Cold-water corals are threatened by global warming, especially in the Mediterranean Sea where they live close to their upper known thermal limit (i.e. 13°C), yet their response to rising temperatures is not well known. Here, temperature effects on Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata holobionts (i.e. the host and its associated microbiome) were investigated. We found that at warmer seawater temperature (+2°C), L. pertusa showed a modification of its microbiome prior to a change in behaviour, leading to lower energy reserves and skeletal growth, whereas M. oculata was more resilient. At extreme temperature (+4°C), both species quickly lost their specific bacterial signature followed by lower physiological activity prior to death. In addition, our results showing the holobionts' negative response to colder temperatures (−3°C), suggest that Mediterranean corals live close to their thermal optimum. The species-specific response to temperature change highlights that global warming may affect dramatically the main deep-sea reef-builders, which would alter the associated biodiversity and related ecosystem services.

An increasingly important aspect of undergraduate study is the ability to deal with reading academic texts digitally. Whilst the literature suggests that students prefer reading print texts (Foasberg, 2014; Mizrachi, 2015) and often have a deeper level of engagement with texts in this medium (Mangen et al., 2013; Delgado et al., 2018), the reality is that, for most students, digital texts are the norm. Study guides often focus on reading strategies that are considered broadly applicable to both digital and print formats. However, the differences between the two mediums are likely to impact on the strategies used, with students developing their own approaches as they gain more experience. In this paper, we present findings from a study exploring students’ perspectives and practices in relation to digital reading. We carried out focus group interviews with 20 students in their second or final year of undergraduate degree programmes. Our analysis reveals that reading texts digitally does indeed form the bulk of students’ reading activity, with ease and speed of accessibility, cost, and environmental considerations influencing this choice, and in some cases, precluding reading in print. However, despite the prominence of digital reading, some aspects of print reading – in particular the scope for more sustained focus, detailed reading and enjoyment of the experience – were highly valued by the students. Students’ approaches to reading digital texts varied depending on reading purpose, but, in general, students had developed a range of techniques to help them navigate digital reading.

In 1596, Thomas Lyte, of Lytes Cary Manor in Somerset, commissioned a ring for his soon-to-be wife, Frances Worth. Inside the ring, Thomas crafted a carefully composed inscription. This read, 'Lytes Love is little worth.' 1 The inscription was a wordplay. It made light of early modern criticisms on love being second string to economics and status in marriage, while Joan Evans, the jewellery collector and early material culturist, noted that Frances Worth was said to be of small stature. 2 Thomas Lyte was evidently a man who delighted in words and witty prose. A decade or so after Thomas gave this gift, William Camden described Thomas as a man 'studious of all good knowledge' in his great account of England, Scotland and Ireland. 3 For Thomas, his tailored, humorous and individual inscription reflected his mastery of words, as well as creating a personalised and sentimental gift for his wife, Frances. Thomas was typical of a new group of men and women, who found themselves with a greater disposable income than generations before, and with more ways to spend that income on individualised and sentimental objects.

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