Microplastic ingestion in mussels from the East Mediterranean Sea: Exploring its impacts in nature and controlled conditions.

Microplastic ingestion poses a significant concern for a plethora of marine organisms due to its widespread presence in marine ecosystems. Despite growing scientific interest, the effects on marine biota are not yet well understood. This study investigates the ingestion of microplastics (MPs) by mussels from various marine environments and assesses the associated effects that can be induced by MPs and associated toxic chemicals.

Priorities for Mediterranean marine turtle conservation and management in the face of climate change.

As climate-related impacts threaten marine biodiversity globally, it is important to adjust conservation efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change. Translating scientific knowledge into practical management, however, is often complicated due to resource, economic and policy constraints, generating a knowledge-action gap. To develop potential solutions for marine turtle conservation, we explored the perceptions of key actors across 18 countries in the Mediterranean.

Improving marine protected area governance through collaboration and co-production.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) socio-ecological effectiveness depends on a number of management and governance elements, among which stakeholder engagement and community support play key roles. Collaborative conservation initiatives that engage stakeholders in action research and knowledge co-production processes can enhance management and governance of MPAs. To design effective strategies aimed at reconciling biodiversity conservation and management of sustainable human uses, it is key to assess how local communities respond to such initiatives and identify the set of contextual factors, institutional, local and individual, potentially affecting these responses.

Macrobenthic molluscs from a marine - lagoonal environmental transition in Lesvos Island (Greece).

Background: This paper describes an occurence dataset, also including numerical abundance and biomass data, pertaining to the macrobenthic molluscan assemblages from a marine - lagoonal environmental transition. The study system was the soft-substrate benthoscape of the area of the Kalloni solar saltworks (Lesvos Island, Greece). Specifically, the study area extended from the infralittoral zone of the inner Kalloni Gulf (marine habitat) to the bottoms of the first two evaporation ponds of the Kalloni solar saltworks (lagoonal habitat).

CIGESMED for divers: Establishing a citizen science initiative for the mapping and monitoring of coralligenous assemblages in the Mediterranean Sea.

Background: Over the last decade, inventorying and monitoring of marine biodiversity has significantly benefited from the active engagement of volunteers. Although several Citizen Science projects concern tropical reef ecosystems worldwide, none of the existing initiatives has yet specifically focused on their Mediterranean equivalents. Mediterranean coralline reefs, known as "coralligenous", are bioherms primarily built by calcifying rhodophytes on hard substrates under dim-light conditions; they are considered hotspots of biodiversity and are extremely popular among divers due to their complex structure, conspicuous biological wealth and high aesthetic value.

ReefMedMol: Mollusca from the infralittoral rocky shores - the biocoenosis of photophilic algae - in the Mediterranean Sea.

Background: This paper describes two datasets on the molluscan fauna from the Mediterranean infralittoral reef ecosystem - the biocoenosis of photophilic algae. The first dataset is taken from the East Mediterranean node of the NAGISA project. The second one is a compilation based on the available published material in peer - reviewed journals as well as from the accessible grey literature.

Five key attributes can increase marine protected areas performance for small-scale fisheries management.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have largely proven to be effective tools for conserving marine ecosystem, while socio-economic benefits generated by MPAs to fisheries are still under debate. Many MPAs embed a no-take zone, aiming to preserve natural populations and ecosystems, within a buffer zone where potentially sustainable activities are allowed. Small-scale fisheries (SSF) within buffer zones can be highly beneficial by promoting local socio-economies.

Benthic molluscan macrofauna structure in heavily trawled sediments (Thermaikos Gulf, North Aegean Sea): spatiotemporal patterns.

Background: Spatio-temporal patterns on benthic molluscan macrofauna structure and function (feeding guilds) were investigated in a commercial fishing ground in Thermaikos Gulf (N Aegean Sea). Fishery management measures in this area include a trawling period of 8 months per year (October to May). Macrofauna samples were collected before and after 30 and 120 days of the commencement of the trawling period (temporal axis) along a southward transect (spatial axis) and down through the sediment profile (vertical axis).

The Yellow Gorgonian Eunicella cavolini: Demography and Disturbance Levels across the Mediterranean Sea.

The yellow octocoral Eunicella cavolini is one of the most common gorgonians thriving in Mediterranean hard-bottom communities. However, information regarding its distribution and ecology in several parts of the Mediterranean is lacking, while population trends and conservation status remain largely unknown. We investigated 19 populations of E.

The rare subgroup C1 of Marphysa (Polychaeta, Eunicidae): re-description of species and first records in the Mediterranean Sea.

Marphysa is one of the largest genera in the family Eunicidae, containing 76 valid species. However, among them there are only five species that share the diagnostic characters of having only composite falcigers in inferior setae and branchiae confined in the anterior body. These species are relatively rare and less described while in their original descriptions their differentiation is mainly based on features believed to be age-specific today.

Setting priorities for regional conservation planning in the Mediterranean Sea.

Spatial prioritization in conservation is required to direct limited resources to where actions are most urgently needed and most likely to produce effective conservation outcomes. In an effort to advance the protection of a highly threatened hotspot of marine biodiversity, the Mediterranean Sea, multiple spatial conservation plans have been developed in recent years. Here, we review and integrate these different plans with the goal of identifying priority conservation areas that represent the current consensus among the different initiatives.