Effective marine protected area (MPA) networks require accurate knowledge of habitat distribution, yet in remote oceanic archipelagos, the logistical and financial costs of comprehensive surveys render this difficult to obtain. Species distribution models (SDMs) offer a practical alternative, however their application to MPA placement evaluation in data-deficient oceanic archipelagos remains limited. The Azores archipelago has...

Crypthelia Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1849 is the most diverse genus of lace corals inhabiting the Azores. During the 2012 DEEPFUN cruise, the first coral garden structured by this genus was recorded in the Menez Gwen Marine Protected Area (MPA). Identification of the species was based on morphology of specimens collected in situ and characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Imagery acquired by the remotely operated...

Aim Drivers of intraspecific biodiversity include past climate‐driven range shifts and contemporary ecological conditions mediating connectivity, but these are rarely integrated in a common comprehensive approach. This is particularly relevant for marine organisms, as ocean currents strongly influence population isolation or connectivity, keeping or diluting the signatures left by past climates. Here we ask whether the couplin...

Gettysburg and Ormonde are two shallow peaks located on the Gorringe seamount about 200 and 240 km WSW off Cape St. Vincent (Portugal, NE Atlantic), within the Portuguese Economic Exclusive Zone. Despite the ecological importance of the biological assemblages on these peaks and the need to preserve seamounts as valuable habitats, no management plans have been yet implemented at this site, which only recently has been included...