Zoobenthos

Abstract

Among Mediterranean marine life, benthic communities are possibly the most peculiar in terms of richness and endemic species. The distribution and structure of benthic fauna (sessile and vagile) is driven by environmental gradients that change with season, depth, the type of substrate and the interaction between organisms. The combined action of these multiple factors results in a high variety of assemblages and communities. This chapter focuses on the benthic fauna, with the aim to provide a broad description of the hard and soft bottom communities and the general trends of their characteristics and variability. Special emphasis is given to the ecological strategies of the fauna that inhabit in complex benthic ecosystems. The pressures and impacts on these benthic fauna and ecosystems, from alien species invasions, warming effects, ocean acidification and other direct and indirect human perturbations are also illustrated.