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Among the main effects of climate change on the marine environment are the increase in sea level, temperature, acidification and the number of invasive species. In this context, the priority habitat Arrecifes (1170), represented in the Levantine-Balearic region by vermetids (Dendropoma lebeche), corals of Cladocora caespitosa and gorgonians (Eunicella spp.); it is especially vulnerable to these variations. The factors described above are negative factors for the development of these species, and in the case of corals and gorgonians they are the main causes of the increase in mass die-offs that are being recorded recently.

Thus, this project focuses on the monitoring of these species and the study of the effects of climate change on the priority habitat Arrecifes (1170), which includes 4 marine areas of the Natura 2000 Network and considered Sites of Community Importance (SCI): Ifac marine area, Serra Gelada and Litoral de la Marina Baixa, Cabo de Les Hortes marine area and Tabarca marine area.

According to the Institute of Coastal Ecology, the actions proposed in the project (including the study, monitoring and dissemination of the problem raised, as well as communication between researcher and manager) are essential to ensure the conservation of this priority habitat.

The general objective of the project has been to contribute to the adaptation to climate change of the priority marine habitat Arrecifes (1170) in the Levantine-Balearic region.

The specific objectives were as follows:

• Assessing the impact of climate change on vulnerable species: vulnerability and risk analysis.
• To publicize the particularities of the Arrecifes habitat in the face of climate change.
• Train volunteers to monitor this habitat.
• Promote the use of science-manager interfaces.

• Scientific-technical monitoring of the priority habitat Reefs, through the selection of species and colonies of the habitat and their monitoring in the 4 SCIs of the study area.
• Assessment of risks associated with climate change and their impact on vulnerable species: specifically, the effect of bleaching and necrosis in the colonies of madreporary corals was analysed and an assessment of the conservation of vermetid formations was carried out.
• Citizen science actions involving volunteers in monitoring campaigns, also carrying out training actions. In total, 49 volunteers participated, in addition to 17 students in the training carried out at the IES Clot de l’Illot (Alicante).
• Dissemination and awareness, making known the particularities of the Arrecifes habitat in the face of climate change and the possibilities of adaptation. Among other actions, posters and information leaflets were published, publications were made on the entity’s website and social networks, a report was written on the dissemination of conservation measures based on the results obtained and presentations of the project were made in a session of the Alicante Red Cross and the Poseidon association and in a day of synergies between projects of the Biodiversity Foundation. at the University of Alicante, with those responsible for the “EXTREME REEF” project.
• Improvement of knowledge transfer, establishing fluid communication with the managers of the natural areas involved and the transfer of science-manager results. A transmission of knowledge of the fragility of cornices and vermetid formations was carried out, with proposals for future campaigns to locate information tables to avoid intensive trampling, which made it possible to paralyze a project that could be harmful to vermetid formations in the SCI of the Ifach Marine Area.

Vermetid reefs are found on the southeastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula and are very vulnerable to rising sea levels. Rising temperatures, acidification and invasive species are also negative factors for their development, as are for Cladocora caespitosa (the only reef-forming coral with zooxanthellae in the Mediterranean) and gorgonians, which have experienced mass die-offs recently.

This project has focused on the study of the effects of climate change on the priority habitat Arrecifes (1170) in the Levantine-Balearic region, by monitoring its main species in 4 marine areas of the Natura 2000 Network considered Sites of Community Importance (SCI): Ifac Marine Area, Serra Gelada and Marina Baixa Coast, Cabo de Les Hortes marine area and Tabarca marine area.

To this end, four monitoring campaigns have been carried out on 599 colonies of Oculina patagonica and Cladocora caespitosa and 348 measurements of vermetid densities, with a total of 49 volunteers and the participation of 17 students from the IES Clot de l’Illot (Alicante).

Various informative materials have also been published, downloadable from the project website, and presentations of the project have also been made in a session of the Alicante Red Cross and the Poseidon association and in a day of synergies between projects of the Biodiversity Foundation, at the University of Alicante, with those responsible for the “EXTREME REEF” project.

In this way, the knowledge generated on the effects of climate change (sea level rise, temperature increase, acidification and invasive presence) on bleaching, epibiosis and necrosis in madreporary coral colonies, as well as on the distribution and main problems of vermetid reef formations, has provided useful information for those responsible for the marine areas studied to design adaptation measures.