Distribution of Deep-Sea Laminarians around three spanish Marine Protected Areas

Most marine protected areas (MPAs) have been declared marine extensions of protected terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore, these protected sites are around or beside coastal or island marine reserves, natural parks, etc. That means that most of the protected seabeds are normally shallow coastal areas usually no deeper than the infralittoral zone. Deep-sea laminarians extend down to … Read more

First records of Asbestopluma hypogea Vacelet and Boury-Esnault, 1996 (Porifera, Demospongiae Cladorhizidae) on seamounts and in bathyal settings of the Mediterranean Sea

The carnivorous sponge Asbestopluma hypogea, was known only from shallow submarine caves (-15 to -26 m) in the Western Mediterranean Sea and the Adriatic. Herein A. hypogea is reported from outside of caves, on seamounts in the Alboran Sea (-167 m), off the Balearics (-100 m) and north off Sicily (-660 m), and along steep … Read more

A giant foraminifer that converges to the feeding strategy of carnivorous sponges: Spiculosiphon oceana sp. nov. (Foraminifera, Astrorhizida)

Agglutinated foraminifera make a relatively diverse group of organisms, which is taxonomically defined as a subclass (Textulariia) and comprises four orders. The orders are based upon gross morphology, wall structure, and cement composition (Kaminski 2004). The cement that binds the test together may be organic (as in the Astrorhizida), calcareous and canaliculate (as in the … Read more

Corals

Corals are animals or animal colonies that form complex structures on the seabed and are the basis of some of the world’s richest ecosystems. Corals have very slow growth (a few millimeters per year) and are an ecologically valuable habitat for many species. Calcareous create three-dimensional structures, which offers protection, food and breeding areas for many … Read more