Mediterranean banks in EBSA area: Hotspots of biodiversity under threat Chiara Altobelli a , Patrizia Perzia b, * , Manuela Falautano b , Pierpaolo Consoli c , Simonepietro Canese d , Teresa Romeo c , Franco Andaloro b a Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare (MATTM), Via Cristoforo Colombo 44, 00147, Roma, Italy b ISPRA, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, S.T.S. Palermo, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo, 4521 (Ex Complesso Roosevelt) Localit a Addaura, 90149, Palermo, Italy c ISPRA, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Laboratorio di ittiologia ed ecologia marina, Via dei Mille 44, 98057, Milazzo, ME, Italy d ISPRA, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, III Dipartimento Tutela degli Habitat e della Biodiversit a Marina, Via Vitaliano Brancati 60, 00144, Roma, Italy article info Article history: Received 1 February 2017 Received in revised form 7 September 2017 Accepted 9 September 2017 Available online xxx Keywords: Benthic ecology Biodiversity Conservation Convention on biological diversity Ecosystem evaluation Ecosystem-based management Mediterranean sea banks abstract This study demonstrates that, in the Central Mediterranean Sea, the Graham, Nereo and Pantelleria Vecchia Banks of the Strait of Sicily represent, in the wide and diversified ‘Sicily Channel’ Ecological or Biological Significant Area, unknown hot spots of biodiversity threatened by human activities. The investigated banks show an high ecological and biological value (EBV), assessed through presence/ absence of specific indicators. The ecological groups of Graham Bank show the maximum EBV; the same as Nereo and Pantelleria Vecchia, except for the benthic component. All three banks are highly threat- ened, mainly the benthic and benthopelagic ecological groups. However, these Banks still have wide pristine areas to protect and can be considered eligible sites for the imposition of area-based manage- ment measures of conservation. This study represent also a support for decision makers involved in protection of the Mediterranean open sea areas, to pinpoint other priority conservation banks. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Despite its high biodiversity value and the presence of areas of relatively high productivity, the open sea continues to be one of the least protected regions, also in the Mediterranean, where areas beyond national jurisdiction make up the largest part. The devel- opment of a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the open seas is a challenging task, mandated by several international de- cisions, including the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Summit, 2002) and the Aichi Targets (COP 10 Decision X/2, 2010). Since 2008, the Regional Activity Center for Specially Protected Areas (RAC/SPA) has been contributing to promote this objective by the MedOpenSeas project (MOS). The MOS is aimed at facilitating the establishment of Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMIs), as defined in the SPA/BD protocol of the Barcelona Convention (United Nation Environment Programme and Mediterranean Action Plan, 1995), embracing open seas. In 2010, the first phase of the project led to the identification of twelve Priority Conservation Areas (PCAs) in the open seas, likely to contain sites, that could be candidates for SPAMI list (Joint Management Action of the European Community with the United Nations Environment Programme and Mediterranean Action Plan, 2010). The study area - Graham Bank, Nereo Bank and Pantelleria Vecchia Bank - falls into the PCA called Northern Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea). These banks are also included in the ‘Sicilian Channel’ Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area (EBSA), recognized in 2014 by the Contracting Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (COP 12 Decisions, 2014). The EBSAs are special areas in the ocean that serve important purposes to support the healthy functioning of oceans and the many services that it provides (Conference of the Parties to the * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: altobelli.chiara@minambiente.it (C. Altobelli), patrizia.perzia@ isprambiente.it (P. Perzia), manuela.falautano@isprambiente.it (M. Falautano), pierpaolo.consoli@isprambiente.it (P. Consoli), simonepietro.canese@isprambiente. it (S. Canese), teresa.romeo@isprambiente.it (T. Romeo), franco.andaloro@ isprambiente.it (F. Andaloro). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Marine Environmental Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marenvrev http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2017.09.005 0141-1136/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Marine Environmental Research xxx (2017) 1e12 Please cite this article in press as: Altobelli, C., et al., Mediterranean banks in EBSA area: Hotspots of biodiversity under threat, Marine Environmental Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2017.09.005