Mediterranean rocky reefs in the Anthropocene: Present status and future concerns

Stanislao Bevilacqua, Laura Airoldi, Enric Ballesteros, Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi, Ferdinando Boero, Fabio Bulleri, Emma Cebrian, Carlo Cerrano, Joachim Claudet, Francesco Colloca, Martina Coppari, Antonio Di Franco, Simonetta Fraschetti, Joaquim Garrabou, Giuseppe Guarnieri, Cristiana Guerranti, Paolo Guidetti, Benjamin S. Halpern, Stelios Katsanevakis, Maria Cristina ManganoFiorenza Micheli, Marco Milazzo, Antonio Pusceddu, Monia Renzi, Gil Rilov, Gianluca Sarà, Antonio Terlizzi

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

Global change is striking harder and faster in the Mediterranean Sea than elsewhere, where high levels of human pressure and proneness to climate change interact in modifying the structure and disrupting regulative mechanisms of marine ecosystems. Rocky reefs are particularly exposed to such environmental changes with ongoing trends of degradation being impressive. Due to the variety of habitat types and associated marine biodiversity, rocky reefs are critical for the functioning of marine ecosystems, and their decline could profoundly affect the provision of essential goods and services which human populations in coastal areas rely upon. Here, we provide an up-to-date overview of the status of rocky reefs, trends in human-driven changes undermining their integrity, and current and upcoming management and conservation strategies, attempting a projection on what could be the future of this essential component of Mediterranean marine ecosystems.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAdvances in Marine Biology
EditorsCharles Sheppard
PublisherAcademic Press
Pages1-51
Number of pages51
ISBN (Print)9780128246238
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2021
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

NameAdvances in Marine Biology
Volume89
ISSN (Print)0065-2881
ISSN (Electronic)2162-5875

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
S.B. outlined and led the manuscript drafting. All authors equally contributed to intellectual contents, writing and critical review of the manuscript.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

  • Algal forests
  • Bioconstructions
  • Coastal ecosystems
  • Conservation
  • Fish assemblages
  • Global change
  • Marine biodiversity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Aquatic Science

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