1. Detailed knowledge about the distribution of species in need of protection is required for the management of Marine Protected Areas, a major tool to reduce marine biodiversity loss. Such knowledge is deficient for most marine invertebrates.
2. Axinella polypoides is a marine sponge included on the list of protected species by the Barcelona Convention (1976) and the Bern Convention (1987). This large and erect species has an important ecological role in habitat forming and benthic–pelagic coupling.
3. Bathymetrical, geographical and ecological data over the last 60 years were collated from publications and reports, together with new surveys to assess the distribution and protection status in Liguria of A. polypoides. It identified a more widespread distribution than previously thought, which points at a general need for dedicated investigations on the occurrence of species that require protection.
4. Bathymetrical distribution was trimodal, with peaks corresponding to different geomorphological settings: coastal cliff bases (around 38 m depth), inner shelf shoals (52 m) and rocks amidst coarse sediment on the outer shelf (79 m). Density was significantly greater at the shallowest depths. The species was mostly found in the coralligenous biocoenosis, in association with other characteristic species or forming a monospecific facies.
5. On (sub)vertical cliffs, A. polypoides often exhibited an unusual cane shape, rather than the typical bushy morphology, thus causing confusion with the congeneric A. cannabina, a more southern species. Records of the latter in the Ligurian Sea therefore need confirmation.
6. Only a minority (22.6%) of A. polypoides records were in Marine Protected Areas, the remainder being located in areas with no current environmental protection plans in place. While the occurrence of this species in MPAs remained stable over the decades, the only quantitative historical data available indicated that populations in non‐protected areas were declining owing to anthropogenic impacts (fishing and anchoring).

中文翻译：

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您无法保存尚未发现的物种：意大利利古里亚的海洋海绵Axinella polypoides案例

1. 管理海洋保护区是减少海洋生物多样性丧失的主要工具，需要有关需要保护的物种分布的详细知识。对于大多数海洋无脊椎动物而言，此类知识是不足的。
2. Axinella polypoides是一种海洋海绵，被《巴塞罗那公约》（1976年）和《伯尔尼公约》（1987年）列入了受保护物种清单。这种大而直立的物种在生境形成和底栖-上浮耦合中具有重要的生态作用。
3. 从出版物和报告中收集了过去60年的测深，地理和生态数据，并进行了新的调查，以评估多头拟南芥在利古里亚的分布和保护状况。它确定了比以前认为的更为广泛的分布，这表明普遍需要对需要保护的物种的发生进行专门的调查。
4. 等深线分布是三峰的，其峰对应于不同的地貌设置：沿海悬崖基底（深度约38 m），内层架浅滩（52 m）和外层架上较厚沉积物中的岩石（79 m）。在最浅的深度密度显着更大。该物种主要存在于珊瑚生物群落中，与其他特征物种有关或形成单特异性相。
5. 在（亚）垂直悬崖上，A。polypoides经常表现出不寻常的甘蔗形状，而不是典型的浓密形态，因此与南部的同类A. cannabina产生混淆。因此，需要在利古里亚海确认后者的记录。
6. 仅有少量（22.6％）的A. polypoides记录位于海洋保护区，其余的则位于目前没有环境保护计划的地区。尽管该物种在海洋保护区中的发生在过去几十年中一直保持稳定，但仅有的定量历史数据表明，由于人为的影响（捕鱼和锚固），非保护区的种群正在减少。