The variability of some population (demo) parameters of the gammarid amphipod Melita palmata was associated with contrasting habitat structures created by the non‐indigenous reef‐builder polychaete Ficopomatus enigmaticus in the Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon (37°40 S, 57°23 W, Argentina). Sampling of M. palmata was conducted biweekly during the reproductive period in F. enigmaticus reefs and sediment

The structure, diversity, spatial and seasonal distributions of amphipod assemblages associated with intertidal Zostera (Zosterella) noltei meadows were studied around the Kneiss Islands (central Mediterranean Sea). This site represents a site of international interest in terms of its ornithological diversity (Important Bird Area, Ramsar Site and SPAMI). The amphipod fauna was sampled at 32 stations

Bohai Bay, a representative semi‐enclosed bay of China, has been severely impacted in recent decades by rapid human development. Although the mantis shrimp Oratosquilla oratoria plays an important role in the Bohai Bay ecosystem and fishery, its feeding ecology and the impact of habitat changes on its feeding habits are poorly known. In this study, we sought to identify its feeding strategy through

Surface sediment samples were collected from sixteen sites of the southern Chinese coastline in this study. Diversity of eukaryotic microalgae was examined using high‐throughput sequencing of 18S rDNA to understand the community structure and geological distribution of microalgal resting stages. A total of 218 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were detected for eukaryotic algae, and only 75 OTUs (34

The California market squid is ecologically and economically important to the California Current Ecosystem and coastal communities. However, the population undergoes periodic and large‐scale fluctuations on the order of magnitudes, largely as a result of warm ocean temperature and reduced ocean productivity related to cycles in El Niño Southern Oscillation. These fluctuations can lead to cascading

Our study aimed to identify possible relationships between the structure of the benthic macrofauna and the intense use of vehicles in Cassino Beach. Physical changes in the sediment were identified, with high compaction in the sector most affected by the vehicles, especially during the summer. The benthic macrofauna was significantly affected by vehicles, with lower densities observed in the most impacted

In recent decades, the high introduction rate of alien species (AS) has been mainly due to the increasingly widespread human movements, which often compromise natural barriers, facilitating the invasion of new geographic areas and environments. Being completely new in the recipient habitat, alien invasive species can often have strongly negative impacts on native communities, sometimes causing substantial

Juvenile nursery habitats are a critical requirement for the maintenance of some fish populations. Snapper in northern New Zealand is hypothesised to fit this nursery habitat model; however, nursery habitat association and dependency are poorly understood for New Zealand's largest snapper population in the Hauraki Gulf. To better understand habitat usage by post‐settlement snapper and identify potential

Sea urchin (Mesocentrotus nudus) is a major marine resource of Sanriku off the Pacific Coast, Japan, that includes Aomori, Iwate, and Miyagi Prefectures. Using six microsatellites and three mitochondrial DNA regions, we aimed to characterize genetic diversity of M. nudus before and after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Sanriku's Touni and Okirai Bays. Although mass death during the Tohoku disaster likely

The Mediterranean cave‐dwelling cardinalfish Apogon imberbis shows a surprising panmixia for a brooding species inhabiting a fragmented habitat. This is partly attributed to the plasticity of its aggregative behavior, ranging from solitary to large schools. This plasticity allows this cardinalfish to take advantage of a wide variety of shadowed shelters, ranging from small cracks to large caves, which

Research in aquatic ecology requires adequate sampling designs if the underlying processes that govern population and community dynamics are to be understood. Adequate sampling design is particularly important for organisms inhabiting environments such as mangroves. Thus, collecting quantitative ecological data remains a major challenge. Here, we analysed the structural and temporal dynamics of a tidal

Abundance and assemblages of dinoflagellates and ciliates were studied in water samples collected from three different depths at five locations in the Kongsfjorden, during summer (June 14–21, 2011) and fall (September 15–27, 2012). Generally, athecate dinoflagellates were ubiquitously dominant during both seasons. Surface dinoflagellates abundance ranged from 1.87 × 103 cells/L (KF1) to 11.62 × 103 cells/L

Marine hardground bottom (subtidal) benthic (sessile) communities (HBBC) are subjected to various biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic factors that can vary over space and time and interact with one another. To evaluate the main drivers of the structure of HBBC in a large tropical bay in the southwest Atlantic (Ilha Grande Bay, Brazil), a total of 98 HBBC were sampled using visually estimated quadrats

The rapid appearance of Ramicrusta spp. is described and analyzed from 40 permanent monitoring coral reef stations in Puerto Rico. Before 2016, Ramicrusta had not been observed from any of the reef monitoring stations. By 2018, it was present at 76% of all the monitoring stations. Ramicrusta was the dominant substrata type at all of the shallow reef sites sampled on the east coast (e.g., Fajardo, Culebra

The Veracruz Reef System, in the southern Gulf of Mexico, is a suitable area for the study of the temporal and spatial variability of macroalgae abundance, at reef settings influenced by the fluvial discharge of the Jamapa River, and by human activities in the city and port of Veracruz. With this purpose, the bottom cover of each morpho‐functional group of benthic macroalgae (frondoses, turf, and crustose

Climate change causes shifts in the geographical distribution boundaries of many organisms. Modelling techniques predict the distribution of species by relating climatic and physical factors with species' presence records, including potential extinction areas and new potential areas of colonization, under predicted climatic scenarios. In this study, we initially explored which environmental variables

In Korean coastal waters (KCW), nutrient loading from the four major rivers usually peaks in summer, probably due to the large amount of water discharge in rainy seasons, but little is known about the responses of the bacterial community composition to inorganic nutrient loading. To gain deeper understanding of variations in marine microbial biodiversity and function with inorganic nutrient loading

The detection of light intensity and subsequent phototaxis are essential for the fitness of sea urchins in intertidal and shallow subtidal waters, where light intensity varies in accordance with the depth and other hydrographic conditions. The molecular basis of photoresponse, however, remains largely unknown. We compared the expression of SiOpsin4, SiPax6, and SiOpsin5 among tube feet, coelomocytes

It has been proposed that the elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, is genetically separated into two distinct provinces in the Caribbean, an Eastern and a Western population admixing in western Puerto Rico and around the Mona Passage. In this study, the genetic structure of A. palmata sampled at 11 Puerto Rican localities and localities from Curaçao, the Bahamas and Guadeloupe were examined. Analyses using

Predation risk is high for the many small coral reef fishes, requiring successful sheltering or other predator defence mechanisms. Coral-dwelling gobies of the genus Gobiodon live in close association with scleractinian corals of the genus Acropora. Earlier studies indicated that the low movement frequency of adult fishes and the development of skin toxins (crinotoxicity) are predation avoidance mechanisms