Global seascapes are increasingly modified to support high levels of human activity in the coastal zone. Modifications include the addition of defense structures and boating infrastructure, such as seawalls and marinas that replace natural habitats. Artificial structures support different macrofaunal communities to those found on natural rocky shores; however, little is known about differences ...

Following progressive urbanisation of coastal areas, artificial structures are becoming common features of landscapes in shallow waters. Despite this, few studies have focused on the ecological role of these structures or have attempted to assess the extent to which they can act as surrogates for natural habitats. This study investigated whether colonisation of space can determine the occurrenc...

The extensive presence of artificial reefs in marine coastal habitats demands a better understanding of the extent to which these structures can be considered surrogates of natural rocky shores for populations of plants and animals. The primary aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that removing limpets from the midlittoral of artificial breakwaters in the northwest Mediterranean led to ...

The “Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)”, a new approach to ecological classification, was applied to 122 km of the southern intertidal zone of Qeshm Island located the Hormouz Strait - the Persian Gulf. Two components of this model, Surface Geology (SGC) and Biotic Cover (BCC) were used. Considering the extent and geomorphological alternations of the covered area, 12...

Rocky shores are one of the most important habitats of marine environment in coastal areas. They host marine organisms including seaweeds because of existence of strong and stable substrate for their growths. Intertidal rocky shores are a prominent feature on coastal areas of Qeshm Island located at the northern part of Strait of Hormuz. In order to study biomass of seaweeds on rocky intertidal...

Sediments are likely to influence the distribution of limpets and dominant sessile species on intertidal rocky shores by smothering and interfering with feeding activity. This hypothesis was tested by field observations and laboratory experiments in which the effects of different amounts and grain sizes of sediments on the grazing and survival of the limpet Patella vulgata L. were measured. On ...

The “Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)”, a new approach to ecological classification, was applied to 122 km of the southern intertidal zone of Qeshm Island located the Hormouz Strait - the Persian Gulf. Two components of this model, Surface Geology (SGC) and Biotic Cover (BCC) were used. Considering the extent and geomorphological alternations of the covered area, 12...