Ecological status of the Tuscan Archipelago rocky habitats assessed by the MedSens index Eva Turicchia University of Bologna, Italy Carlo Cerrano Università Politecnica delle Marche, Italy Matteo Ghetta Faunalia, Italy Francesca Giannini Tuscan Archipelago National Park, Italy Marco Abbiati University of Bologna, Italy Massimo Ponti University of Bologna, Italy This is a section of Ninth International Symposium “Monitoring of Mediterranean Coastal Areas: Problems and Measurement Techniques”(DOI: 10.36253/979-12-215-0030-1) by Laura Bonora, Donatella Carboni, Matteo De Vincenzi, Giorgio Matteucci Firenze University Press Firenze 2022 https://doi.org/10.36253/979-12-215-0030-1.75

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MedSens index provides the environmental status of subtidal rocky coastal habitats based on open data collected by trained volunteers using the Reef Check Mediterranean Underwater Coastal Environment Monitoring protocol. It is based on 25 species, incorporating their sensitivities to the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive pressures and their distributions and abundances. MedSens was applied along the Tuscan Archipelago National Park Islands’ coasts, providing the mean sensitivity of the assemblages. It can help decision-makers in implementing marine biodiversity conservation measures.

 Community-based ecosystem monitoring Marine Citizen Science Indicator species Marine Protected Areas Impact assessment Coralligenous habitats

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