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Funding: This work was funded by a NERC iCASE studentship award to HB, PH, JB, and TF (NE/R007233/1). The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh acknowledges funding support from the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Sciences and Analytical Services Division (RESAS). This is a contribution to the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum. ; Anthropogenic climate change presents a major challenge to coastal ecosystems. Mass population declines or geographic shifts in species ranges are expected to occur, potentially leading to wide-scale ecosystem disruption or collapse. This is particularly important for habitat-forming species such as free-living non-geniculate coralline algae that aggregate to form large, structurally complex reef-life ecosystems with high associated biodiversity and carbon sequestration capability. Coralline algal beds have a worldwide distribution, but have recently experienced global declines due to anthropogenic pressures and changing environmental conditions. However, the environmental factors controlling coralline algal bed distribution remain poorly understood, limiting our ability to make adequate assessments of how populations may change in the future. We constructed the first species distribution model for non-geniculate coralline algae (focusing on maerl-forming species but including crustose coralline algae associated with coralline algal beds) and showed that bathymetry, temperature at the seabed and light availability are the primary environmental drivers of present-day non-geniculate coralline algae distribution. Our model also identifies suitable areas for species presence that currently lack records of occurrence. Large-scale spatial declines in coralline algal distribution were observed under all IPCC Representative Concentration Pathways (ranging from 38% decline under RCP 2.6 up to 84% decline under RCP 8.5), with the most rapid rate of decline up to 2050. Refuge populations that may persist under projected climate change were also identified – informing priority areas for future conservation efforts to maximize the long-term survival of this globally important ecosystem. ; Publisher PDF ; Peer reviewed

21 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, supplementary material https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.621151/full#supplementary-material ; Cold-water coral (CWC) habitats dwell on continental shelves, slopes, seamounts, and ridge systems around the world's oceans from 50 to 4000 m depth, providing heterogeneous habitats which support a myriad of associated fauna. These highly diverse ecosystems are threatened by human stressors such as fishing activities, gas and oil exploitation, and climate change. Since their life-history traits such as long lifespan and slow growth rates make CWCs very vulnerable to potential threats, it is a foremost challenge to explore the viability of restoration actions to enhance and speed up their recovery. In contrast to terrestrial and shallow-water marine ecosystems, ecological restoration in deep marine environments has received minimal attention. This review, by means of a systematic literature search, aims to identify CWC restoration challenges, assess the most suitable techniques to restore them, and discuss future perspectives. Outcomes from the few restoration actions performed to date on CWCs, which have lasted between 1 to 4 years, provide evidence of the feasibility of coral transplantation and artificial reef deployments. Scientific efforts should focus on testing novel and creative restoration techniques, especially to scale up to the spatial and temporal scales of impacts. There is still a general lack of knowledge about the biological, ecological and habitat characteristics of CWC species exploration of which would aid the development of effective restoration measures. To ensure the long-term viability and success of any restoration action it is essential to include holistic and long-term monitoring programs, and to ideally combine active restoration with natural spontaneous regeneration (i.e., passive restoration) strategies such as the implementation of deep-sea marine protected areas (MPAs). We conclude that a combination of passive and active restoration approaches with involvement of local society would be the best optimal option to achieve and ensure CWC restoration success ; MM was funded by a FPU 2014 research grant (FPU2014_06977) from the Spanish government (Spain). AGr received funding from a Juan de la Cierva 2015 research grant (IJCI-2015-23962) from the Spanish government. CL gratefully acknowledges the financial support by ICREA under the ICREA Academia program. This study was supported by the SHELFRECOVER project funded by the Fundación BBVA and the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under grant agreements nos. 689518 (MERCES) and 678760 (ATLAS) ; With the institutional support of the 'Severo OchoaCentre of Excellence' accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S) ; Peer reviewed