Distribution of vermetid reefs on the northern shores of Cyprus Island

Vermetid reefs are one of the very few reef forming bio-constructions in the entire Mediterranean, supporting rich biodiversity and ecosystem services. Furthermore, they prevent coastal erosion, modulate the transportation of sediments, and act as carbon sinks. Since they build upon fossilized skeletons of the formal reef builder organisms, they are also invaluable assets to study some parameters of paleoclimatology. However, information about their basic features, distribution, and floral and faunal information is not sufficient. Between 2017 and 2019, a study to demonstrate the distributions of the vermetid reefs, biodiversity investigation on selected reefs, and some livelihood evaluation was realized in the 200 km northern coastline of Cyprus. This paper demonstrates the distribution of the reefs with a fish biodiversity analysis recognized by the visual census.