Sublittoral megabenthos along cliffs of different profile (Aegean Sea, Eastern Mediterranean)

The sublittoral megabenthos was studied in selected areas of the Aegean Sea. Data were collected with a visual, non-destructive, method and the technique of randomly placed frames was adopted. Eighty-nine megabenthic species were recorded. The spatial and temporal variation in population density, as well as the pattern of dispersion, was estimated for the most dominant species. Spatial analysis of the population densities suggested the separation of the studied sites in three major groups, reflecting differences in cliff profile, Temporal analysis revealed the discrimination of summer samples. The pattern of dispersion for most of the examined species was random without seasonal differentiations. Agelas oroides and Leplopsammia pruvoti showed a clumped pattern, while Halocynthia papillosa and Microcosmus sabatieri were evenly distributed.