Review
Ecology
R. S. K. Barnes
Summary: Knysna estuarine bay in South Africa's Garden Route National Park is the most significant estuarine system for biodiversity and conservation value in the country, supporting a significant population of vulnerable dwarf-eelgrass and associated benthic macrofauna. The bay comprises different compartments with varying species richness and distribution, but overall maintains a relatively constant species composition.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
R. S. K. Barnes
Summary: This study investigates the differences in invertebrate biodiversity between seagrass and adjacent bare sediment along an estuarine gradient. The results show that overall assemblage abundance and taxon richness increase upstream, while numbers of co-dominant species and taxonomic distinctness decrease. Functional diversity, evenness, patchiness, and similarity between the two habitat types remain unchanged. The findings highlight the importance of both seagrass presence and location along the estuarine gradient in influencing assemblage composition.
ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zongxing Wang, Hongping Wang, Shiliang Fan, Ming Xin, Xia Sun
Summary: The study of the community structure and diversity of macrobenthos in Jiaozhou Bay revealed a rich species composition, with Ruditapes philippinarum being a dominant species. Various diversity indices showed seasonal variation trends, with significant differences in diversity among survey stations.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
R. S. K. Barnes
Summary: Coastal lagoon ecology changes on progression from the open to the depositional zone, mainly due to increasing confinement rather than decreasing salinity. The Rainbow Channel in Moreton Bay provides a gradient of increasing confinement without significant salinity change. The faunal assemblages in intertidal Zostera seagrass along the channel did not change significantly.
MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Hanna Moniuszko, Win Ariga Mansur Malonga, Piotr Koczon, Sofie Thijs, Robert Popek, Arkadiusz Przybysz
Summary: This study investigated the abundance and composition of plastics and trace elements in the soil and pneumatophores of Avicennia alba in different anthropopressure areas in Bima Bay, Indonesia. The results showed that the lowest and highest quantities of microplastics in soil were recorded in rural and hotel areas, respectively. The concentrations of plastic types found in plant tissues did not entirely reflect sediment pollution, suggesting a selective accumulation and substance migration from other areas.
Article
Agronomy
Changwei Zhang, Yuxue Zhang, Min Luo, Ji Tan, Xin Chen, Fengfeng Tan, Jiafang Huang
Summary: This study investigates the methane emission fluxes from different species of trees in coastal mangrove wetlands. The results show that tree stems and pneumatophores are important conduits for methane emissions, with variations between different mangrove communities. The study also highlights the seasonal variations in methane fluxes, but no significant changes in the partitioning of ecosystem methane fluxes between the two seasons were observed.
Article
Ecology
R. S. K. Barnes
Summary: Intraspecific relationships between patchiness, abundance, and occupancy were investigated in a faunal assemblage for the first time. Most species showed negative relationships between patchiness and occupancy, while patchiness-abundance relationships were weaker and fewer species showed significant ones.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
R. S. K. Barnes
Summary: The study demonstrates that the more abundant and widespread the macrobenthic species, the less its patchiness, which is influenced more by unoccupancy levels than by even marked variation in abundance at occupied sites. Across different seagrass systems, macrofaunal species show a significant or near significant negative patchiness-occupancy relationship, with little uniformity in lifestyle among the component species.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Zhou Meng, Qingxi Han, Xiaobo Wang
Summary: The study found that the diversity and productivity of macrobenthic communities in Hangzhou Bay are significantly influenced by bottom water salinity, dissolved oxygen, transparency, and chemical oxygen demand. An increase in COD resulted in a decrease in species richness, biomass, and secondary production of the macrobenthic community.
REGIONAL STUDIES IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Oceanography
Juliana Come, Nasreen Peer, Jose L. Nhamussua, Nelson AF. Miranda, Celia CF. Macamo, Antonio S. Cabral, Horacio Madivadua, Daniel Zacarias, Narciso Junior, Bernadette Snow
Summary: Mangrove ecosystems are important for local communities as they provide various ecosystem services. However, their decline and degradation due to human activities and climate change necessitate protection. This study in Mozambique's Inhambane Bay used biodiversity surveys, interviews, and observation to describe and understand mangrove ecosystems. It highlights the value of local knowledge and community involvement in comprehensive understanding and protection of mangroves. The study identifies areas of mangrove cover increase and disturbance, and emphasizes the importance of community initiatives for law enforcement and restoration in raising awareness and protecting mangroves.
OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ellery Lennon, Kathleen Sullivan Sealey
Summary: This study utilized public data to investigate fish assemblages in Biscayne Bay. It found that mangrove wetlands provide important habitat for fish, and that species composition and diversity were correlated with salinity and depth, rather than the integrity of the mangroves or the geographic location.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Celine E. J. van Bijsterveldt, Bregje K. van Wesenbeeck, Sri Ramadhani, Olivier Raven, Fleur E. van Gool, Rudhi Pribadi, Tjeerd J. Bouma
Summary: Although mangrove forests are relatively resilient to partial burial by plastic waste, our study shows that the abundance of plastic litter in mangroves can have negative impacts on vegetation growth and tree survival. Trees with 50% plastic cover exhibited surprising resilience, but trees with 100% plastic cover showed significantly decreased leaf area index and survival rates. This highlights the importance of addressing plastic pollution in mangrove ecosystems to prevent further deterioration of mangrove stands.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Esmat Salimi, Nasrin Sakhaei, Mohsen Nurinezhad, Ahmad Savari, Sayyed Sadroddin Ghaemmaghami
Summary: The study found that the biomass and secondary production of macrobenthos in Nayband Bay are influenced by seasonal changes and environmental disturbances, particularly human activities such as construction.
REGIONAL STUDIES IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Richard S. K. Barnes, Louw Claassens, Jessica Seath
Summary: In Knysna estuarine bay, South Africa, a coastal residential-estate marina was developed on a previously degraded and polluted brownfield island site, creating new tidal canals. These canals now support a richer and more abundant seagrass-associated macrofaunal biodiversity than natural channels, showcasing the positive impact of appropriately located and constructed brownfield marina development on marine conservation.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
R. S. K. Barnes
Summary: Do interspecific abundance-occupancy (A-O) relationships vary systematically along environmental gradients? A-O relationships of macrobenthic assemblages of seagrass and adjacent bare-sediment were compared along two types of estuarine gradient. The results showed that while there was variation in A-O relationships along the gradients, their constancy was more significant.
MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
R. S. K. Barnes, L. Claassens
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2020)
Letter
Biodiversity Conservation
R. S. K. Barnes
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2020)
Article
Environmental Sciences
R. S. K. Barnes
MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2020)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
C. Fagg, N. L. Phair, L. Claassens, R. S. K. Barnes, S. von der Heyden
Summary: This study presents new molecular barcoding data for previously unaccounted invertebrate species in South African estuarine seagrass meadows, contributing to the enhancement of the mtDNA-COI reference database for regional conservation efforts.
AFRICAN JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Ecology
R. S. K. Barnes
Summary: Knysna estuarine bay in South Africa's Garden Route National Park is the most significant estuarine system for biodiversity and conservation value in the country, supporting a significant population of vulnerable dwarf-eelgrass and associated benthic macrofauna. The bay comprises different compartments with varying species richness and distribution, but overall maintains a relatively constant species composition.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
R. S. K. Barnes
Summary: The study demonstrates that the more abundant and widespread the macrobenthic species, the less its patchiness, which is influenced more by unoccupancy levels than by even marked variation in abundance at occupied sites. Across different seagrass systems, macrofaunal species show a significant or near significant negative patchiness-occupancy relationship, with little uniformity in lifestyle among the component species.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
R. S. K. Barnes
Summary: The study found that the abundance and occurrence of seagrass macrofauna are related to patchiness, with fewer intraspecific relationships observed in the intertidal mudflat macrobenthos of the North Sea compared to lower latitude regions.
ESTUARIES AND COASTS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
R. S. K. Barnes
Summary: Intraspecific relationships between patchiness, abundance, and occupancy were investigated in a faunal assemblage for the first time. Most species showed negative relationships between patchiness and occupancy, while patchiness-abundance relationships were weaker and fewer species showed significant ones.
Article
Environmental Sciences
R. S. K. Barnes
Summary: The study in Knysna estuarine bay revealed complex relationships between species diversity and species-density, with strong correlation with relative evenness and negative correlation with overall assemblage abundance. The presence of specific individual faunal components significantly influenced the results.
MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Richard S. K. Barnes, Louw Claassens, Jessica Seath
Summary: In Knysna estuarine bay, South Africa, a coastal residential-estate marina was developed on a previously degraded and polluted brownfield island site, creating new tidal canals. These canals now support a richer and more abundant seagrass-associated macrofaunal biodiversity than natural channels, showcasing the positive impact of appropriately located and constructed brownfield marina development on marine conservation.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
R. S. K. Barnes
Summary: This study investigates the differences in invertebrate biodiversity between seagrass and adjacent bare sediment along an estuarine gradient. The results show that overall assemblage abundance and taxon richness increase upstream, while numbers of co-dominant species and taxonomic distinctness decrease. Functional diversity, evenness, patchiness, and similarity between the two habitat types remain unchanged. The findings highlight the importance of both seagrass presence and location along the estuarine gradient in influencing assemblage composition.
ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
R. S. K. Barnes
Summary: Do interspecific abundance-occupancy (A-O) relationships vary systematically along environmental gradients? A-O relationships of macrobenthic assemblages of seagrass and adjacent bare-sediment were compared along two types of estuarine gradient. The results showed that while there was variation in A-O relationships along the gradients, their constancy was more significant.
MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
R. S. K. Barnes
Summary: Coastal lagoon ecology changes on progression from the open to the depositional zone, mainly due to increasing confinement rather than decreasing salinity. The Rainbow Channel in Moreton Bay provides a gradient of increasing confinement without significant salinity change. The faunal assemblages in intertidal Zostera seagrass along the channel did not change significantly.
MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Laura A. Michie, R. S. K. Barnes, Paul F. Clark, Wayne A. Bennett, Simon M. Cragg
Summary: This study reports on the ten species of fiddler crabs inhabiting the intertidal zone of Kaledupa Island, Indonesia, providing detailed descriptions and distinguishing features. It notes their ecology and distribution, as well as introducing gastric mills for five of the species for the first time. The study also supports the recent taxonomic revision proposed by Shih et al. (2016) through a tabulation of anatomical features and coloration for all species studied.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
R. S. K. Barnes
Article
Environmental Sciences
Emily Curren, Sandric Chee Yew Leong
Summary: Microplastics in marine ecosystems serve as microhabitats for diverse toxic plankton species, including viable resting cysts of dinoflagellates. The diversity of plankton communities on the plastisphere is influenced by anthropogenic factors. This study highlights the importance of plastics as vectors for the transport of harmful opportunistic species in the marine environment.
MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Vladimir G. Dvoretsky, Alexander G. Dvoretsky
Summary: The Barents Sea, as the largest Arctic shelf region, plays a vital role in supporting commercial fisheries. The ecosystem of this region is significantly influenced by both warm Atlantic Water (AW) and cold Arctic Water (ARW), resulting in distinct frontal zones. This study found that copepod populations, particularly herbivorous copepods, were most abundant and productive in the Polar Front, as well as in the eastern frontal zones. The geographic positions of sampling stations, depth, and chlorophyll a concentration were identified as the main factors influencing copepod biomass and production.
MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Alberto Rovellini, Charlotte L. Mortimer, Matthew R. Dunn, Elizabeth A. Fulton, Jamaluddin Jompa, Abdul Haris, James J. Bell
Summary: This study compared the structural complexity of coral- and sponge-dominated areas of an Indonesian coral reef using 3D photogrammetry. The results showed that smaller-scale refugia were reduced in sponge-dominated reefs, potentially impacting smaller reef fauna.
MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2024)