Patterns Of Marine Benthic Biodiversity

Dear Colleagues,

The loss of biodiversity is one of the main threats that humanity faces. Marine benthic ecosystems are one of the most diverse environments on earth, but our knowledge about their natural patterns of biodiversity remains limited. Environmental factors (e.g., temperature, salinity, pH, sedimentary kind) and biological factors (predation, competition, etc.) interact simultaneously, shaping the diversity of marine benthic assemblages at different spatial and temporal scales. The number of studies dealing with patterns of marine benthic diversity at local and regional scales is greater than those covering the broader scales and cannot be extrapolated as generalities. Finally, many anthropogenic activities can modify the natural patterns of the biodiversity of benthic assemblages. We are pleased to invite you to contribute your manuscripts to this special Issue, that provides an opportunity to improve current knowledge on patterns of marine benthic biodiversity. We welcome original research articles and reviews to this Special Issues and research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following topics: studies conducted at different temporal and spatial scales, those investigating relationships between ecosystem engineers and biodiversity, and those focusing on the effects of anthropogenic disturbances on benthic biodiversity patterns.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Marcos Rubal
Dr. Puri Veiga
Dr. Diego Carreira-Flores
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• intertidal
• subtidal
• rocky shores
• sandy shores
• estuaries
• anthropogenic disturbance
• environmental gradients