Objectives 1. Identification of the intensity, timing, and temporal extent of production and (primary) settlement of pelagic propagules of benthic plants and animals along large-scale Pan-European transects representing spatial gradients in environmental conditions. 2. Further understanding of the factors that contribute to recruitment success of marine organisms to better resolve questions with regard to potential effects of global warming on marine ecosystems, and to contribute to identification of mechanisms underlying the increase in biological diversity from polar to equatorial regions. Description of work Task 1. Preparation of experiments (2005) T1.1: Review of general hypotheses on the relationships between the annual breeding cycles and environmental conditions, and more specifically on what we expect to find with regard to the intensity, timing, and temporal extent of production and primary settlement of pelagic propagules of benthic plants and animals (a.o. based on ASLO Recruitment session) T1.2: Design of protocols for deployment of recruitment frames, a.o. selection of appropriate sites, number of replicate ìblocksî of traps and panels, frequency of sampling, simple equipment for determination environmental conditions, statistical analysis (a.o. based on dedicated workshop) T1.3: Design of protocols for collection, preservation and shipping of samples (a.o. based on dedicated workshop) T1.4: Design of protocols for data storage and management of propagation and settlement events (a.o. based on dedicated workshop). T1.5: Development outreach strategy Task 2. Field work (2006 & 2007): T2.1: Deployment of frames following protocols, a.o. at appropriate sites, number of replicate ìblocksî of traps and panels, frequency of sampling, simple equipment for determination environmental conditions T2.2: Collection, preservation and shipping of samples following protocols T2.3: Data storage and management of propagation and settlement events following protocols. T2.4: Outreach strategy following protocols. Task 3. Presentation of results (2008): T3.1: Presentation and discussion of results (a.o. at special symposium) T3.2: Writing scientific papers (possibly special issue journal) T3.3: Final data storage T3.4: Final outreach