Modelling Mediterranean corals and coralligenous habitats

The Mediterranean sea, just like the rest of the world seas, is facing a whole new variety of pressures related to human activities; vulnerable species and habitats are already being altered by such pressures. Among Mediterranean biocenoses, the coralligenous reefs, mid-water calcareous bioconstructions, are especially vulnerable. For these reasons it is needed to build a solid knowledge about the relations that underlie climate and biological organisms. A convenient way to address these issues is trough numerical models becausse they allow for generality to emerge and are suitable tools for predictive purposes. This thesis presents a collection of contributions focused on marine calcifiers from Mediterranean coralligenous habitats. Various aspects of ecology and phisiology are addressed at various scales in both time and space trough numerical applications.