In the Mediterranean Sea, as well as in other parts of the word, intense bottom trawling threatens deep and mesophotic assemblages, compromising mainly the survi- vorship of erect organisms and of the habitat complexity they shape. Protection of species able to affect their habitats, by increasing spatial complexity and enhancing interspecific interactions, is crucial for biodiversity conservation. It is urgent to highlight the occurrence of those species which act as ecosystem engineers and/or habitat former to enhance awareness on their ecological role and to develop focused conservation strategies. Lyto- carpia myriophyllum is the largest Leptomedusan hydroid of the Mediterranean Sea, with colonies up to 1 m high, and the most abundant Aglaopheniid in the eastern part of the North Atlantic Ocean. This species creates wide forests on soft bottoms stabilizing sedi- ments, providing refuge and food for several other associated organisms and could be defined both a habitat former and an ecosystem engineer. Thanks to trimix diving here we report on new insights on the morphological, biological and ecological features of L. myriophyllum meadows from the Mediterranean Sea furnishing a baseline for protection plans focused on these facies. This work demonstrates that direct studies of mesophotic habitats allow to collect far more detailed information than grabs, ROVs, or towed camera arrays and highlights the urgent need to redefine the vertical extension of several marine protected areas.

Mesophotic “mentions”
6 x (total of 4649 words)

Classification
* Focused on 'mesophotic' depth range
* Focused on 'temperate mesophotic ecosystem'

Fields
Ecology
Reproduction

Focusgroups
Hydrozoa

Locations
Italy - Ligurian-Tyrrhenian

Platforms
SCUBA (open-circuit or unspecified)