Fig. 2: Distribution of the number of observations according to the mortality severity (Low, Moderate, and Severe) on ten traits in the Mediterranean Sea.

a Feeding (a no, autotrophs, b. active filter feeders with cilia, c. active filter feeders by pumping, d. passive filter feeders, e. herbivores and grazers, f. carnivores, and g. detritivores), b Maximum longevity (1. lower than one year to one year, 2. two to five years, 3. five to ten years, 4. ten to twenty years, and 5. more than 20 years), c Coloniality (1. colonial/modular, 2. solitary), d Morphological form (b. encrusting, c. filamentous, f. articulated, h. cup-like, i. massive-encrusting, j. massive-hemispheric, k. massive-erect, and l. tree-like), e Carbon storage (a. yes, b. potentially, and c. no), f Energetic resources (1. photosynthetic autotroph, 2. photo-heterotroph, and 3. heterotroph), g Height (1. very small, 2. small, 3. medium, 4. large, and 5. very large), h Growth rate (1. extreme slow i.e., lower than 1 cm yr⁻¹, 2. slow i.e., ca. 1 cm yr⁻¹, 3. intermediate i.e., 1–5 cm yr⁻¹, 4. fast i.e., 5–10 cm yr⁻¹, and 5. very fast i.e., more than 10 cm yr⁻¹), i Calcification (a. with calcareous structures, b. without calcareous structures), and j Motility (1. sessile and 2. vagile). See Supplementary Table 3 for trait category descriptions. Radial marks at 0%, 50%, and 100% display the percentage of observations according to the trait category within the ecological trait due to mass mortality events (MMEs). The mortality severity ranges from: low (from 0% to 30%, in yellow), to moderate (from 40% to 60%, in orange), and severe (from 70% to 100%, in red).