Interest

Important key driver of littoral communities structure due to its capacity of shifting complex littoral macroalgal beds into barren grounds dominated by crustose coralline algae. It is a thermophilous species, which is expected to be favored by climate change, since sea warming may increase both the production of gametes and larval survival . This increase is likely to negatively affect the shallow rocky ecosystems along the Mediterranean coasts, due to its potential to generate sea urchin barrens of reduced diversity and productivity.

Distribution and origin of the sample

Iconic species living in the Mediterranean and Atlantic seas

Principal investigator

Cinta Pegueroles

Funding

Iniciativa Catalana per a l'Earth Biogenome Project (CBP) - Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC)

Links