Laura Macrina

• Master of Science
• PhD Candidate at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

Native to the Indo-Pacific region, the sacoglossan species complex Elysia cf. marginata-grandifolia is considered a Lessepsian migrant and an alien species in the Mediterranean Sea, following its first record along the coast of Turkey in 2001, and consecutive observations in the area. Subsequent studies have reported its presence in the Levantine b...

Symbiotic marine invertebrates can be small, hidden or difficult to find, hampering the understanding of their distribution and ecological roles. Haplosyllis anthogorgicola is a polychaete inhabiting the gorgonian Anthogorgia bocki, where it lives in high densities within the host’s coenenchyme and occupies burrows formed by host tissue near coral...

Rocky shores are important transitional environments between terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Although the Greek coastline is the largest in the Mediterranean basin, scant information is available regarding the benthic communities populating its shores. Here, we characterised the benthic communities inhabiting the rocky shores of Lipsi Island (Gr...

The Mediterranean Sea hosts a plethora of fish species, occupying a wide variety of ecological niches and environments. These crucial habitats, such as seagrass meadows and rocky reefs, are often at high risk of degradation, primarily due to anthropogenic stressors. While biodiversity in the Mediterranean basin is overall well studied, fish assembl...

Urbanisation has reduced the abundance and diversity of many taxonomic groups, and the effects may be more pronounced on islands, which have a smaller regional species pool to compensate. Green spaces within urban environments may help to safeguard wildlife assemblages, and the associated habitat heterogeneity can even increase species diversity. H...

Crustaceans are one of the most widespread and speciose groups of marine organisms, fulfilling multiple ecological roles in numerous ecosystems. On coral reefs, many crustacean species form associations with scleractinian corals. Although the Red Sea is considered a biodiversity hotspot, few studies examined the diversity of coral-associated crusta...

Octocorals (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) have a global distribution and form benthic assemblages along the depth gradient, from shallow to deep waters. They often occur below SCUBA diving limits, where they can become dominant habitat builders and aggregate different taxa. During a cruise in February 2023, one octocoral specimen was collected at 1453 m dept...

The Mediterranean population of Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) is reported as "Critically endangered" by IUCN Red List and its spatial distribution seems to be fragmented in colonies, mainly found around the Ionian and Aegean islands. Monk seals are proved to be highly affected by human pressure such as boat traffic and fishery. Previo...

Establishment of a long-term monitoring program capable of mapping the distribution and status of elasmobranch populations in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Increasing depletion of fish stocks in the Mediterranean Sea intensifies conflicts between fisheries and marine mammals, such as the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu, 1821). To increase the knowledge of such interactions in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, fishing activities of commercial fisheries and biomass of fish families t...

In recent years, concern about the presence of microplastic in food has grown due to their ubiquity in the environment and potential adverse effects on human health. This study investigated microplastic ingestion by wild Paracentrotus lividus, a sea urchin species of commercial value, and microplastic pollution within its natural habitat in the Aeg...