The assemblages of attached and freeliving epibenthic species in the North Sea are described, based on analysis of samples collected with a small beam trawl. Clustering of survey sites based on the presence or absence of attached species indicated that three regions had characteristic assemblages: the northern North Sea, the central North Sea from 55 to 57°N and the southern North Sea. Clustering of sites based on counts of free-living epibenthic species also revealed that the sites formed three major groups but these corresponded to regions in the north-east North Sea, the northern and western central North Sea and the southern and eastern central North Sea. Species which contributed most to the similarity within and dissimilarity between groups were identified. The environmental factors which best accounted for the grouping of sites were depth, winter temperature and the temperature difference between winter and summer for attached species and depth and the temperature difference between winter and summer for free-living species. The species richness of attached and free-living epibenthic species was higher in the central and northern North Sea than in the south. The number of abundant (Hill's N1) and very abundant (Hill's N2) free-living species also increased from south to north.

The discovery of a shallow water (<2 m) foraging site off the Greek Island of Kefalonia, where diving and foraging behaviour of male loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) could be observed simultaneously, was of great interest. The preferred food sources were shown to be the bivalve mollusc Mytilus galloprovincialis, the sea grass Posidonia oceanica, and the entrails of fish discarded by local fishermen. Whilst foraging, the turtles generally rested on the seabed and employed their forelimbs to clear away detritus from their selected prey. Foraging dives were of short duration (mean ±SE = 2.3 ±0.43 min, N=96) compared to deeper dives reported in the literature presumably, because of the small lung volumes required to attain neutral buoyancy at such shallow depths.

Marine reserves (or No-Take Zones) are implemented to protect species and habitats, with the aim of restoring a balanced ecosystem. Although the benefits of marine reserves are commonly monitored, there is a lack of insight into the potential detriments of such highly protected waters. High population densities attained within reserves may induce negative impacts such as unfavourable trophic cascades and disease outbreaks. Hence, we investigated the health of lobster populations in the UK’s Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) at Lundy Island. Comparisons were made between the fished, Refuge Zone (RZ) and the un-fished, No-Take Zone (NTZ; marine reserve). We show ostensibly positive effects such as increased lobster abundance and size within the NTZ; however, we also demonstrate apparent negative effects such as increased injury and shell disease. Our findings suggest that robust cost-benefit analyses of marine reserves could improve marine reserve efficacy and subsequent management strategies.

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