A total of 61 associated taxa were found, including species reported for the first time in Israel. Our results reveal that the sponges supported a diverse assemblage of associated macrofauna. Sponge volume was estimated, specimens were dissected, and the associated macrofauna were identified. Sixty-four massive sponge specimens, from 10 different species, were collected from shallow and mesophotic habitats by SCUBA diving and Remotely Operated Vehicle, respectively. The current study sought to identify the macrofauna associated with massive sponges along the Israeli Mediterranean coast and to compare the role of sponges, as ecosystem engineers, or "living hotels," in both the shallow-water and mesophotic habitats. However, almost no data exist regarding their associated macrofauna. Sponges are the dominant components of benthic communities in the Levant Sea and especially in the recently discovered mesophotic sponge grounds off the coast of Israel. Sponges have long been considered as "living hotels" due to the great diversity and abundance of other taxonomic groups often found in association with them. Plasticity of shell building organisms as an acclimation action toward a continuously changing marine environment needs to be further investigated focusing on species or shell region specific adaptation mechanisms.
The vulnerability of calcareous shells to ocean acidification and warming appears to be variable among species. Under low pH and ambient temperature, shells showed no differences compared to the control. The shell of Columbella rustica was less dense, thinner and more porous under acidic and warm conditions, but when the temperature was increased under ambient pH the shells were thicker and denser than the control. Nassarius nitidus had a lower shell density and thickness and a higher porosity when the pH was reduced at ambient temperature, but the combination of reduced pH and increased temperature did not have a noticeable effect in comparison to the control. The morphological and architectural properties of the shell, such as density, thickness and porosity were examined using 3D micro-computed tomography, which is a technique giving the advantage of calculating values for the total shell (not only at specific points) and at the same time leaving the shells intact. The selected treatments reflected the high emissions (RCP 8.5) "business as usual" scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change models for eastern Mediterranean. The experimental treatments lasted for 3 months and combined a temperature increase of 3 The present study aims to examine the effects of ocean acidification and warming on the shell morphological properties of two intertidal gastropod species, Nassarius nitidus and Columbella rustica. The increased absorption of atmospheric CO 2 by the ocean reduces pH and affects the carbonate chemistry of seawater, thus interfering with the shell formation processes of marine calcifiers. Representatives of the diverse and ecologically important southern hemisphere genus Cominella should be examined more rigorously in terms of feeding behaviours. eburnea drilling prey in the laboratory and other reports of congenerics doing this in the field in New Zealand, however, suggest that in some situations and under some circumstances, drilling is possible, as demonstrated for post-juveniles of Nassarius festivus (Nassariidae). In the absence of an accessory boring organ (ABO) in representatives of the Buccinidae, predation (upon a wide variety of prey) has usually been believed to be by means other than drilling. scalarina in the laboratory, similarly by marginal proboscis insertion, substantiate these records: drilling was never observed. scalarina) or apertural (gastropods) access using the proboscis. eburnea attacks in Princess Royal Harbour showed that the species feeds principally upon the venerid bivalve Katelysia scalarina (123 records) but also upon a range of sympatric gastropods (seven records), and always by either marginal (K. It has been reported in the literature, however, that in southwest Western Australia, the buccinid whelk, Cominella eburnea, drills its bivalve prey. It is generally believed that representatives of the predatory Buccinidae gain access to their prey by means other than drilling.