Article
Environmental Sciences
Leon R. Katona, Hannah M. Fazekas, Soren Brothers, Paul K. Sibley, Yvonne Vadeboncoeur
Summary: Light and nutrient availability determine the depth distribution of littoral attached algae, while erosional forces, such as wind waves, structure shallow, nearshore habitats. The biomass and productivity of algae on cobbles in wave-influenced erosional zones of Lake Erie and Lake Huron were measured. Lake Erie had greater biomass and higher productivity than Lake Huron, and the effects of waves and light on algal biomass and productivity in Lake Erie were significant and opposite. In contrast, Lake Huron biomass was uniformly low along the depth gradient.
JOURNAL OF GREAT LAKES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ludovic Pascal, Joannie Cool, Philippe Archambault, Piero Calosi, Andre L. R. Cuenca, Alfonso O. Mucci, Gwenaelle Chaillou
Summary: The declining O-2 concentrations in the global ocean have led to changes in benthic communities and sediment biogeochemistry. The authors found that below an O-2 threshold of approximately 63 mu M, there were significant shifts in macrobenthic community assemblages and bioturbation rates decreased. This study highlights the importance of bioturbating species in mitigating the biogeochemical consequences of hypoxia and provides insights for predicting future changes in benthic ecosystems.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Gema Hernan, Maria J. Ortega, Jeremy Henderson, Josep Alos, Katharyn Boyer, Stephanie Cimon, Vincent Combes, Mathieu Cusson, Clara M. Hereu, Margot Hessing-Lewis, Kevin Hovel, Pablo Jorgensen, Stephanie Kiriakopolos, Nicole Kollars, Mary I. O Connor, Jeanine Olsen, Pamela L. Reynolds, Jennifer Ruesink, Erin Voigt, Fiona Tomas
Summary: This study found that both latitude and resource availability have significant impacts on plant defense strategies against herbivory, and that plant defenses may not linearly respond to increased herbivory pressure.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Pia H. Moisander, Meaghan C. Daley, Katyanne M. Shoemaker, Vaishnavi Kolte, Gaurav Sharma, Kelsey Garlick
Summary: This study unexpectedly discovered mass accumulations of Hydrocoleum sp. outside the known habitat range in a coastal lagoon in the Western temperate North Atlantic Ocean, raising intriguing questions about diazotrophic cyanobacterial adaptations and transitions on the benthic-pelagic continuum.
JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Stefano Accoroni, Marika Ubaldi, Simone Bacchiocchi, Francesca Neri, Melania Siracusa, Maria Giovanna Buonomo, Alessandra Campanelli, Cecilia Totti
Summary: The bioaccumulation of OVTX toxins in mussels was found to be correlated with the abundance of Ostreopsis during blooms. The study suggests that the Italian guidelines for managing Ostreopsis blooms are effective in preventing human intoxication through mussel contamination.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sterling B. Tebbett, Renato A. Morais, Christopher H. R. Goatley, David R. Bellwood
Summary: Environmental stressors can threaten the sustainability of ecosystem functions and services, with sediment accumulation in algal turfs leading to the collapse of coral reef ecosystems. However, monitoring and management of these stressors are currently lacking.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xueying Mei, Shanshan Gao, Yang Liu, Jie Hu, Vladimir Razlustkij, Lars G. Rudstam, Erik Jeppesen, Zhengwen Liu, Xiufeng Zhang
Summary: Climate warming is a serious global environmental problem that poses a major threat to aquatic ecosystems. This study found that elevated temperatures can increase the growth of planktonic algae and decrease benthic algal biomass, leading to a decline in water quality.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Wenjing Ren, Zihao Wen, Yu Cao, Hao Wang, Changbo Yuan, Xiaolin Zhang, Leyi Ni, Ping Xie, Te Cao, Kuanyi Li, Erik Jeppesen
Summary: The study shows that in eutrophic lakes, benthic fish have a negative impact on the growth of submersed macrophytes, promoting the growth of phytoplankton and periphyton, resulting in reduced growth of macrophytes due to shading. Snails benefit plant growth by consuming periphyton, but cannot fully counteract the effects of benthic fish.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Guillermo Barrientos, Andres Iroume, Hector Ulloa, Silvia Basualto, Oscar Parra
Summary: This study analyzed the abundance of benthic algae in forested headwater watersheds in south-central Chile and examined the relationship between their variability and physicochemical parameters and forest cover factors. The results showed contrasting effects of physicochemical parameters and forest cover factors on abundance, with various factors influencing the abundance of benthic algae.
Article
Fisheries
Heather N. Page, Keisha D. Bahr, Tyler Cyronak, Elizabeth B. Jewett, Maggie D. Johnson, Sophie J. McCoy
Summary: Accurately predicting the effects of ocean and coastal acidification on marine ecosystems requires understanding the scaling of responses from laboratory experiments to the natural world. Comparing directional responses between laboratory experiments and field studies, some responses were consistent while others showed mismatches in directionality.
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lisa Robichaud, Philippe Archambault, Gaston Desrosiers, Christopher W. McKindsey
Summary: Studies have shown that mussel aquaculture increases the productivity of benthic macroinvertebrates, especially those associated with mussel socks. The presence of the invasive ascidian Styela clava can further enhance this effect by increasing the biogenic structure of the mussel socks.
Article
Plant Sciences
Lauri Pulecio-Plaza, Guillermo Diaz-Pulido, Rocio Garcia-Uruena
Summary: Crustose coralline algae (CCA) are important for reef framework construction, but little is known about their growth and calcification in seasonal upwelling systems. This study assessed the growth and calcification rates of two dominant reef-building CCA species in a shallow coral reef in the Colombian Caribbean. Results showed higher growth and calcification rates during the upwelling season compared to the non-upwelling season. Seawater temperature was found to have an inverse relationship with CCA growth and calcification. These findings provide important baseline data and information for monitoring the impacts of environmental changes on tropical upwelling environments.
JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Isael Victoria-Salazar, Miguel-Angel Ruiz-Zarate, Alejandro Vega-Zepeda, Humberto Bahena-Basave
Summary: Several factors influence coral reef recovery, including the availability of appropriate recruitment surface. This study analyzed the benthic successional dynamics in Xcalak Reef National Park and found that crustose calcareous algae (CCA) were the dominant cover inside the park, while turf algae (TA) were the dominant cover outside the park. Once CCA and TA occupied a space, they had high probabilities of retaining it, with turnover rates of approximately 1.5 years.
Review
Ecology
Stephanie M. Bilodeau, Craig A. Layman, Miles R. Silman
Summary: Species interactions generating consistent landscape or seascape patterns are important to ecosystem health and function. Sand halos in tropical reefscapes have been attributed to herbivory, but grazing alone cannot explain patterns at all locations. Combining nutrients and grazing, along with factors such as fish and invertebrate bioturbators, provides a more comprehensive understanding of the complex underlying causes of these patterns.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Astrid Hylen, Daniel Taylor, Mikhail Kononets, Mats Lindegarth, Anna Stedt, Stefano Bonaglia, Per Bergstrom
Summary: Mussel farming has been proposed as a way to mitigate coastal eutrophication, but it can lead to enrichment of organic matter in sediments, affecting biogeochemical processes and nutrient fates. This study found that a newly established mussel farm had measurable impacts on sediment biogeochemistry during the first year of production.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Florian Roth, Nils RAdecker, Susana Carvalho, Carlos M. Duarte, Vincent Saderne, Andrea Anton, Luis Silva, Maria Ll Calleja, XosE Anxelu G. MorAn, Christian R. Voolstra, Benjamin Kuerten, Burton H. Jones, Christian Wild
Summary: The study found that in the central Red Sea, coral-dominated communities exhibited 30% lower net productivity and 10 times higher calcification than algae-dominated communities. Estimated activation energies indicated a higher thermal sensitivity of coral-dominated communities. These results suggest pronounced changes in community functioning associated with coral-algal phase shifts.
Article
Limnology
Vincent Saderne, Marco Fusi, Timothy Thomson, Aislinn Dunne, Fatima Mahmud, Florian Roth, Susana Carvalho, Carlos M. Duarte
Summary: Assessment of total alkalinity budget in carbonate sediments of Red Sea mangroves showed a large TA emission, supporting a high rate of CO2 uptake. Traditional focus on organic carbon burial may substantially underestimate the role of mangroves in CO2 removal. Including carbonate dissolution in assessments is crucial for quantifying the role of mangroves in climate change mitigation.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nils Radecker, Claudia Pogoreutz, Hagen M. Gegner, Anny Cardenas, Florian Roth, Jeremy Bougoure, Paul Guagliardo, Christian Wild, Mathieu Pernice, Jean-Baptiste Raina, Anders Meibom, Christian R. Voolstra
Summary: The altered nutrient cycling during heat stress is found to be a primary driver of the functional breakdown of coral-algal symbiosis. Energy limitation and altered symbiotic nutrient cycling are key factors in the early heat stress response, directly contributing to the breakdown of the coral-algal symbiosis.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Nils Raedecker, Claudia Pogoreutz, Hagen M. Gegner, Anny Cardenas, Gabriela Perna, Laura Geissler, Florian Roth, Jeremy Bougoure, Paul Guagliardo, Ulrich Struck, Christian Wild, Mathieu Pernice, Jean-Baptiste Raina, Anders Meibom, Christian R. Voolstra
Summary: The study found that under heat stress, nitrogen fixation by coral-associated diazotrophs increased, but the additional fixed nitrogen was not assimilated by the coral tissue or the algal symbionts.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
E. Husband, C. T. Perry, I. D. Lange
Summary: Recent interest in assessing coral reef functions and quantifying carbonate production on larger reef-scales has led to questions about how carbonate production rates have changed over the past few decades. However, estimating carbonate production requires three-dimensional survey data, which are typically collected in-situ over small spatial scales. To address this challenge, researchers collected data on the relationship between linear planar and 3D contour lengths of various coral species to establish conversion metrics. These metrics allow planar colony dimensions to be converted to estimates of 3D colony contour length, enabling the estimation of coral carbonate production from planar data.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Florian Roth, Xiaole Sun, Marc C. Geibel, John Prytherch, Volker Bruchert, Stefano Bonaglia, Elias Broman, Francisco Nascimento, Alf Norkko, Christoph Humborg
Summary: Coastal methane emissions play a dominant role in the global ocean methane budget, but there is a lack of systematic, high-resolution, and long-term data, leading to uncertainty in coastal budgets. By studying continuous methane concentrations, delta C-13-CH4 values, and methane sea-air fluxes, researchers found that the distribution of methane in coastal habitats is patchy and highly variable over time. The concentrations of methane in different habitats can vary greatly, and there are specific seasonal and diurnal patterns. High-resolution measurements are needed to improve the reliability of methane estimates and understand the contribution of different habitats to regional and global methane budgets.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Limnology
Ines D. Lange, Chris T. Perry, Marleen Stuhr
Summary: This study investigates the changes in coral community and reef carbonate budget after a bleaching event in the Chagos Archipelago. The results show that bleaching leads to coral mortality and a shift from positive to negative net carbonate budgets. However, over time, the reefs begin to recover, but the recovery speed and net carbonate budgets differ between atolls.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Yusuf C. El-Khaled, Nauras Daraghmeh, Arjen Tilstra, Florian Roth, Markus Huettel, Felix Rossbach, Edoardo Casoli, Anna Koester, Milan Beck, Raissa Meyer, Julia Plewka, Neele Schmidt, Lisa Winkelgrund, Benedikt Merk, Christian Wild
Summary: Comparative analyses have shown that fleshy red algae mats have high sessile invertebrate biodiversity, surpassing that of neighboring seagrass meadows. This suggests that these mats can serve as alternative habitats and temporary reservoirs for sessile invertebrates during times of environmental change.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
B. M. Taylor, A. E. K. Duenas, I. D. Lange
Summary: The study showed that in the coral reef systems in Guam, parrotfish biomass decreased by nearly 30% over the past decade, with grazing and bioerosion rates also declining. Fishery exploitation may have played a role, but was not the sole factor. The decline in biomass was mainly attributed to small species with higher resilience to fishery exploitation, while some highly targeted species maintained or increased biomass.
Article
Limnology
Ana Molina-Hernandez, Francisco Medellin-Maldonado, Ines D. Lange, Chris T. Perry, Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip
Summary: The study analyzed the rates of external erosion on different types of carbonate substrates under in situ conditions and found significant erosion on recently dead coral colonies. The research provides new insights into how and at what rates external carbonate erosion is shaping contemporary reefs at fine spatial and temporal scales.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ann Marie Hulver, Alexandra Steckbauer, Joanne I. Ellis, Eva Aylagas, Florian Roth, Najeh Kharbatia, Timothy Thomson, Susana Carvalho, Burton H. Jones, Michael L. Berumen
Summary: Anthropogenic stressors, such as coastal development and shipping traffic, can lead to ecosystem-level changes in sensitive marine habitats like coral reefs. This study examined the effects of nutrient pollution, oil pollution, and their combination on pioneer communities in coral reefs. The results show that oil pollution decreases settlement and net primary productivity (NPP), while nutrient pollution increases turf algae and NPP. However, the combination of the two stressors resulted in similar community composition and NPP as the control treatment.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ines D. Lange, Ana Molina-Hernandez, Francisco Medellin-Maldonado, Chris T. Perry, Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip
Summary: Coral growth is vital for coral health and reef function, but there is limited data in most reef-building areas. This study used structure-from-motion photogrammetry to measure the growth of six coral species in the Mexican Caribbean and introduced a new workflow for measuring colony volume change. The results provided growth metrics for two major coral species in the Caribbean reefs and highlighted the differences in growth rates between back reef and fore reef environments for other common species. This non-invasive method allows for accurate calcification estimates and other growth metrics.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Florian Roth, Elias Broman, Xiaole Sun, Stefano Bonaglia, Francisco Nascimento, John Prytherch, Volker Bruechert, Maysoon Lundevall Zara, Maerta Brunberg, Marc C. Geibel, Christoph Humborg, Alf Norkko
Summary: Coastal ecosystems, promoted as nature-based climate change mitigation solutions, emit methane that can offset a significant portion of their carbon sink capacity attributed to CO2 uptake. The methane emissions from macroalgae and mixed vegetation habitats account for 28% and 35% of their CO2 uptake capacity respectively, while unvegetated sediment emissions contribute to a 57% increase in CO2 release. Considering methane emissions is crucial for understanding the potential of coastal ecosystems as atmospheric carbon sinks and developing effective climate mitigation strategies.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Chris T. T. Perry, Michael A. A. Salter, Ines D. D. Lange, David P. P. Kochan, Alastair R. R. Harborne, Nicholas A. J. Graham
Summary: Coral reef fishes play essential ecological roles on reefs and also contribute to geo-ecological functions, such as framework modification and sediment generation. The functions vary across different regions and are influenced by fish biomass and species identity.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Jake E. Lloyd Newman, Chris T. Perry, Ines D. Lange
Summary: In this study, the first rate data for both macro- and microendolithic bioerosion in the remote Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean were provided. It was found that microbioerosion rates were 2-5 times higher than macrobioerosion rates. Overall, although endolithic organisms contribute to the erosion of calcium carbonate, their impact is relatively small compared to the external erosion by large grazers.
Article
Ecology
Katja J. Geiger, Julio Arrontes, Antonella Rivera, Consolacion Fernandez, Jorge Alvarez, Jose Luis Acuna
Summary: A two-year experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of Pollicipes pollicipes harvest on intertidal community structure and ecological diversity. The study found that intensive exploitation resulted in a decrease in P. pollicipes and Mytilus spp. coverage, while Chthamalus spp. and Corallina spp. increased. The recovery of P. pollicipes aggregations was slow and variable, but their coverage increased under non-extracted conditions.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Ecology
Daniel Castro Martignago, Leandro Godoy, Amanda Pereira Amaral, Guendalina Turcato Oliveira
Summary: This study evaluates the effects of bleaching on the oocytes of the Mussismilia harttii coral and investigates the strategies employed by these cells to maintain antioxidant balance and cellular homeostasis. The research finds that bleached coral oocytes experience lipid damage, but are still able to maintain their quality and potentially elongate their lifespan and fertilization capability. This response may be linked to an intensification of heterotrophy in bleached corals.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY
(2024)
