Marine caves are considered biodiversity hotspots and serve as refuge habitats for both endemic and non-endemic species. Due to their low resilience, this habitat is considered vulnerable and is included as a key habitat in the European Union’s (EU) Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). Recreational diving has been identified as a significant threat to this habitat, causing sediment resuspension, destruction of epibenthic organisms...

The bearded fireworm Hermodice carunculata is a thermophilic polychaeta typically inhabiting the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the southern Mediterranean Sea. Over the past few years, sightings of this species have become more frequent at higher latitudes along the western Mediterranean (WM) basin, raising concerns about the potential expansion of its distribution range. Here, we present new records of H. carunculata...