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In areas with limited field data, predictive habitat mapping is a valuable method for elucidating species-environment relationships and enhancing our knowledge of the spatial distribution and complexity of benthic habitats. Species distribution models (SDMs) can be an important tool to support in science-based ecosystem management. The availability of direct observations of mesophotic species, including gorgonians and black corals, during costly surveys is generally limited. Therefore, predicting the distribution of mesophotic species in relation to key physical parameters of the seafloor would help improving conservation strategies in existing and new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). This study aims to assess the distribution of gorgonians and black corals off Linosa Island, in the Strait of Sicily, a biogeographic boundary area between the western and eastern Mediterranean. The volcanic island of Linosa represents a small, naturally preserved area, with very limited human pressure, hosting rich marine benthic biodiversity on its wide submarine portions. Distribution of the most common coral species off Linosa Island was modelled under an SDM framework, relying on direct observations collected during two research cruises in 2016 and 2017 and a series of terrain parameters acquired through geophysical techniques. We used the so-called "ensemble of small models" approach to calibrate SDMs, which achieved fair-to-excellent results (AUC >0.7). In addition to identifying depth as the primary factor influencing coral distribution, our study also highlighted ruggedness as a significant terrain variable. Specifically, the depth range of 110-230 m emerged as the critical parameter determining habitat suitability for all modelled species, also highlighting peculiar and specie-specific habitat requirements., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This article reports on the dataset gathered following the census of 83 present-day Infralittoral Prograding Wedges (IPWs), surveyed on the inner continental shelf of the Central-Eastern Tyrrhenian Sea. The purpose of the census was to explore their bathymetric range and assess the observational laws governing this variability. The ensued dataset (Campania Region IPW Dataset, CRID) includes geographic, topographic and morpho-bathymetric indices, descriptive of each IPW and more, the exposure of each IPW to wave forcing (Geographical fetch, Effective fetch and extreme significant wave height, H S ). In this work, histograms contribute to describe all the variables and highlight the dominant features of each IPW. Location maps univocally links the geographic position of each IPW to the appropriate attribute record in the dataset. Further, thematic maps illustrate eight wave fields obtained by offshore-to-nearshore transformation by as many sea states scenarios with 200-year return period. Such wave fields are used as sources for significant wave height representing wave conditions over each IPW. This dataset could be implemented with new measures at a broader scale, by following analogue procedures for measurements, to enlarge the observational scale on IPWs and improve the numerical models which might eventually derive by the analysis of this dataset., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.)