Rhodolith beds represent a key habitat worldwide, from tropical to polar ecosystems. Despite this habitat is considered a hotspot of biodiversity, providing a suite of ecosystem goods and services, still scarce quantitative information is available thus far about rhodolith beds occurrence and ecological role, especially in the Mediterranean Sea. This study reports the composition and patterns of distribution of rhodolith assemblages found in four study areas along ca. 860 km of coast in the Central Mediterranean Sea. These rhodolith beds were studied for the first time and significant differences at all spatial scales have been highlighted, documenting the high variability of this habitat. Rhodolith species composition, morphology and distribution have been discussed considering the potential role of environmental factors in driving these patterns. The need for improving their protection is discussed to complement present conservation and management initiatives, particularly in the frame of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

中文翻译：

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沿阿普利亚大陆架（地中海）的Rhodolith层异质性

从热带到极地生态系统，红景天床代表着全球的重要栖息地。尽管该栖息地被认为是生物多样性的热点，提供了一系列的生态系统产品和服务，但到目前为止，关于菱锰石床的发生和生态作用，尤其是在地中海，仍缺乏定量信息。这项研究报告了大约四个研究区域中发现的菱纹石组合的组成和分布模式。中地中海海岸860公里。首次研究了这些菱锰矿床，并强调了所有空间尺度的显着差异，证明了该生境的高度变异性。考虑到环境因素在驱动这些模式中的潜在作用，讨论了红景天属物种的组成，形态和分布。