Coastal ecosystems play a major role in global carbon cycling and storage, yet the contribution of calcifying macroalgal habitats, such as coralline algal beds (CABs; rhodolith and maerl beds), remains poorly understood. Because carbon cycling in CABs is governed by community productivity and calcification, which exert opposing effects on seawater carbonate chemistry, understanding the balance between these processes is essent...

Rhodolith beds are globally distributed benthic habitats that play a key role in supporting associated faunal communities and serve as important biodiversity hotspots. Their ecological importance has been attributed to their ability to increase habitat complexity. In this context, rhodoliths are considered habitat-forming species (primary facilitator) that potentially support the establishment of further habitat providers, suc...

Black coral forests play a vital role in mesophotic and deep-water environments, providing habitat and refuge for numerous organisms. Their presence and distribution are influenced by hydrodynamic conditions. Yet, insight into the effect of current velocity on the survival and overall condition of black corals, and how this may differ between sexes during the reproductive period, is lacking. Here, we investigated how the curre...

In this study, patterns in the taxonomic richness and composition of the fish fauna inhabiting Cymodocea nodosa seagrass meadows were described across their entire distribution range in the Mediterranean Sea and adjacent Atlantic Ocean. Specifically, the study tested whether there are differences in the composition of fish assemblages between those ecoregions encompassed by the distribution range of C. nodosa , and whether the...

Despite sea-urchins can play an important role affecting the community structure of subtidal bottoms, factors controlling the dynamics of sea-urchin populations are still poorly understood. We assessed the seasonal variation in recruitment of three sea-urchin species (Diadema africanum, Paracentrotus lividus and Arbacia lixula) at Gran Canaria Island (eastern Atlantic) via monthly deployment of artificial collectors throughout...

Demersal, non‐cryptic, wild fishes were counted in replicate 100 m 2 transects beneath a floating sea‐cage fish farm and two nearby sandy locations at Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, eastern Atlantic) four times before and after the cessation of farming. Cessation of farming involved the removal of farmed fishes and ceasing of the daily feeding, although farm structures (cages and moorings) remained. A ‘beyond‐BACI’ sampling des...