A 2020 satellite photo shows off the ethereal beauty of submerged sandbanks and seagrass beds in the Great Bahama Bank. This massive underwater structure is as old as the dinosaurs and has been admire...

The first record of a living specimen of Astrospartus mediterraneus (Risso, 1826) in Galician waters is presented, representing a significant extension of the known northern limit for this charismatic, yet little-known, species of ophiuroid. Traditionally restricted to the western Mediterranean Sea and adjacent Atlantic, A. mediterraneus is characterized by its cryptic habits and association with deep benthic communities dominated by gorgonians and sponges. The specimen observed in Galicia was found in a shallow subtidal habitat, at the edge of the mesophotic zone considered compatible with its ecological requirements. This finding raises new hypotheses regarding population connectivity between the Mediterranean Basin and Atlantic regions, as well as the role of ocean currents and climate change in the redistribution of benthic species. The biogeographic implications of this record are discussed, and the need to intensify monitoring efforts for deep-sea species in the Iberian Atlantic is proposed.

Prolonged exposure to microplastics can disrupt vital physiological processes in gorgonians, such as respiration. Although these pollutants do not cause visible damage to tissues and cells, their effects could have an ecological impact on these organisms that structure the seabed, particularly if exposure continues over time occurs alongside other environmental pressures, such as ocean warming, habitat degradation or the growing accumulation of plastics in the marine environment. p>These are some of the findings, set out in an article published in Marine Pollution Bulletin , from a study led by experts Odei Garcia-Garin from the Faculty of Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) at the University of Barcelona, and the Institute of Aquatic Ecology at the University of Girona (IEA-UdG), and Núria Viladrich, also a member of the Faculty of Biology and IRBio. The study, funded by IRBio grant PR-2023, also involved collaboration with the Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology (ICBIBE) at Universitat de València. The study analyses, for the first time, the effects of prolonged exposure to microplastics on two representative Mediterranean gorgonian species: the white gorgonian (Eunicella singularis) and the violescent sea-whip (Paramuricea clavata). Gorgonians are colonial organisms that play a vital role in Mediterranean benthic ecosystems and in...