This paper aims at collating and reviewing all data collected using the ESCA (Ecological Status of Coralligenous Assemblages) index from 2009 to 2018 during different local applications, in order to evaluate at large spatial scale its effectiveness and temporal variability. To this scope, the large-scale response of ESCA to anthropogenic disturbance was tested comparing ESCA values calculated at 42 sites of the Western Mediterranean Sea with the anthropization index. Moreover, the sensitivity of ESCA to punctual human disturbance and the robustness of the index across the natural space and time variability were evaluated. The large spatial scale study showed significant correlation between ESCA and the anthropization index, while very low correlation was detected when descriptors of ESCA (i.e., sensitivity levels, α-diversity, and β-diversity) were considered separately. The three impact evaluation studies highlighted significantly lower values of the ESCA index in disturbed conditions than in the control ones. The coastal monitoring study confirmed the robustness of the index which showed a high ecological quality of coralligenous reefs in reference conditions compared to more anthropized sites, and this pattern was maintained throughout the ten years study period. Application of the ESCA index to different situations tested positively its sensibility to different levels and type of human disturbance and its stability with respect to regional spatio-temporal variability. This confirm the reliability of the ESCA index already tested on the local and annual scale, thus broadening its range of application and validating it on a wider space–time scale.

本文旨在整理和审查从2009年到2018年在不同的本地应用程序中使用ESCA（珊瑚组合体的生态状况）指数收集的所有数据，以便在较大的空间规模上评估其有效性和时间变异性。在此范围内，通过比较在西地中海42个站点计算的ESCA值与人类化指数，测试了ESCA对人为干扰的大规模响应。此外，评估了ESCA对人为守时行为的敏感性以及该指数在自然空间和时间可变性方面的稳健性。大规模的空间研究表明，ESCA与人类化指数之间存在显着的相关性，而当ESCA的描述词（即敏感性水平，α多样性，和β多样性）分别考虑。这三项影响评估研究强调，扰动条件下的ESCA指数值明显低于对照组。沿海监测研究证实了该指数的稳健性，与人为投入使用的地点相比，该指数在参考条件下显示出高生态质量的珊瑚礁，并且在整个十年的研究期间都保持了这种模式。ESCA指数在不同情况下的应用积极地测试了其对不同程度和类型的人为干扰的敏感性以及相对于区域时空变化的稳定性。这证实了已在本地和年度范围内测试过的ESCA指数的可靠性，从而扩大了其适用范围并在更广阔的时空范围内对其进行了验证。