Sediments associated with hydrothermal venting, methane seepage and large organic falls such as whale, wood and plant detritus create deep-sea networks of soft-sediment habitats fueled, at least in part, by the oxidation of reduced chemicals. Biological studies at deep-sea vents, seeps and organic falls have looked at macrofaunal taxa, but there has yet to be a systematic comparison of the comm...

The outer western Crimean shelf of the Black Sea is a natural laboratory to investigate effects of stable oxic versus varying hypoxic conditions on seafloor biogeochemical processes and benthic community structure. Bottom-water oxygen concentrations ranged from normoxic (175 μmol O2 L ) and hypoxic (< 63 μmol O2 L ) or even anoxic/sulfidic conditions within a few kilometers’ distance. Variation...

Rare evidences support that Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) enhance the stability of marine habitats and assemblages. Based on nine years of observation (2001-2009) inside and outside a well managed MPA, we assessed the potential of conservation and management actions to modify patterns of spatial and/or temporal variability of Posidonia oceanica meadows, the lower midlittoral and the shallow inf...

The conservation of mangrove forests has become an important international policy priority in recent decades, and is mirrored by a large increase research interest. Multiple disciplines now use mangroves as study system, from molecular biology to social science. variety conducted exemplified the Mangrove Macrobenthos & Management (MMM) conference series, world's largest gathering researchers pr...