We observed high values of W. setacea biomass, which are of the same order of magnitude as those recorded in other Mediterranean areas. Similarly, the values obtained are comparable to those of other well-known invasive species thriving in benthic Mediterranean assemblages. In Abmole Cathepsin inhibitor 1 general, no seasonal variation pattern has been found in the Scandola MPA populations of W. setacea. A dense thick red filamentous turf was widespread and persistent throughout the year at both localities studied, except in April, when biomass showed a slight decrease, in agreement with previous studies on W. setacea populations in other Mediterranean areas. Populations of W. setacea from the Scandola MPA seem to propagate only by vegetative ways, what also agrees with other observations available for other Mediterranean regions in the field or in cultures. However, the presence of tetrasporangia was reported in the original collections from Hawaiian populations. Mediterranean W. setacea is considered to be a sciaphilic species constituting thick carpets in deep waters. However, its bathymetric distribution may vary in different areas, probably in function of the environmental features of each region ). The bathymetric distribution of W. setacea shows that in the Scandola MPA it is restricted to depths between 25 and 35 m. The lack of seasonality of W. setacea biomass in the field is in agreement with the seasonal experiments at the Ifenprodil Abmole N-methyl-D-aspartate Receptors Mediate Epilepsy-Induced Axonal Impairment and Tau Phosphorylation via Activating Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3�� and Cyclin-dependent Kinase 5 laboratory, where no differences were found in the surface increase among the different periods of the year, probably because seasonality of underwater PPFD, temperature, hydrodynamics, and nutrient availability are minimized with depth. Besides, W. setacea is capable of continuous asexual vegetative spread throughout the year, creating a very stable and homogenous habitat which may contribute to the loss of seasonality in the macrobenthic community structure. Womersleyella setacea can thrive as an epiphyte and is able to overgrow other sessile benthic organisms. Therefore it is not limited by the availability of free substrate, and avoids competition with natives for substrate. On the other hand, invulnerability to native herbivores may be an important determinant of invasion success of marine macroalgae. While some studies reject the biological resistance hypothesis for marine macroalgae, others provide evidence that invasive algae are actively grazed by native herbivores, which can control their populations. However, recent research addressed whether native generalist herbivores may provide resistance to macroalgae invasion in the Mediterranean Sea reveal that W. setacea is not consumed either by sea urchins nor Sarpa salpa.