The ecology and function of rocky temperate mesophotic ecosystems (TMEs) remain poorly
understood globally despite their widespread distribution. They typically occur at 20–150 m …

Global change is striking harder and faster in the Mediterranean Sea than elsewhere, where
high levels of human pressure and proneness to climate change interact in modifying the …

Marine animal forests are benthic communities dominated by sessile suspension feeders
(such as sponges, corals, and bivalves) able to generate three-dimensional (3D) …

Sponges are a major component of benthic ecosystems across the world and fulfil a number
of important functional roles. However, despite their importance, there have been few …

Along the Mediterranean Sea shelf, algal reefs made of crustose coralline algae and
Peyssonneliales are known as Coralligenous. It ranks among the most important …

Global warming is causing the increase in intensity and frequency of heatwaves, which are
often associated with mass mortality events of marine organisms from shallow and …

The 30–150 m bathymetric range is commonly adopted in the literature to constrain the
mesophotic zone. However, such depth interval varies depending on sunlight penetration …

Marine fish communities suffer from anthropogenic pressures and climate change, which
influence their spatio-temporal dynamics. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been …

The deep shoal of Punta del Faro (Ligurian Sea, Mediterranean Sea) is a mesophotic rocky
elevation hosting complex animal forests threatened by fishing activities. To identify …

Climate change driven extreme events such as marine heatwaves (MHWs) can have
dramatic impacts on ecosystems, with thermal stress often resulting in localised die-offs and …