have been culturally and nutritionally important throughout human history 3 . Europe, in particular, has a well-documented history of exploiting marine fish populations, written records of which commence in the classical works of ancient Greece. Although this historical exploitation has undoubtedly altered populations 4,5 and changed many seascapes 6 , marine defaunation in the region has not been as great as in terrestrial systems 7 . However, the use of ocean space and resources is increasing due to Europe's Blue Growth strategy 8 , the nutritional requirements of an expanding human population are growing 9,10 and marine ecosystems will experience unusually rapid changes in future due to climate change 11,12 . Consequently there are imminent threats both to European marine biodiversity and fish resources 13 . It is important, therefore, to assess the threats of extinction to fish species and to ensure consistency in the management approach by the various agencies involved.We analysed data on the conservation status of 1,020 species of Europe's marine fishes from the recent International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments 14 to identify characteristics that make Europe's fishes most susceptible to extinction risk. We then compared the Red List with 115 fish stock assessments (of 31 species) made by intergovernmental agencies charged with providing advice on the exploitation of commercial fishes. Previous comparisons of this sort applied criteria under various modelling assumptions [15][16][17] or limited the comparison to biomass reference points 18 . ResultsOf the 1,020 European marine fish species that were asses...

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© 2 0 1 7 M a c m i l l a n P u b l i s h e r s L i m i t e d , p a r t o f S p r i n g e r N a t u r e . A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .

Hottentot Fern (Thelypteris pozoi) is a widespread species, although in Europe it is only found in the Macaronesian islands, Spain and France, where it is usually found near the sea. It has been assessed as Least Concern.

The pygmy marmoset (Callithrix pygmaea) is one of the most specialized Ecuadorian primate species. Its high specialization in habitat and diet, and the increase of human activities in the Amazon region may cause pygmy marmosets to go through population bottle necks, losing genetic diversity. To estimate the magnitude of this threat, since 2008 we carried out a pilot study for evaluating the genetic diversity of four wild groups of this species in a population located on the margins of the Aguarico river. For the genetic analyses we used 50 fecal samples collected from September 2008 to February 2009; 50 % of the samples belonged to group P4, groups P1, P2 and P5 provided the remaining 50 %. We extracted DNA from the feces using the QIAamp DNA Stool Mini Kit (QIAGEN). With PCR we amplified 9 microsatellite primers reported for a related species of Callitrichinae. DNA bands were visualized in polyacrylamide (6 %) and urea (5M) gels. Statistical analyses were carried out with GenAlEx 6 software. Three to eight alleles were found per locus. The Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium test suggested that inbreeding may be occurring in group P4. Expected heterocigocity in groups P1 and P2 is 0.5, while in group P4 ranges from 05. to 0.836. Nei's genetic distance between groups P1 and P2 is 1.211, whereas group P4 differs 0.612 and 0.485 from groups P2 and P1, respectively. This is the first study of this type for this species in Ecuador and elsewhere, the results point out the need to evaluate human impact on the genetic diversity of Ecuadorian species. Keywords. Callithrix pygmaea, genetic diversity, microsatellites (SSR). ResumenEl leoncillo (Callithrix pygmaea) es uno de los primates ecuatorianos con mayor grado de especialización de hábitat y de dieta. Esta alta especialización y la intensificación de las actividades humanas en la Amazonía ecuatoriana podrían causar que las poblaciones del leoncillo atraviesen por cuellos de botella y pierdan su diversidad genética. Con el fin de estimar la magnitud de esta amenaza, desde el año 2008, se realizó un estudio piloto para evaluar el nivel de variabilidad genética de cuatro grupos de esta especie de una población a orillas del río Aguarico. Para la realización del análisis genético se utilizó un total de 50 muestras de heces, colectadas durante el período de septiembre 2008 y febrero 2009; el 50 % de las muestras correspondió al grupo P4, los grupos P1, P2 y P5 aportaron con el restante 50 %. A partir de estas muestras se extrajo ADN con el kit QIAamp DNA Stool Mini Kit (QIAGEN). Mediante la técnica de PCR se amplificaron nueve primers de microsatélites reportados para otra especie de Callitrichinae. La visualización de bandas se realizó en geles denaturantes de poliacrilamida al 6 % y Urea 5M. El análisis estadístico fue realizado con el programa GenAlEx 6. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que existen de 3 a 8 alelos/locus, la prueba de equilibrio Hardy-Weinberg sugiere que en el grupo P4 puede estar sucediendo endogamia, la heterocigocidad esperada en los grupos P1 y P2 ...