The rocky reef habitat of the Israeli coastline is rich and diverse, and abundant in marine resources. It functions as a stable habitat to algae, invertebrates, and Fish.

We initiated a long-term ecological research (LTER) program on the Mediterranean rocky reefs in 2014 and established a methodical working method since 2015. We started the reefs of Achziv, Naharia, and Sdot Yam at three different depth levels (10, 25, and 45 meters), and later on in 2016 we stopped collecting data on Naharia at 10 & 25 meters; however we started collecting data on Ashdod and Ashkelon at 30 meters depth. We collect community and coverage data on invertebrates and algae. We intend to follow changes in space and time at our coastline. We hope that this consistent, long-term monitoring data, collected intensivly, will encourage researchers to study this habitat and serve as a good baseline for further research, later reflected with enhanced knowledge of the marine ecosystem and effective marine policy in Israel.

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