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In the last twenty years blooms of the harmful benthic dinoflagellate Ostreopsis, affecting human and environmental health, have become a common seasonal phenomenon in many temperate areas. Therefore, implementing an Early Warning System (EWS) of benthic harmful algal blooms (BHABs) is needed. While most routine monitoring programs are focused on plankton, collecting benthic samples is important in order to evaluate the stock of toxic microalgae. In the Mediterranean, several administrations have been conducting BHABs monitoring using scientific approaches in coordination with research centres. For an EWS to be effective, samples should be collected and processed soon and the results quickly communicated to the users. In the frame of the CoCliME project, an easy and reliable BHAB-sampling protocol was co-designed and implemented by scientists and stakeholders. Scientists produced and provided sampling kits and training sessions. Results (Ostreopsis abundance and risk level) were shared on coordinated online platforms between scientists and public agencies. This protocol has been successfully tested in Catalonia and France during the summers 2020 and 2021. It was proven to be an effective EWS for authorities to quickly raise recommendations on the health risks associated with Ostreopsis blooms in Mediterranean beaches. The protocol also contributes to build time series for elucidating climate change effects on Ostreopsis blooms., Corresponding author's email: magda@icm.csic.es

Local and global anthropogenic pressures due to climate change and to local uses and activities are exerting significant cumulative impacts to greater extents of the oceans and seas. Coastal ecosystems are particularly threatened by the intensity and coexistence of several marine uses and pressures, including sewage and urban constructions, tourism, ship traffic, fisheries and aquaculture. Assessment of pressures and the identification of mitigation measures are key urgent actions, as already highlighted by the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14. The aim of this work, developed within the Interreg-Med project SHAREMED, is to systematize existing knowledge on threats and pollution, including those of transboundary origin, for long term strategies and common action marine spatial planning, jointly developed with stakeholders. The quest is to assess coexisting environmental threats, and their propagation in space and time, at proper spatial and temporal scales, according to the type and action of each stressor (i.e. global vs. local). Cumulative pressures are tackled within a dedicated Atlas comprising three sub-basinsins of the Mediterranean Sea: the North Adriatic Sea, the Sicilian Channel and the North-Western region. The Atlas integrates information generated at the best available resolutions by 1) in-situ sampling, 2) remote observations, 3) numerical models, and 4) focusing on target ecosystems and habitat forming species. These sub-basins are subjected to multiple local and larger scale (e.g. climate) pressures that propagate in space and time, and across political boundaries, that need to be addressed through coordinated actions, based on evidence-rooted common understanding., peer-reviewed