Not out of the Mediterranean: Atlantic populations of the gorgonian are a separate sister species under further lineage diversification.

The accurate delimitation of species boundaries in nonbilaterian marine taxa is notoriously difficult, with consequences for many studies in ecology and evolution. Anthozoans are a diverse group of key structural organisms worldwide, but the lack of reliable morphological characters and informative genetic markers hampers our ability to understand species diversification. We investigated population differentiation and species limits in Atlantic (Iberian Peninsula) and Mediterranean lineages of the octocoral genus previously identified as .

Complete mitochondrial genome of the branching octocoral (Johnson, 1861), phylogenetic relationships and divergence analysis.

The Gray's sea fan, (Johnson, 1861), typically inhabits deep littoral and circalittoral habitats of the eastern temperate and tropical Atlantic Ocean. Along the Iberian Peninsula, where is a dominant constituent of circalittoral coral gardens, two segregating lineages (yellow and purple morphotypes) were recently identified using single-copy nuclear orthologues. The mitochondrial genomes of 9  individuals covering both color morphotypes were assembled from RNA-seq data, using samples collected at three sites in southern (Sagres and Tavira) and western (Cape Espichel) Portugal.

Impacts of climate change on reservoir water availability, quality and irrigation needs in a water scarce Mediterranean region (southern Portugal).

Future climate for the Mediterranean climatic region is expected to bring an increase in temperatures, decrease in the precipitation quantity and shifts in the seasonal precipitation pattern. Although the impacts of climate change on water resources have been relatively well explored for the Mediterranean climatic region, the specific consequences for reservoirs and, in particular, water availability and irrigation issues have been less studied. The objective of this work is two-fold: (i) to assess the impacts of future climate changes on water resources availability, quality (focusing on phosphorus loads as this is the limiting nutrient for eutrophication) and irrigation needs for two multipurpose reservoirs in southern Portugal; (ii) to suggest climate change adaptation strategies, especially for the agricultural sector.

Field studies of seahorse population density, structure and habitat use in a semi-closed north-eastern Mediterranean marine area (Stratoni, North Aegean Sea).

The present study was carried out in the marine area of Stratoni, Greece, where two seahorse species are present (Hippocampus hippocampus and Hippocampus guttulatus). Two surveys were conducted (September 2016 and May 2019) to gather information regarding seahorse species' abundance, distribution and habitat characteristics. Four different seahorse natural and artificial habitat types were identified.

Correction: A Well-Kept Treasure at Depth: Precious Red Coral Rediscovered in Atlantic Deep Coral Gardens (SW Portugal) after 300 Years.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

A Well-Kept Treasure at Depth: Precious Red Coral Rediscovered in Atlantic Deep Coral Gardens (SW Portugal) after 300 Years.

Background: The highly valuable red coral Corallium rubrum is listed in several Mediterranean Conventions for species protection and management since the 1980s. Yet, the lack of data about its Atlantic distribution has hindered its protection there. This culminated in the recent discovery of poaching activities harvesting tens of kg of coral per day from deep rocky reefs off SW Portugal.