DOI 10.1002/aqc.3365 1.The coralligenous habitat was studied at the large Mediterranean scale, by applying a standardized, non‐destructive photo‐sampling protocol, developed in the framework of the CIGESMED project.
2. The results provided evidence to support the following statements: (a) the assemblage pattern is not homogeneously distributed across the four Mediterranean ecoregions studied (biotic gradients hypothesis); and (b) the assemblage pattern does not change significantly when the information is aggregated to higher taxonomic levels (taxonomic sufficiency hypothesis).
3. Surrogate taxonomic categories higher than species, such as genus and family, can be used to reveal the multivariate pattern of the coralligenous assemblages.
4. Although preliminary at the pan‐Mediterranean scale, these outcomes set the scene for future comparisons as more data sets become available but also for comparisons between taxonomic and functional patterns.
algae, benthos, biodiversity, biogeography, circalittoral, coastal, habitat management, invertebrates, reef
| File | Pages | Size | Access | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Publisher's official version | 17 | 5 Mo | ||
DATA S1 ANOSIM results from the comparisons of the samples grouped within ecoregions, at all scales and taxonomic levels. Groups: 1, Levantine Sea; 2, Aegean Sea; 3, Ionian Sea; 4, Algero‐Provencal .. | - | 39 Ko | ||
DATA S2 RELATE results from the comparisons of inter‐matrices deriving from all taxonomic levels and scales. Groups: 1, Levantine Sea; 2, Aegean Sea; 3, Ionian Sea; 4, Algero‐Provencal basin. | - | 33 Ko | ||
Author's final draft | 18 | 5 Mo |
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