Negative impacts of marine invasions include loss of genetic diversity, ecosystem functions/processes, and/or community structure and, consequently, a threat to global biodiversity through biotic homogenization. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been proved to have positive effects on marine biodiversity conservation; however, their role in preventing biological invasions, especially macroalgae, is still poorly understood. In this context, AMALIA team has been studying the effects of protection and wave exposure on the abundance of invasive macroalgae at two MPAs of the western Iberian Peninsula, one located along the Spanish coast (Illas Atlánticas) and the other on the Portuguese coast (Berlengas).

With these field campaigns, it’s expected to contribute to the understanding of the functioning of reserves and apply proper conservation management policies to preserve MPAs resilience