Description of the coastal zone bank habitats of the Baltic Sea on Latvia-Lithuania border based on underwater video observation. Observation for National environmental status assessment, Maritime spatial planning, Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Underwater video observation was done by Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology. Open data policy.

Abundances, density and size population structure of the dominant species (Bathymodiolus azoricus, Branchipolynoe seepensis, Amphisamytha lutzi, Lepetodrilus atlanticus, Pseudorimula midatlantica and Protolira valvatoides) along the recovery process within the different quadrats deployed on the active Montségur edifice, the peripheral area and the inactive structure on the Luky Strike vent field (Mid-Atlantic ridge). In total 29 faunal assemblages were collected, including 21 on the Montségur edifice (5 references, 8 pre-disturbance communities, 4 one year post-disturbance and 4 two years post-disturbance), 4 on the peripheral ares (2 pre-disturbance and 2 one year post-disturbance) and 4 on an inactive structure (2 pre-disturbance and 2 one year post-disturbance). Details on the sampling method and analyses are published in Marticorena et al. in prep. Important Note: This submission has been initially submitted to SEA scieNtific Open data Edition (SEANOE) publication service and received the recorded DOI. The metadata elements have been further processed (refined) in EMODnet Ingestion Service in order to conform with the Data Submission Service specifications.

In the Mediterranean region Cymodocea nodosa is widely distributed throughout shallow sites. Therefore, a correct assessment of the status of its meadows is of great importance for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), and the Habitat Directive (HD), especially for areas where Posidonia oceanica meadows (the most frequently used indicator in the Mediterranean Sea) are rare or not present. The previously proposed index for the evaluation of the status of C. nodosa meadows (CymoSkew) is based on ln-transformed relative frequencies of photosynthetic leaf lengths, which we believe is statistically questionable. Therefore, we further improved the methodology and developed a new index named MediSkew, where ln-transformation is applied to raw data of leaf lengths. More specifically, the index is a combination of two metrics, both based on C. nodosa leaf length: deviation from the reference median length (Medi-) and skewness of the length frequency distribution (-Skew), though greater importance was assigned to the first. To develop the classification criteria for the assessment of the status, also a Pressure Index for Seagrass Meadows (PISM), for the evaluation of pressure–impact relationships, was developed. The MediSkew is meant to be a rapid screening method for wide areas, therefore the index should be tested for the assessment of the status of C. nodosa meadows throughout Mediterranean coastal waters. Martina Orlando-Bonaca, Janja Francé, Borut Mavric, Mateja Grego, Lovrenc Lipej, Vesna Flander-Putrle, Milijan Šiško, Annalisa Falace, A new index (MediSkew) for the assessment of the Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Ascherson meadow's status, Marine Environmental Research, Volume 110, 2015, Pages 132-141, ISSN 0141-1136, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2015.08.009. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141113615300374)

Densities data measured from abundances of inventoried species on the hydrothermal edifice Eiffel Tower (Lucky Strike vent field, Mid-Atlantic Ridge), during Momareto cruise (2006). Twelve sampling units were selected to represent variate mussel assemblages on the edifice. Details on the sampling method and biodiversity analysis are published in Sarrazin et al. 2015 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.04.013)