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The eternal life of taxonomic monographs: The series on the Fauna and Flora of the Gulf of Naples Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Ferdinando Boero
Taxonomic monographs, such as those of the Fauna and Flora of the Gulf of Naples, have almost eternal life, in terms of scientific relevance, and keep being cited even after centuries.
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Epizoic yellow sponge (Poecilosclerida, Demospongiae) expansion on living Scleractinian corals in Bintan, Riau Archipelago, Indonesia Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-24 Ofri Johan, Nicole J. de Voogd, Agus Budianto, Sonja Peters, Samir M. Aljbour, Andreas Kunzmann
Coral reef ecosystems in Indonesia are under threat due to changes in the environment driven by global climate change, along with local disturbances such as sedimentation and eutrophication. Consequently, comprehensive coral reef monitoring activities have been initiated at numerous locations across Indonesia. In this study, the findings from coral reef health surveys across 14 reef sites (within 40
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Macoma calcarea (Gmelin, 1791), a poorly studied bivalve, in the Kara Sea: Distribution and growth variability Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-12 Kseniya N. Lisitsyna, Alexandra V. Gerasimova, Nadezhda A. Filippova
Macoma calcarea, one of the most common bivalves in the infauna of the Arctic seas of Russia, is still poorly investigated from an ecological viewpoint. We studied the distribution and growth of Macoma in the southwestern part of the Kara Sea. The samples were obtained at 119 stations at depths from 4 to 415 m in 2012–2013. The main trends in the distribution of this species corresponded to its feeding
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Effect of a cyclonic eddy on phytoplankton: A bioassay experiment Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2024-02-06 Alexander S. Mikaelyan, Anna V. Lifanchuk, Sergey A. Mosharov, Alexey V. Fedorov, Irina V. Mosharova, Oksana A. Ocherednik
Cyclonic eddies often increase the primary productivity of marine ecosystems. However, the study of their influence on the taxonomic structure and productivity of plankton is complex due to the short-term and mesoscale nature of the action of eddies. In a laboratory bioassay experiment, we simulated two mechanisms of eddy's effect on the deep phytoplankton maximum: an increase in the upward flow of
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Coral recruitment in the Toliara region of southwest Madagascar: Spatio-temporal variability and implications for reef conservation Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-31 Radonirina Lebely Botosoamananto, Gildas Todinanahary, Lahitsiresy Max Gasimandova, Mahery Randrianarivo, François Guilhaumon, Lucie Penin, Mehdi Adjeroud
Investigating coral recruitment is critical to better understand replenishment and resilience capacities of coral reef ecosystems and to improve their conservation. Here, we examined the spatio-temporal patterns of coral recruitment and the influence of confamilial adult coral cover in the region of Toliara, southwest Madagascar. Terracotta tiles were immersed from October to late January over a 3-year
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Habitat loss and small-scale fishery: A controversial issue Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-29 Chiara Silvestrini, Alberto Colletti, Antonio Di Franco, Francesco Colloca, Giacomo Milisenda, Serena Zampardi, Maria Cristina Mangano, Giorgio Aglieri, Marco Ranù, Gianluca Liguori, Roberto Danovaro, Federica Foglini, Valentina Grande, Simonetta Fraschetti
Fishery is one of the most impacting human activities and is responsible for habitat loss in marine systems. While the effects of large-scale fisheries have been largely investigated, impacts of small-scale fisheries (SSF) on seafloor integrity are more often assumed than quantitatively investigated. We carried out a literature review at global scale, resulting in 19 studies with quantitative data
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Genetic structure of the commercially important Asian monsoon scallop, Amusium pleuronectes (Linnaeus 1758), across the Indonesian Archipelago Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-25 Eko Hardianto, Diah Permata Wijayanti, Hideyuki Imai
The Asian monsoon scallop, Amusium pleuronectes, is a key member of the most commercially harvested shellfish community in Asia. Patterns of genetic diversity and natural population structure in the target species were investigated to gain a better understanding of its evolutionary history. Samples were collected from five sites across the Indonesian Archipelago. We characterized sequence variation
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Taxonomic richness and its relationship to the functional diversity of polychaetes in tropical estuaries Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-13 Wilma Izabelly Ananias Gomes, Daniele Jovem-Azevêdo, Dalescka Barbosa de Melo, Maria Eduarda Santana Veríssimo, Silvia Vendruscolo Milesi, Paulo Jorge Parreira dos Santos, Joseline Molozzi
Biological diversity can be evaluated by the taxonomic and functional components. This study aimed to assess the relationship between taxonomic richness with the functional diversity components [functional richness (FRic), functional evenness (FEve) and functional divergence (FDiv)] and the functional trait dominance of polychaetes. In addition, we evaluated the environmental parameters that shape
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Food preferences of two nudibranch species from the South China Sea revealed by fatty acid trophic markers Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-13 Anatolii Komisarenko, Natalia V. Zhukova
Nudibranchs are mostly predators preying on a variety of invertebrates. The dietary preferences of tropical nudibranchs were studied by the method of fatty acid trophic markers (FATM) in order to for better understanding of their trophic ecology. For this, the fatty acid profiles of two nudibranch species from the South China Sea, Doriprismatica atromarginata (Cuvier, 1804) and Jorunna funebris (Kelaart
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Spatiotemporal variation in clam recruitment among beaches in Washington State (USA) Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-04 J. N. Kobelt, D. S. Yiu, M. N. Dethier, J. L. Ruesink
Abundant clam populations provide ecosystem services and commercial and recreational shellfish harvests worldwide. Two non-native clams (Manila clams, Ruditapes philippinarum; eastern soft-shell clams, Mya arenaria) commonly populate mid-intertidal zones of coarse-sediment beaches in Washington State, USA. To better understand factors influencing their abundance, we used passive mid-intertidal spat
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Latitudinal biodiversity gradients of rocky intertidal assemblages: Spatial scales and complex associations with environmental factors Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2024-01-02 Hadiyanto Hadiyanto, Jane Prince, Renae K. Hovey
Latitudinal biodiversity gradients vary across taxonomic groups and spatial scales, and various environmental factors have been associated with those patterns. However, it remains unknown whether taxonomic groups with strong ecological associations have similar or different latitudinal patterns. Macroalgae are foundation assemblages on rocky intertidal shores and are often inhabited by invertebrates
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Depth-independent phenotypic variation of massive Porites coral color morphs Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-12-28 Colin J. Anthony, Grace McDermott, Colin Lock, Therese Miller, Bastian Bentlage, Laurie J. Raymundo
As coral reefs continue to decline due to anthropogenic stressors, community characterizations will reveal both historical selection processes and adaptive potential to environmental change. To address the potential role of color in the distribution and resilience of massive Porites corals, we surveyed the distributions of two dominant color morphs (brown and purple), and a unique intermediate state
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Algal cover as a driver of diversity in communities associated with mussel assemblages across eastern Pacific ecoregions Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-12-14 Lynn Wilbur, Frithjof C. Küpper, Vasilis Louca
Research on intertidal mussel assemblages and associated communities has revealed that complexity and structure are influenced by environmental heterogeneity and local-scale factors affecting recruitment. Research in situ in eastern and western Pacific intertidal ecosystems has suggested drivers of species diversity and community structure encompassing large geographic scales, however, there are major
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Before and after closed season for beach seine fishing in Ghana: Impact on benthic macroinvertebrates species diversity indices Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-12-07 Margaret Fafa Awushie Akwetey, Paul Kojo Mensah, Gertrude Tibu, Naomi Aku Agboli, Gifty Wiredu
Beach seine fishery provides a means of livelihood to many households in Africa and it is widely practiced in the coastal communities of Ghana due to the relatively cheaper operational cost. However, the small mesh sizes of beach seine nets and fishing activities that involve dragging a net through the nearshore seabed tend to destroy fish breeding grounds and capture juvenile fish and non-target benthic
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Diversity and distribution of foraminifera and tintinnids (bio-indicators) from Pulicat Lake, India Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-12-08 S. Govindan, R. Ramanibai, R. Murugan
The foraminifera and tintinnids are essential indicators of the health status of marine and estuarine ecosystems, both past and present, and can be used for monitoring purposes in the future. Tintinnids are known to group among ciliates possessing hard loricate to be considered by hydrogeologists as one of the bio-indicator species, exhibiting a strong positive correlation with phytoplankton. Pulicat
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Comparing the effect of larval dispersal strategies on morphological versus genetic differentiation in two neotropical fiddler crabs Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-11-23 Salise Brandt Martins, Murilo Zanetti Marochi, Setuko Masunari, Christoph D. Schubart
The dispersal mode of estuarine invertebrates has a strong effect on genetic variability and phenotypic expression, potentially maintaining gene flow among widely separated populations or limiting connectivity among close ones. Understanding the dispersal strategies effects can support adequate strategies for environment management and understand the evolutionary history of the studied species. A comparative
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Shipwrecks act as de facto Marine Protected Areas in areas of heavy fishing pressure Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-11-22 Jenny Hickman, Joe Richards, Adam Rees, Emma V. Sheehan
Ubiquitous, industrial use of bottom-towed fishing gear since the 1800s has altered marine communities and ecosystem services. Outside of legal protection, only areas inaccessible to trawlers are offered any protection. Shipwrecks present hazards to fishing gear and are rarely subject to trawling pressure. As many have been in situ for >100 years, they offer a baseline of ecological potential when
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The Gulf of Naples as a model system for plankton ecology studies Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-11-06 Adriana Zingone, Domenico D'Alelio, Maria Grazia Mazzocchi
Plankton play a fundamental role in coastal and oceanic ecosystems as a key component of biogeochemical cycles and pelagic trophic webs and contribute to determining and maintaining the health of the oceans. More than half of the world's population living along the coasts relies on services offered by plankton in terms of seafood availability and seawater quality, at the same time altering coastal
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Population biology of the endangered land crab Johngarthia lagostoma (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) in the Trindade Island, Brazil: Identifying crucial areas for future conservation strategies Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-10-23 Marcio Camargo Araujo João, Rafael Campos Duarte, Andrea Santarosa Freire, Nicholas Kriegler, Marcelo Antonio Amaro Pinheiro
The life history of insular gecarcinid crabs is divided into a marine larval and an adult phase, adapted to the terrestrial environment. As adults, individuals migrate seasonally to locations near the sea, engaging in reproductive behaviors. Therefore, identifying breeding and recruitment areas is crucial for the conservation of insular gecarcinids, especially for those endangered, such as Johngarthia
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Influence of environmental settings in geographically distinct ports on the protein profiles of cultivable bacteria using MALDI–TOF mass spectrometry Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-10-19 Lidita Khandeparker, Laxman Gardade, Arga Chandrashekar Anil
The protein profiles of bacteria are useful markers in their identification. In this study, we examined the influence of environmental settings on the protein profiles of culturable bacteria using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI–TOF MS). We compared the protein profiles of bacteria collected from geographically distinct port environments (Kolkata
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Post-fledging survival of wedge-tailed shearwaters is linked to pre-fledge mass, which has decreased over 40 years Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-10-06 Narelle Swanson, Neil Vaughan, Neil Belling, Lauren Roman
Seabird populations are declining across their global range due to a variety of threats, including shifting food webs from climate change. The impact of these threats is exacerbated in long-lived species with low reproductive output and high investment in a few offspring, where juvenile survival is of substantial importance to populations. Changes to post-fledging survival and recruitment of adults
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Zooplankton community and copepod carcasses and non-predatory mortality in six tropical estuarine systems (Northeast of Brazil) Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-10-02 Maria Mylena Oliveira da Cruz, Simone Maria de Albuquerque Lira, Mauro de Melo Júnior
Copepod carcasses and non-predatory mortality can occur due to natural senescence, disease, pollution, and physicochemical stress. Our objective is to evaluate and characterize the rates of non-predatory mortality and the contribution of zooplankton community carcasses, represented by the copepods, in tropical estuarine ecosystems with different degrees of urbanization. During the study, there was
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Meiofauna: Anthropogenic impacts on hidden players in ecosystem Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-09-29 Anastasios Eleftheriou
Certain aspects of meiobenthos research are given detailed and comprehensive attention in Chapter 7 (Hidden players: meiofauna mediate ecosystem effects of anthropogenic Disturbances in the ocean) of the Springer publication ‘New Horizons in Meiobenthos Research; Profiles, Patterns and Potential’ (O. Giere & M. Schratzberger (Eds.). This book review is concerned solely with Chapter 7 which underlines
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Ascidian diversity and abundance in North Carolina seagrass meadows Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-09-18 Mina Surprenant, Jessie C. Jarvis, Susanna López-Legentil
Ascidians are sessile marine invertebrates found all over the world in a variety of natural and artificial habitats. The objective of this study was to provide the first inventory of ascidian diversity and abundance in North Carolina (NC) seagrass meadows. Eight sites along the NC coast were surveyed in May and June 2021 and at each site, 20 quadrats were deployed. All ascidian species within the quadrats
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Nesting activity of Lepidochelys olivacea, and the effect of artificial shade at Cascajilloso beach, a newly inhabited nesting site in Pacific Panama Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-09-13 Eric E. Flores, Joelbin Rafael De La Cruz
Sea turtle nesting activity on newly monitored beaches yield important data to support future regional and global conservation assessments. Here, we report on nesting activity of Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) at Cascajilloso beach in Pacific Panama based on data from a new hatchery during seasons 2019, 2020 and 2021. Further to this, we conducted a field experiment analyzing the effects of artificial
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Seasonal distribution of solitary and colonial benthic ascidians (Chordata) with ecological gradients in and around Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-09-13 R. Murugan, G. Ananthan, K. Balachandar, R. S. Sathiskumar, V. Praveena
Ascidians are rapidly emerging biofouling organisms that generally occur on the natural and artificial substratum of the marine environment. However, very few studies have been reported on their species diversity and distribution patterns. This present investigation focuses on the seasonal impact on ascidians diversity. The distributions of ascidians were recorded by the collection of samples in six
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La Niña-related coral death triggers biodiversity loss of associated communities in the Galápagos Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-08-13 O. Kennedy Rhoades, Margarita Brandt, Jon D. Witman
During a cold La Niña period (August 2007–January 2008) in the central Galápagos archipelago, 70% of Pocillopora branching corals were severely bleached across three long-term monitoring sites, affording an opportunity to examine its impact on the persistence of these corals and their associated community of fish and mobile macroinvertebrates. Using a time series empirical approach, we tagged and tracked
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Species diversity, trophic structure, and taxonomic distinctness of molluscan assemblages associated with Sargassum beds in a historically impacted bay Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-08-13 Pedro A. S. Longo, Karine F. R. Mansur, Amanda T. Silva, Flávio D. Passos, Fosca P. P. Leite
Anthropogenic impacts on coastal habitats can result in alterations of diversity parameters in marine invertebrate assemblages. Macroalgae beds are highly susceptible to human-induced disturbances, supporting a great diversity of molluscan species and being ecologically important for coastal ecosystems. This study investigates the diversity alterations on Sargassum-associated molluscan assemblages
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Individual and population-level variation in susceptibility to temperature in early life history stages of giant kelp Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-08-13 Melissa D. Kurman, Casey terHorst
Because foundation species create structure in a community, understanding their ecological and evolutionary responses to global change is critical for predicting the ecological and economic management of species and communities that rely on them. Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) is a globally distributed foundation species with seasonal fluctuations in abundance in response to local nutrient levels
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Tool use involving a different prey type, microhabitat and location, and long-term anvil use, by the graphic tuskfish Choerodon graphicus (De Vis 1885) Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-08-08 Kimberley Jane Pryor, Ashley Monique Milton
Tool use is a remarkable animal behaviour, and the investigation of this phenomenon in fishes is a relatively new and growing field. The graphic tuskfish Choerodon graphicus (De Vis 1885) has previously been documented using anvils but the extent and variability of this tool-use behaviour remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated whether C. graphicus breaks open crustaceans and/or sea
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Contrasting host use and feeding behavior by sympatric mesograzers Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-07-11 Caio A. Paula, Dalila J. Borges, Aynara R. Andrade, Fosca P. P. Leite, Tânia M. Costa, Glauco B. O. Machado
Marine mesograzers use macroalgae as food and habitat and may have strong top-down effects on plants and macroalgae. Sympatric mesograzer species often differ regarding host use and feeding behavior, which may lead to distinct impacts by these consumers on primary producers. The amphipods Hyale niger and Ampithoe marcuzzii are mesograzers abundant that co-occur in Brazilian waters and, although they
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Variation in autotrophic and heterotrophic sponge abundance in a shallow water seagrass system Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-07-06 Ramadian Bachtiar, Hawis H. Madduppa, James J. Bell
Sponges are well known to feed heterotrophically through suspension feeding, but their relationships with photosynthetic symbionts mean they also have the potential to utilise or release photosynthetically derived carbon. Here, we determined the nutritional mode of sponges that occurred seagrass meadows at two sites in the Wakatobi National Park (Hoga-1 and 2), Indonesia from the near-reef flat (d = 1
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The planktonic food web in the Gulf of Naples based on the analysis of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-06-30 Louise Merquiol, Maria Grazia Mazzocchi, Isabella D'Ambra
Plankton plays a key role in marine food webs by producing and transferring organic matter and energy to higher trophic levels. To define the trophic structure and interactions within the planktonic communities in the Gulf of Naples, we determined carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios in particulate organic matter (POM, <20 μm), phytoplankton (20–200 μm), and bulk (unsorted) and sorted mesozooplankton
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Octospy: What Octopus insularis do in their dens Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-06-28 C. E. O'Brien, Sylvia Lima de Souza Medeiros, Tatiana Leite
Octopus insularis is a benthic octopod from the tropical and subtropical Western Atlantic Ocean that inhabits semi-permanent “dens” (small crevices) in hard substrate. We used visual surveys to assess den occupancy and remote cameras at den entrances to assess activity patterns of O. insularis of South Caicos (21.5112° N, 71.5190° W) in the Turks and Caicos Islands (May–August, 2020 and July–December
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Unexpected discovery of a serpentinite-hosted chemosynthetic ecosystem on Asùt Tesoru Seamount, Mariana Forearc Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-06-16 Chong Chen, Hiromi Kayama Watanabe, Hikaru Sawada, Hisanori Iwamoto, Ken Takai
Chemosynthetic ecosystems powered by microbial primary production are rare ‘hot spots’ of biological activity in the deep-sea characterized by dense aggregations of specially adapted animal species. Among settings where such systems have been found, serpentinite-hosted seep systems supported by alkaline geofluid are particularly understudied with just a few known sites worldwide. Mariana Forearc hosts
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Microplastics in the menu of Mediterranean zooplankton: Insights from the feeding response of the calanoid copepod Centropages typicus Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-06-09 Claudia Traboni, Diana Sarno, Maurizio Ribera d'Alcalà, Maria Grazia Mazzocchi
Microplastic input into the ocean represents an increasing threat to marine biota and may endanger the functioning of marine ecosystems, especially in semi-enclosed basins, such as the Mediterranean Sea. The size spectrum of microplastics overlaps with that of nano-microplankton (2–200 μm), thus potentially misleading suspension-feeding zooplankton, which represent a key trophic link in pelagic food
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Reassessment of the olive ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys olivacea nesting population at Nancite Beach, Costa Rica Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-06-10 Luis G. Fonseca, Wilbert N. Villachica, Eduardo Rangel, Eric Palola, Monique Gilbert, Roldán A. Valverde
Nancite is a fully protected beach within the Guanacaste Conservation Area, Costa Rica where olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) sea turtles nest in synchronous mass-nesting events known as arribadas. Arribadas decreased in magnitude at this beach by approximately 90% during the period 1971–2007 due to unknown causes. The total count estimate of females nesting in a year also decreased over these
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Effect of the alien octocoral Carijoa riisei on benthic fauna assemblages on natural and artificial substrates Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-06-06 Cristian M. Galván-Villa, María A. Tovar-Hernández, Fabián A. Rodríguez-Zaragoza, María del C. Esqueda-González, Judith Sánchez-Rodríguez, Eduardo Ríos-Jara
Carijoa riisei is an invasive octocoral whose dispersal in the tropics has increased considerably in recent years. This study evaluated the changes in the benthic fauna assemblages associated with C. riisei growing on rocks from a sea port and on the metal of a submerged shipwreck in the bays of Manzanillo, Colima, in the Mexican Central Pacific. Quarterly samples were collected between April 2021
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Metabarcoding reveals marked seasonality and a distinctive winter assemblage of dinoflagellates at a coastal LTER site in the Gulf of Naples Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-06-05 Solenn Mordret, Roberta Piredda, Gianpaolo Zampicinini, Wiebe H. C. F. Kooistra, Adriana Zingone, Marina Montresor, Diana Sarno
Dinoflagellates constitute an abundant and diversified component of marine plankton, mostly associated with stratified conditions typical of late spring through autumn in temperate regions. Yet, difficulties with the identification of many species limit the knowledge of their composition and seasonal succession. Here we use a 3-year V4-18S rDNA metabarcoding dataset (4,366,007 reads, 4650 Amplicon
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Interplay among anthropogenic impact, climate change, and internal dynamics in driving nutrient and phytoplankton biomass in the Gulf of Naples Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-05-29 Nicolas Romillac, Maria Abagnale, Florian Kokoszka, Augusto Passarelli, Vincenzo Saggiomo, Maurizio Ribera d’Alcalà, Francesca Margiotta
Due to an ever-increasing demographic pressure, coastal areas are hotspots of anthropogenic impact on marine ecosystems. Understanding the extent and nature of these impacts is critical for developing effective conservation and management strategies to protect and restore coastal marine ecosystems and the services they provide. The Gulf of Naples is a coastal embayment in the Tyrrhenian Sea, Western
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Effects of the ridge-and-runnel system on macrofaunal spatial distribution on a macrotidal sandy beach in the Brazilian Amazon coast Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-05-29 Edma Mayara Pereira Cardoso, Marcelo Petracco, Thuareag Santos, Virag Venekey, Daiane Aviz
Ridge-and-runnel systems are common morphological features across the intertidal zone of dissipative macrotidal beaches. However, these systems have often been overlooked by macrofaunal zonation studies. The present study investigated the effects of this system on the spatial distribution of the macrofaunal community on an Amazonian macrotidal sandy beach. Samples (macrobenthos and sediments) were
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The phylum Chloroflexi and their SAR202 clade dominate the microbiome of two marine sponges living in extreme environmental conditions Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-05-29 Federica Maggioni, Pierre-Louis Stenger, Philippe Jourand, Clarisse Majorel
The capacity of marine sponges to cope with environmental changes is often attributed to the specific composition of their bacterial communities. In this study, we assessed the bacterial microbiome of two dominant sponges, Rhabdastrella globostellata (Rg) and Hyrtios erectus (He), living in the Bouraké lagoon (New Caledonia), where abiotic conditions daily fluctuate according to the tide. Sponge specimens
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Effects of disturbance on macrofaunal biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships in seagrass habitats Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-05-21 T. J. Colvin, P. V. R. Snelgrove
Seagrass beds support diverse macrofaunal communities, and collectively they influence carbon and nutrient cycles; however, we know little on how seagrass disturbance alters this relationship. In Newfoundland, Canada, the invasive European green crab Carcinus maenas threatens the seagrass Zostera marina by snipping and uprooting seagrasses while foraging and burrowing. In order to understand the effects
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Effect of high temperature on the meiofauna composition, abundance, and biomass in a zone of geophysical anomalies Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-05-14 Lucía Álvarez-Castillo, Margarita Hermoso-Salazar, Gerardo Rivas, Alejandro Estradas-Romero, Rosa María Prol-Ledesma
Meiofauna are an excellent assemblage for studying how environmental changes affect numerous invertebrates. Meiofaunal distribution can be influenced by several key environmental factors which may differ among habitats and could be too numerous to evaluate. The Wagner and Consag shallow basins are located at the northern end of the Gulf of California. These basins are a young rift system where intense
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Is integrated taxonomy useful to study diversity and ecology? An example from crustacean zooplankton at the Long-Term ecological research site MareChiara (LTER-MC) Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-05-10 Iole Di Capua, Roberta Piredda, Rosa D'Angiolo, Carmen Minucci, Andrea Montalbano, Ferdinando Boero, Ylenia Carotenuto, Marco Uttieri
Molecular tools increasingly refine and improve the identification of zooplankton organisms based on phenotypic features, providing a more robust and comprehensive species description. Integration of data helps revealing the hidden diversity of zooplankton and facilitating the detection of rare and non-indigenous species. This approach, merging morphological characters and a diagnostic marker for specific
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Coastal mesozooplankton respond to decadal environmental changes via community restructuring Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-04-24 Maria Grazia Mazzocchi, Iole Di Capua, Florian Kokoszka, Francesca Margiotta, Maurizio Ribera d'Alcalà, Diana Sarno, Adriana Zingone, Priscilla Licandro
Long-term ecological research has revealed the impact of climate on marine ecosystems at multiple time scales. Changes in the pelagic system have been detected at the LTER-MC site in the Gulf of Naples (Tyrrhenian Sea, western Mediterranean) since 1984. Here we analyzed the time series to determine whether zooplankton had significantly changed over the three decades 1984–2015. In addition to the seasonal
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Holoplankton and meroplankton communities in surf zone waters of a temperate SW Atlantic sandy beach: Seasonal patterns Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-04-22 M. Clara Menéndez, Carla A. Baleani, E. Marcelo Acha, M. Cintia Piccolo
Sandy beaches and their associated surf zones are the most common type of open shoreline, with significant ecological and socio-economic importance. In this study, we explored the seasonal fluctuations of the surf zone holo- and meroplankton communities to understand the underlying environmental variables driving the temporal dynamics of each community. We also defined a surf-zooplankton community
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Cryptic biodiversity inhabiting coral reef sponges Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-04-10 Anita M. George, Dave Abdo, Muhammad Azmi Abdul Wahab, Merrick Ekins, John N. A. Hooper, Steve Whalan
Sponges host a wide range of cryptic biodiversity both internally and externally. This study quantified the biodiversity inhabiting, or associated with, three morphologically distinct coral reef sponges. Coelocarteria singaporensis, Coscinoderma mathewsi and Ircinia microconulosa were collected from fringing reefs at Orpheus Island, central Great Barrier Reef, across monsoonal seasons (wet and dry)
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Trophic structure using ecological relationships between five dominant commercial fish in Kolahi to Dargahan Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-04-07 Zahra Masoomi, Mahsa Haghi, Mohammad Zakeri, Mohammad Momeni
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of frequent species population fluctuations and the impact of different rates of exploitation on other ecological links in the food web. The mass-balanced Ecopath model represents the trophic interactions among the 31 defined functional groups in the Kolahi to Dargahan area, with five main species, including Trichiurus lepturus, Saurida tumbil
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Estimation of feeding strategies of spotted seals (Phoca largha) migrating to three regions in Hokkaido, Japan Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-04-03 Nobumichi Takano, Minoru Kanaiwa, Mari Kobayashi
To understand the current feeding habits of spotted seals, this study estimates feeding strategies based on region, season, growth stage, and sex through the results of stomach content analyses, and compares its findings with feeding habits of the past. As a result of permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA), region, season, growth stage, and sex were detected as significant. Non-metric
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A CHEMTAX-derived phytoplankton community structure during 12-year observations in the Gulf of Naples (LTER-MC) Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-03-29 Maria Saggiomo, Francesco Bolinesi, Christophe Brunet, Augusto Passarelli, Francesca Margiotta, Vincenzo Saggiomo, Olga Mangoni
The rapid response of phytoplankton communities to environmental changes makes this compartment one of the most important biological variable to consider in dealing with ecology and trophodynamic of coastal areas, especially in relation with ongoing climate changes and increased human pressures. In the last 30 years, the use of chemotaxonomy has improved the capability to detect phytoplankton community
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The ichthyofaunistic colonization and complex biogeographic history of the southern portion of the Southwest Atlantic Ocean Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-03-29 Daniel E. Figueroa, Santiago A. Barbini, Mauro Belleggia, David E. Sabadin, Jorge M. Román, Agustín M. De Wysiecki
Here, we highlight the geological processes that resulted in the current conformation of the southern Southwest Atlantic Ocean, and explore the heterogeneous composition of the marine ichthyofauna found between 33° and 56° from a paleobiological perspective. During the early Cretaceous (140 Mya), the South Atlantic was still not formed, and Gondwana was probably a set of united plates with shallow
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How many are they? Estimates of demographic patterns of reproductive females of southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) in the southern coast of Brazil Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-03-27 Eduardo P. Renault-Braga, Karina R. Groch, Paulo C. Simões-Lopes
Southern right whales use the Brazilian coast as a wintering area. This population was severely depleted by whaling up until 1973. Since the 1980s, studies have shown that this species is now restricted to the southern waters of Brazil. Using photo-identification data obtained via standardized aerial surveys from Florianópolis, State of Santa Catarina (SC) (−27.797°/−48.533°) to Torres, State of Rio
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Predicting diversity in benthic macro-scale communities associated with mussel matrices in three Pacific ecoregions Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-03-17 Lynn Wilbur, Frithjof C. Küpper, Nikolaos Katsiaras, Vasilis Louca
Marine mussels are ubiquitous and their tough byssal threads allow for the formation of expansive, age-aggregated mats known as mussel matrices which can host marine invertebrates and algal macro-benthic communities playing an important role in food-web dynamics. Yet, despite the significant implications for biodiversity and intertidal ecosystem functioning, the role of mussel size, individual morphology
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Differential feeding rates of native and alien predators on the invasive Asian date mussel Arcuatula senhousia (Benson in cantor, 1842) in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-02-06 Serenella Cabiddu, Pierantonio Addis, Francesco Palmas, Antonio Pusceddu
The alien Asian date mussel Arcuatula senhousia inhabits several coastal environments worldwide. This species can form dense mats where individuals attach through byssus threads, thus altering the structure, functioning and biodiversity of the native communities. We investigated the feeding preference of different predators on this alien species in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon. To do this, a mesocosm
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Twenty-year trends of Centropages typicus (Copepoda, Calanoida) reproduction, feeding, population abundance and structure in the Gulf of Naples (Western Mediterranean Sea) Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-02-06 Ylenia Carotenuto, Iole Di Capua, Mario Di Pinto, Flora Palumbo, Isabella Percopo, Marco Uttieri, Antonio Miralto, Maria Grazia Mazzocchi, Adrianna Ianora
Centropages typicus is a temperate calanoid copepod occurring in Atlantic and Mediterranean coastal waters, where its reproductive biology and population dynamics are well-known. C. typicus has also been suggested as a key species for monitoring the impact of environmental changes on copepod secondary production. The aim of this study is to investigate the seasonal and interannual reproductive (egg
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Abundance of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in the north-western Mediterranean Sea, using photo-identification and microsatellite genotyping Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-02-02 Céline Tardy, Denis Ody, Olivier Gimenez, Serge Planes
The Mediterranean fin whale population, Balaenoptera physalus, is resident, with almost no exchanges with the Atlantic population. The entire population was estimated at 1300 or 13,300 individuals by a recent project depending on the platform used. This disparity shows the importance of long-term monitoring with a unique protocol of survey. Capture-recapture approaches using dorsal photographs and
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Bottom-up and top-down control of seagrass overgrazing by the sea urchin Tripneustes gratilla Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-01-19 Agustín Moreira-Saporiti, Dieuwke Hoeijmakers, Hauke Reuter, Flower E. Msuya, Katrin Gese, Mirta Teichberg
The lack of top-down control on Tripneustes gratilla, a sea urchin commonly known to graze on seagrass, and the bottom-up control of its feeding preference, led to the overgrazing of seagrass meadows of the species Thalassodendron ciliatum in Changuu Island (Zanzibar Archipelago). The impact of overgrazing on seagrasses was assessed by mapping the presence of grazed versus non-grazed seagrass patches
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From metabarcoding time series to plankton food webs: The hidden role of trophic hierarchy in providing ecological resilience Mar. Ecol. (IF 1.1) Pub Date : 2023-01-12 Luca Russo, Daniele Bellardini, Gianpaolo Zampicinini, Ferenc Jordán, Roberta Congestri, Domenico D’Alelio
The advent of metabarcoding (metaB) in aquatic ecology has provided a huge amount of information on plankton biodiversity worldwide. However, the large datasets obtained with that approach are still partially explored, especially for what concerns the study of trophic interactions and food webs. In this study, we analysed a metaB time series from the Long-Term Ecological Research station MareChiara