Due to multiple impacts, Cystoseira forests are experiencing a significant decline, which is affecting the ecosystem services they provide. Despite conservation efforts, there is an urgent need to develop best practices and large-scale restoration strategies. To implement restoration actions, we developed an ex situ protocol for the cultivation of Cystoseira. amentacea var. stricta, aimed at reducing the time needed for laboratory culture, thus avoiding prolonged maintenance and minimizing costs. Specifically, we tested the effects of temperature, light and substratum on settlement and growth of early life stages using a factorial experiment. Temperature (20 and 24°C) and photoperiod (15L:9D) were selected to reflect the conditions experienced in the field during the reproductive period. Two light intensities (125 and 250 μmol photons m⁻²s⁻¹) were selected to mimic the condition experienced in the absence of canopy (i.e. barren—higher light intensity) or in the understory (lower light intensity) during gamete release. The tested substrata were flat polished pebbles and rough clay tiles. The release of gametes and the successive survival and development of embryo and germlings were followed for two weeks. Regardless of the culture conditions, rougher tiles showed higher zygote settlement, but the substrata did not affect the successive development. Zygote mortality after one week averaged 50% and at the end of the second week, embryonic survival was higher under lower light and temperature conditions, which also determined the growth of larger embryos.

This article gives an up-to-date review of the status of and main changes in benthic algal flora that have occurred in recent decades along the Italian Adriatic coastline. Common traits among the main structural/functional changes observed and their causes are discussed. A synthesis of the challenges to and prospects of filling gaps in the data, ecological knowledge and protection measures are also given.

The protocols available for sampling and monitoring shallow subtidal rhodolith beds (RBs) are inadequate for the deep Mediterranean analogues, and need calibration in order to attain comparable results. After reviewing the present knowledge of the specificities of Mediterranean RBs, and in the framework of the ongoing international effort for their conservation, a two‐step approach is suggested for their definition, identification, delimitation, description, and monitoring. Regional mapping should be improved, and RBs should be identified and delimited as those areas of the sea floor with >10% cover of live rhodoliths over a minimum surface of 500 m², on 1:10000 scale. More detailed scales (at least 1:1000) should be used for monitoring selected RBs, in order to detect significant changes through time. Beside location and areal extent, the description of RBs should include the occurrence of macroscopic sedimentary structures of the sea floor, thickness of live cover, mean percentage cover of live thalli and surface live/dead ratio, cover of dominant morphologies of rhodoliths (simplified on a ternary diagram), and volumetrically important calcareous algal species. For the purpose of assessment of the ecological status and the evaluation of human‐induced impacts, quantitative data about community composition are required. The comparative assessment of ecological status and the identification of RBs of high conservation value for special protection should consider the natural geographic and seasonal/annual variability of RBs. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In the Mediterranean Sea, brown algae belonging to the Cystoseira genus play a valuable role as foundation species. Due to evidences of regression/loss of the habitats of these species caused by the interplay of human and climatic disturbances, active restoration measures have been encouraged by EU regulations. In particular, nondestructive restoration techniques, which avoid the depletion of threatened species in donor populations, are strongly recommended. In the framework of the EU project ROCPOP-Life, the first ex situ outplanting experience of Cystoseira amentacea var. stricta has been implemented in the Cinque Terre Marine Protected Area (northwestern Mediterranean). A total of 400 clay tiles, hosting approximately three mm-long germlings of C. amentacea, were fixed to the rocky shore with screws: the tiles were monitored for the next 2 months by photographic sampling, and survival (presence/absence of juveniles on the tiles), cover and growth were assessed. Additional sampling was performed 6 months after tile deployment, after which an unprecedented storm surge severely affected the restoration performance. After 2 months, over 40% of the tiles were covered with Cystoseira juveniles, which reached approximately eight mm in total length. The tiles that survived the storm hosted three to six cm-long juveniles. The high cover (≥25%), assuring moisture and shading, and the appropriate size of the juveniles, to avert micro-grazing, at time of deployment were key to the survival and growth of the outplanted juveniles, increasing the potential for restoration success. Our findings show that outplanting of midlittoral canopy-forming species is a feasible approach for restoration efforts, with particular attention given to the early phases: (i) laboratory culture, (ii) transport, and (iii) juvenile densities. These results are strongly encouraging for the implementation of restoration actions for C. amentacea on a large scale, in light of EU guidelines.