Fio Micheli (2004) and her colleagues faced a challenge in measuring the success of marine reserves across the Mediterranean Sea: a lack of ecological data from times before large-scale fishing. They found a unique solution in using depictions of one key species, the dusky grouper, in Roman mosaics to make baseline comparisons. According to their study, the ancient works suggest that the dusky grouper, an endangered species protected in the reserves, was much larger and lived in shallower waters than it does today. "Historical information and nontraditional data sets may help in setting appropriate conservation and fisheries management goals," the research team says.
