Special Issue: Marine Animal Forest of the World (MAF WORLD)

This special issue is dedicated to papers produced within the COST Action CA20102 MAF World (https://maf-world.eu/). Major marine biodiversity hotspots occur within and around extended three dimensional communities known as Marine Animal Forests (MAFs). MAFs are biotic assemblages mainly composed of suspension-feeding organisms like sponges, gorgonians, hard corals, bryozoans, and bivalves, that form canopies like the trees or shrubs on land, thus creating underwater forests. These submersed forests provide ecosystem services which are essential for hundreds of million people worldwide. In this UN decade of the oceans, we aim to provide the scientific basis for understanding and preserving the ecosystem services of the MAFs throughout the world.

Submissions: January 2024 - December 2024

Publication Year: 2025

GUEST EDITORS:

Sergio ROSSI, DiTEBa, Università del Salento, Lecce, Italy & Labomar, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brasil

Lorenzo BRAMANTI, Laboratoire d’Ecogéochimie des Environnements Benthiques, LECOB, Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls sur Mer Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Sorbonne Université, Banyuls sur Mer, France

Federica COSTANTINI, University of Bologna, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Science, Italy

Thanos DAILIANIS, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology & Aquaculture (IMBBC), Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), Greece

Nadine SCHUBERT, CCMAR - Centro de Ciências do Mar do Algarve, Portugal

Vasilis GEROVASILEIOU, Department of Environment, Faculty of Environment, Ionian University, Zakynthos, Greece & Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC), Greece