In this communication, the composition and structure of macrofaunal assemblages in sandy beaches of the SW Spanish coast is studied. Ten beaches along the western coast of Andalucía were sampled, from Isla Canela (Ayamonte-Huelva), near to the Portuguese border, to the Strait of Gibraltar.

With ca. 27.000m3 of submerged structures by 25-30m depth, the "PRADO REEFS" programme initiated in 2008 in the bay of Marseille, is one of the largest artificial reefs complex in Europe. Structures were established close to Posidonia oceanica meadows, a highly productive ecosystem, heavily impacted in this urban area. This 6M€ programme has emerged after concertation with all stakeholders.

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Data gathered between 2001 and 2005 by the Instituto de Pesca de São Paulo show the main species captured in marine fisheries in the state of São Paulo. Based on this list, a survey was carried out regarding the vulnerability of these species using national and international databases, such as IUCN, Greenpeace, Instituto de Pesca de São Paulo, IBAMA and the state of São Paulo Decree No. 56,031, 20th July 2010.

Chlorophyll a. concentration, water temperature, photon in the water and other related parameters were observed every 10 minutes during 16 days in Yodo River estuary in Japan.  Cell density of each species of phytoplankton and nutrient concentrations were also observed every two or three days.

Coastal and continental slope sediments are responsible for 80 % of the global benthic mineralization. Priming effects (PE), i.e. changes in the decomposition of refractory organic matter (OM) following inputs of labile OM, have the potential to alter the C budget in marine sediments but have been largely ignored by marine scientists. Climate-driven changes in primary production suggest that a future increase in labile OM input in sediments is a realistic possibility and understanding...

The structure of a fish community is affected by its habitat. In the light of the current changes in the brackish Baltic Sea (i.e. sinking salinity and increasing eutrophication) we set out to examine exactly how the habitat affects the community structure. We sampled the littoral region of 32 sandy beaches situated along a gradient from inner to outer archipelago, with changing habitat parameters such as salinity, wave exposure, beach size and vegetation. Sampling was done in the northern...

Laboratory and field experiments showed that even short-term exposure of naïve oysters to acidic runoff from acid sulfate soils (ASS) can lead to increased mortality. How these results apply to wild populations of invertebrates is, however, unclear. Sessile organisms, such as oysters, or species with limited dispersion, such as gastropods, might experience strong selective pressures for tolerance to low pH when chronically exposed. Mobile species, such as crabs, may be capable of...

Previous to benthic habitat mapping, it is necessary to have a relevant habitat typology. Currently, EUNIS (European Nature Information System) is the reference in Europe, but it must be implemented by new observations, particularly for the more detailed levels of the classification in offshore coarse sediments which are, historically, less explored because of sampling difficulties. Numerous benthic sampling surveys have been implemented during the ten past years [BENTHOSEINE (1999),...

After preliminary marine and land surveys conducted between 1997 and 2004, first scientific dedicated boat surveys have been running since 2005 in the northern part of the North Aegean Sea, known as Thracian Sea, in Greece. 174 dedicated surveys in the study area were undertaken for a total of 1042 hours and covering an area of about 1600 km2.