Colonies of the yellow gorgonian <i>Eunicella cavolini</i> exposed to different orientations and disturbances.

<p>a) in a large overhang; b) on open rock; c) under stress by fishing gear and mucilagenous algae, d) heavily overgrown during a mass mortality event. Photos a and b are courtesy of Thanos Dalianis and Panagiotis Papadelis, respectively.</p

Summary of PERMANOVA results for <i>Eunicella cavolini</i> colony height.

<p>Tests of significance were run based on Euclidean distances for square root transformed data.</p><p>*statistically significant differences (<i>p</i><0.05).</p><p>Summary of PERMANOVA results for <i>Eunicella cavolini</i> colony height.</p

Map of the Mediterranean showing the investigated regions of the NW Mediterranean, CE Adriatic and N Aegean.

<p>Inset figures a—d present localities (in bold). Crosses mark the study sites of the yellow gorgonian <i>Eunicella cavolini</i>.</p

Mean density (colonies per m²) of <i>Eunicella cavolini</i> populations, tabulated by locality.

<p>Whisker span indicates standard deviation. Colors denote geographic regions.</p

Upper depth distribution limits for the investigated <i>Eunicella cavolini</i> populations along a longitudinal gradient.

<p>Upper depth distribution limits for the investigated <i>Eunicella cavolini</i> populations along a longitudinal gradient.</p

Height frequency distribution of <i>Eunicella cavolini</i> populations per site, grouped by locality (in bold) and region (different colors).

<p>Italics indicate site name, numbers in parentheses denote sampling depth range, and (N) corresponds to the number of colonies used.</p

Summary of PERMANOVA results for <i>Eunicella cavolini</i> population density.

<p>Tests of significance were run based on Euclidean distances for square root transformed data.</p><p>*statistically significant differences (<i>p</i><0.05).</p><p>Summary of PERMANOVA results for <i>Eunicella cavolini</i> population density.</p

Non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) plot of <i>Eunicella cavolini</i> population structure per site.

<p>Different markers indicate different regions. Black dotted lines signify clusters formed at Euclidean distance equal to 4. The superimposed red lines denote the Euclidean distance coefficients used, after data normalization: mean height, max height, H% (proportion of height classes ≤20 cm and >30 cm), height skewness, height kurtosis, density, and upper depth distribution.</p

Main features and considerations for the selection of existing and proposed conservation areas.

<p>The number of times a specific feature was considered in different initiatives is reported. Some proposals incorporated existing initiatives and plans: these are indicated by the light grey boxes and the red arrows. Among the existing conservation areas, SPAMIs, EU CDDA, and existing MPAs were not included because they are aggregations of protected areas based on different criteria.</p

Frequency of inclusion by proposed conservation plans.

<p>The number of schemes including a particular area and the total % included are reported in the legend.</p