This paper reviews the main studies dealing with epiphytes of both leaves and rhizomes of Posidonia oceanica , the main seagrass found in the Mediterranean Sea. A total of 660 epiphyte species has been recorded, including 430 on leaves and 437 on rhizomes. Of these, 205 are Rhodophyta, 59 Ochrophyta, 43 Chlorophyta, 78 Porifera, 82 Cnidaria, 19 Annelida, 155 Bryozoa and 19 Tunicata. The epiphyte assemblages demonstrate a gradi...

Environmental conditions in estuarine habitats can vary greatly and influence the composition of fish assemblages and their trophic interrelationships. We investigated feeding habits and patterns of diet overlap in juvenile plaice ( Pleuronectes platessa ) and flounder ( Platichthys flesus ) from two estuarine habitats in the Irish Sea. Plaice was found to vary its diet significantly across environments, whereas flounder exhib...

Disentangling the ecological effects of biological invasions from those of other human disturbances is crucial to understanding the mechanisms underlying ongoing biotic homogenization. We evaluated whether the exotic seaweed, Caulerpa racemosa , is the primary cause of degradation (i.e., responsible for the loss of canopy‐formers and dominance by algal turfs) on Mediterranean rocky reefs, by experimentally removing the invader...

The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the variability in the structure of the epiphytic assemblages of leaves and rhizomes of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica differed between depths at a large spatial scale. A hierarchical sampling design was used to compare epiphytic assemblages at two different depths (10 and 20 m) in terms of both species composition and abundance and patterns of spatial variabi...

This paper investigates patterns of variability in epiphytes of Posidonia oceanica leaves at various spatial scales around Sicily, including geographical differences among the Mediterranean basins, differences between the small islands and mainland, and the variability among and within replicated meadows in each of the previous conditions. Data on percentage cover of the most common epiphytic organisms were analysed by univari...

This study compares the structure of Mediterranean macroalgal assemblages invaded by Caulerpa taxifolia and C. racemosa . Assemblages in areas colonized by the two algae and in reference areas were sampled and analyzed for 2 years. Significant differences were recorded both between reference and invaded areas and between areas invaded by different Caulerpa species. Macroalgal assemblages colonized by C. racemosa were more sepa...