The Mediterranean vermetid reefs: distribution and conservation status

The vermetid reef is an intertidal bioconstruction distributed in the warmest waters of the Mediterranean Sea, and is built by the gregarious vermetid gastropodDendropomaspp. cemented by the coralline red algae of the genusNeogoniolithon.Thisbiogenichabitatisonly generically protected under the European Habitat Directive, but to date it is not explicitly taken into account in many conservation plans. Despite the documented local extinction of Dendropomain the some Eastern Mediterranean locations, its role as habitat engineer and the high numbers of ecosystem services provided, vermetid reef is among the least known marine bioconstruction of the Mediterranean. We counted 112 reefs along the Mediterranean coast, 44 of which are located in the Eastern basin and rest in the Western sector. Among them 44% are theoretically protected, while 56% do not benefit from any form of protection. Excluding Sites of Community Importance, existing only in European Countries, only 32 reefs (28.5%) are included within a MPA or a coastal reserve. No protection at all is ensured in Algeria, Cyprus and Libya, while less than 50% of the reefs are protected in Italy, Malta, Spain, Morocco and Syria, and less than 20% is protected in Lebanon, Tunisia and Turkey. Our analyses suggest the need to enlarge action plans to provide a true protection for the vermetid reef and to develop a conservation strategy at a basin scale,implementing the monitoring of this neglected but ecologically relevant coastal key habitat.