TABLE OF CONTENTS......Page 6
Foreword......Page 10
List of participants......Page 11
Sponsors......Page 15
PATTERNS AND PROCESSES......Page 16
The relationship between phytoplankton diversity and community function in a coastal lagoon......Page 17
Ascendency as ecological indicator for environmental quality assessment at the ecosystem level: a case study......Page 33
Phytoplankton seasonality in a highly stratified karstic estuary (Krka, Adriatic Sea)......Page 45
Factors controlling phytoplankton blooms in a temperate estuary: nutrient limitation and physical forcing......Page 55
The near-bottom layer as an ecological boundary in marine ecosystems: diversity, taxonomic composition and community definitions......Page 63
Seasonal and spatial patterns of distribution of subtidal benthic invertebrate communities in the Mondego River, Portugal – a poikilohaline estuary......Page 73
Benthic ecology of semi-natural coastal lagoons, in the Ria Formosa (Southern Portugal), exposed to different water renewal regimes......Page 89
Inter-annual variability of soft bottom macrofaunal communities in two Ionian Sea lagoons......Page 102
Spatial patterns of benthic macroinvertebrates in intertidal areas of a Southern European estuary: the Tagus, Portugal......Page 112
Structure and dynamics of a benthic invertebrate community in an intertidal area of the Tagus estuary, western Portugal: a six year data series......Page 127
Spatial and environmental factors affecting the distribution of the main decapod crustacean prey species in the NW Mediterranean......Page 141
Probing diversity in the plankton: using patterns in Tintinnids (planktonic marine ciliates) to identify mechanisms......Page 154
Fish assemblages in different shallow water habitats of the Venice Lagoon......Page 169
The effect of Zostera noltii, Spartina maritima and Scirpus maritimus on sediment pore-water profiles in a temperate intertidal estuary......Page 185
Biogeographic patterns of intertidal macroinvertebrates and their association with macroalgae distribution along the Portuguese coast......Page 194
Seasonal variations of Cystoseira barbata (Stackhouse) C. Agardh frond architecture......Page 202
Epifaunal inventory of two shipwrecks from the Belgian Continental Shelf......Page 216
ASSESSMENT......Page 229
Using asymmetrical designs for environmental impact assessment of unplanned disturbances......Page 230
THREATS......Page 235
Mass mortality of coral reef ascidians following the 1997/1998 El NiΓ±o event......Page 236
Changes in the range of some common rocky shore species in Britain – a response to climate change?......Page 246
Effects of dredging activities on population dynamics of Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile in the Mediterranean sea: the case study of Capo Feto (SW Sicily, Italy)......Page 257
The colonisation of human-made structures by the invasive alga Codium fragile ssp. tomentosoides in the north Adriatic Sea (NE Mediterranean)......Page 266
Immediate effects of experimental human trampling on mid-upper intertidal benthic invertebrates at the Asinara Island MPA (NW Mediterranean)......Page 273
Imposex in Hexaplex trunculus at some sites on the North Mediterranean Coast as a base-line for future evaluation of the effectiveness of the total ban on organotin based antifouling paints......Page 282
Environmental effects of marine fish pond culture in the Ria Formosa (Southern Portugal)......Page 289
Time-series evolution of toxic organisms and related environmental factors in a brackish ecosystem of the Mediterranean Sea......Page 298
MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION......Page 305
Assessing the sensitivity of seabed species and biotopes – the Marine Life Information Network (MarLIN)......Page 306
Characterisation of the European Marine Sites in South West England: the Fal and Helford candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC)......Page 318
Macrobenthic colonisation of artificial reefs on the southern coast of Portugal (AncΓ£o, Algarve)......Page 331
The benthic impacts of the Loch Linnhe Artificial Reef......Page 340