This work analysed burrow morphologies, crab characteristics and soil properties across intertidal areas of a restored mangrove forest. Burrows were larger in monsoon, occupied by the juvenile crabs, but smaller in summer, occupied by adults. The burrows were longer and deeper with increasing soil moisture. Burrowing crabs were abundant in Avicennia, and their female population was high in open mudflat

Ecosystem carbon stocks were compared in three island mangrove forests, subjected to different anthropogenic stresses, close to Port Klang in Selangor State on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Carbon stocks in living biomass, litter, deadwood and soil were quantified, and the carbon isotopic signature in mangrove soils was also measured, to estimate their carbon source. We hypothesize that carbon

Accumulation and depuration kinetics in the samples of mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis L. 1758) and sea snail (Rapana venosa (Valenciennes, 1846)) exposed to 137Cs radioisotope via seawater exposure were investigated under laboratory conditions. Accumulation and depuration kinetics were monitored for 49 and 59 days, respectively. Concentration factor and biological half-life values were calculated

This study investigates the relationship between the vertical flux of particulate organic matter (POM) and the biomass of living benthic foraminifera in a region at the continental slope of the Campos Basin (between 400 and 3000 m). Vertical POM fluxes to the seafloor were modeled as a function of remote sensing chlorophyll-a concentration, sea surface temperature, and derived products such as primary

This study established background (pre-industrial) values of copper (Cu), arsenic (As), cobalt (Co), and uranium (U) in Baltic Sea sediments. The indicated background values could help identifying the spatial and temporal anthropogenic loads of these elements (metals and metalloids) in the Baltic Sea. In this study, 137 sediment samples were collected from cores obtained from 13 monitoring stations

The flatfish species Solea solea has been the subject of research for supporting their management in fisheries, restocking natural populations, domestication in aquaculture, and ecotoxicology research. Soles undergo a metamorphosis with drastic morphological and physiological changes and settlement, processes that make them potentially more vulnerable to pollutants than other fish. Up to date, efforts

Globally we have lost the majority of shellfish reefs, with the concomitant loss of ecosystem services. Restoration provides opportunities to regain lost services and engage society in the wider ecosystem benefits of restoration. Previous research has demonstrated that the functional role of shellfish can be context dependent, and we therefore measured fluxes of nutrients and dissolved gases from four

The prevalence and median intensity of infection of Pacific sierra (Scomberomorus sierra) by parasitic copepods (Caligus fajerae, Caligus omissus, and Cybicola buccatus), and monogeneans (Thoracocotylidae) were examined over a six-year period (2015 to 2021) in the southeastern Gulf of California. This period included sea surface temperatures that were warmer and colder than average (SST anomalies)

Biological invasions can have manifold effects on native biota, including impacts on species interactions in invaded ecosystems. Among those are effects on parasite-host interactions, for example in cases where invaders serve as a new host for native parasites, leading to an amplification of the parasite population which may ultimately result in increased infection levels in the original native hosts

We report observations of negatively buoyant plastics washed up on the shores of a beach in southwest England in association with deposits of kelp. Items retrieved included polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle fragments, polyvinyl chloride toys, electrical casings, construction plastics, polycarbonate goggles, carcass tags, pot rubber, fishing float fragments and PET textiles, with an upper estimate

Benthic light availability is readily affected by natural drivers of an ecosystem and by anthropogenic-induced stressors. Rapid urbanization in coastal regions can induce light variability for reef-building corals that use photosynthesis as a primary form of energy. However, very little data exists on the photosynthesis of light-limited coral species and their acclimation responses to an additional

We examined the biogenic and lithogenic particle composition and radiocarbon content of sinking particulate organic carbon to investigate sediment resuspension and its contribution to sinking particles on the deep abyssal plain of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. Samples were collected using sediment traps from August 2011 to July 2012 at depths of 4500 and 4950 m (50 m above the seafloor); above

An invasive bivalve of the genus Mytilopsis has been present in the Indo-Pacific region since at least 1870, although most of the literature on this species states that it invaded the Pacific from the Caribbean through the Panama Canal after 1914. Although species of Mytilopsis are difficult to identify using morphological characters, difficult does not mean impossible. Comparisons of recently collected

The movement of animals and materials among habitats can affect community structure. Subtidal rocky reefs are important in the productivity, food web, recruitment, and behavior of benthic animal communities and fish. We investigated how rocky reefs influence the composition and abundance of benthic species in the East Sea of Korea. In total, 157 species of macrobenthic fauna were collected, of which

In marine invertebrates, the bioenergetic fuel available for fundamental physiological processes (growth, reproduction) may present intra-individual variability depending on the storage organ, sex and state of sexual maturity. This variability is considered relevant information for fishery management. In the squid Dosidicus gigas, an important fishery resource, we analyzed adult males (immature vs

Deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1) has been demonstrated in several species in the northern hemisphere and is suggested as a cause for declining populations. European perch from the Baltic Sea show negative temporal trends for several health biomarkers and poor recruitment of unknown cause. In this study, thiamine status of perch liver from the Baltic Sea was studied with emphasis on seasonal variation

A food-web comparative modeling approach using Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) was built to characterize the ecosystem of the Gulf of Alicante (GoA) and investigate its singularities. The GoA differs from neighboring ecosystems of the Western Mediterranean Sea because of its different oceanographic characteristics. We developed a model of the study area representing early 2010s, covering a total area of

The Siberian Arctic is one of the regions, where the ongoing climate change is the most evident. There is limited knowledge available on the distribution of macrobenthic communities in the Siberian Arctic, their stability and functional structure. We used data from two latitudinal transects from the East Siberian Sea shelf to describe the distribution of macrobenthic communities as well as to identify

Seaweed are ecologically important organisms playing a central structural and functional role in coastal ecosystems (providing habitat, mating and nursery grounds, food and refuge for several marine organisms). Additionally, their commercial potential has been rising since seaweed are directly or indirectly used by humans in many countries. This work aimed to evaluate the temporal and spatial variation

Mesoscale eddies influence the nutrient distribution and modulate the phytoplankton growth. The present study addressed the influence of cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies on the variability of particulate organic matter composition at the Subtropical Front of the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean during austral summer 2012 and 2013. It was observed that the concentration of particulate organic

This study evaluates tributyltin (TBT) pollution on a spatial-temporal scale using imposex occurrence in Stramonita brasiliensis in a coastal region of the southeast Brazil, between 2007 and 2018, and tests the viability of this species as a tool to evaluate the environmental quality through the Ecological Quality Ratio (EQR). Imposex indexes varied during the monitoring period, with I% varying from

Understanding growth and development over ontogeny, and the effects of stressors on life history, requires bioenergetic analysis, for example using models based on dynamic energy budget theory. Such analyses require precise and accurate determination of the animal's biomass or biovolume over time. Automated imaging offers great advantages by allowing size measurements at a high temporal resolution

Ulva usually attached to aquaculture rafts, rocks, and floating objects. Previous studies have shown that the world's largest green tides in the Yellow Sea originated from the attached Ulva on rafts. However, a large biomass of Ulva thalli has recently been found attached to Littorina sp. (periwinkles) in the Subei intertidal zone, but it is rarely observed on Bullacta exarata, Portunus sp., and other

In habitats impacted by bottom trawling that influences the resilience of few and widely distributed abundant species, it is relevant to analyze how populations are structured according to their niche and niche overlap, and hence contributing to the ecosystem-based management approach. We evaluated and compared the isotopic niche width and determined the isotopic niche overlap for target and bycatch

In the 2020 summer the territory of Sicily was affected by a strong drought which caused a strong lowering of the level of the water bodies of the whole Region; the protected area of Vendicari (S-E Sicily) was not spared by these events. Furthermore, a strong storm affected the coasts of southeastern Sicily. These meteorological events, drought and storm, acted synergistically causing the silting up

Intertidal rock pools are considered critical habitats along coastal shores. Amphipods play an important role in intertidal rock pool ecosystems, as food resources for higher trophic levels and sometimes by enriching nutrients through grazing. However, the environmental factors driving their rockpool occupation remain largely unknown. We aimed to examine the importance of the large-scale wave action

Assessment of total egg production as a proxy for reproductive potential is critical for understanding the mechanisms of recruitment variability and implementing appropriate stock management. This study determined whether the temporal variation in the estimated egg production index (EPI) of spawning western sand lance (Ammodytes japonicus) collected in the Bisan Strait in the central Seto Inland Sea

This study compares species composition, abundance, biomass, and several other factors by which sedentary megafaunal and macrofaunal assemblages at depths between 14 m and 55 m on the Hueneme Shelf in southern California, USA, can be characterized. It details fundamental differences between these assemblages in this study area and demonstrates how little we know about a diverse range of attributes

We studied on microzooplankton (MZP) communities from two major rivers, the Mandovi and the Zuari estuarine system of Goa on central west coast India. Despite both estuaries having a common point of discharge (eastern part of the Arabian Sea) and origin (in the Western Ghats), the Zuari estuary retains its marine condition; in contrast, the Mandovi estuary becomes a nearly freshwater condition for

The blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) is a placental shark that uses coastal nursery areas in the Galapagos Marine Reserve, where juveniles live during their early life stages. To better understand the feeding behavior of early juvenile blacktip sharks, we conducted stable isotope analysis on 57 samples from three coastal nurseries around the archipelago. We evaluated the intraspecific variation

Salinity in estuarine environments is one of the most important influencing factors for meiofauna. The effects of seasonal variation in rainfall and saline intrusion on meiofauna/nematodes diversity and abundance on a mesotidal beach located in the mixing zone of an Amazon estuary were analyzed. Samplings occurred bimonthly over one year at four stations in the intertidal zone. Density variation in

Brown shrimp, Crangon crangon, inhabit highly productive sandy and muddy grounds of the southern North Sea. The stomachs of the shrimp contain variable and often high numbers of sediment grains. The function of sediment grains inside the stomach and the purpose of their ingestion are only poorly understood. We tested in laboratory experiments whether sediment and associated organic material complement

Since most marine benthic species experience a pelagic larval phase, scales of dispersal are key determinants of population dynamics. Biologically derived marine foam has been suggested to increase chances of fertilisation and reduce dispersal of larvae of short-live duration (hours), thus maintaining localised intertidal populations. The present study examined the role sea-foam plays as a mechanism

The hermatypic coral ecosystems of the southern coast of Jalisco, Mexico, present an important species richness and coverage for the Mexican Central Pacific. However, knowledge of these ecosystems of the Jalisco coast is fragmented. Studies have concentrated on few localities, employing a limited number of coral health indicators, and gaps still remain in the knowledge of ecosystem structure and its

Climate fluctuations affect a wide range of environmental factors that may impact fish populations with various response mechanisms. For a major part of world fisheries stocks, only abundance time-series are available. Relations between abundance of these species and ocean variables, including long term trends and patterns of seasonal change, remain sparsely documented. The main aim of our work is

The striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba, is one of the most abundant cetacean species off the Western Iberian coast, however, studies on the species regarding biology, ecology, threats or conservation efforts are lacking. This study investigates stranding patterns (years 1981–2014) and diet (2002–2014) of striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) off the Portuguese mainland coast. Stranded animals

Escape incidents of farmed fish involve economic losses to fish farms, interactions with local fisheries and environmental impacts to coastal ecosystems. In order to ensure a sustainable aquaculture activity it is advisable to gather any kind of information about the escapees for further management strategies. In this study, we aimed to trace the life history of escaped meagre (Argyrosomus regius)

The ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi A. Agassiz, 1865 originates from estuaries and coastal waters along Atlantic coastlines from the Chesapeake Bay, USA, to Argentina. Through ballast waters, the species has spread the past 30 years over Eurasia. On the French Mediterranean coastlines, Mnemiopsis leidyi was first formally identified in the Berre Lagoon in 2005 and has been episodically present in other

Abstract The Patagonian fjords are high-latitude aquatic ecosystems, highly sensitive to climate change and play a key role in the exchange of organic matter and carbon flows between terrestrial and marine environments. The bioenergetic composition of species living in these ecosystems are fundamental to understanding the distribution, seasonal variations, and exchange of organic matter within benthic

Abstract The ocean is the largest carbon reservoir on Earth. The shellfish-seaweed mode of Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) can be optimized to enhance carbon removal from the sea. In this study, the effects of different mussel-kelp ratios (i.e. 6:3, 6:2, 6:1, 4:3, 4:2, 4:1, 2:3, 2:2, and 2:1) on water quality and the carbon dioxide (CO2) system were 6:3, 6:2, 6:1, 4:3, 4:2, 4:1, 2:3, 2:2

Abstract The main meteorological and oceanographic drivers shaping phytoplankton community structure and dynamics are investigated in two wide-open bays influenced by coastal upwelling. Local processes influencing the proliferation of harmful algal bloom species were also investigated. The work was developed during one year in Lisbon Bay (central-west coast) and in Lagos Bay (south coast), both located

Abstract Distribution patterns of fish at early life stages can have profound effects on their development and survival. Here, diversity, distribution, and abundance patterns of ichthyoplankton assemblages were investigated in some inlets of the northern Persian Gulf during 2013–2014. A total of 21,440 fish larvae belonging to 30 families were identified, with Clupeidae, Gobiidae and Sillaginidae being

Abstract For the cultivation of mussels, wild stocks of juveniles are harvested to collect mussel seed as starting material for the culture. These wild stocks are found in the sublittoral western Wadden Sea (NL). After summer spat fall, fisheries in Autumn on newly formed beds is carried out in areas that have the risk of washing away due to storms, or are vulnerable for starfish predation. These wild

Abstract Macroalgae in Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon (37° 40′ S, 57° 23′ W, Argentina) settle on small-hard substrates on sediments and complex reef-like structures with tubes and crevices of the invader polychaete Ficopomatus enigmaticus (Fauvel, 1923) acting as ecosystem engineers with multiple community structuring effects. In this study, we compared the structural effects of macroalgae generating

Abstract Changes in environmental conditions play an important role in essential biological processes such as reproduction, which is partially driven by an organism's diet. Here, we evaluate spatio-temporal variations in the bioenergetic reserves (lipids and fatty acids) of the fishery resource Concholepas concholepas (Loco), a prominent benthic carnivorous gastropod. We used data from summer (January)

The aim of this study was to identify the patterns of short and medium term variations in fish and macroinvertebrate communities in five sandy beach surf zones on the Cádiz coast (southwest Spain). Sampling was done monthly (December 2016 to November 2017) with a beach seine net with a 5 m long purse-bag at its center. A total of 48 different species were identified, of which fish and crustaceans were

Abstract This paper analyses the spatial distribution and some aspects of the reproductive biology of the common marine cladoceran Evadne nordmanni in the southern Barents Sea. Samples were collected in summer seasons at four coastal sites off the Kola Peninsula. The numerical occurrence of E. nordmanni as a percentage of total mesozooplankton abundance ranged between 0.03 and 63%. Maximum population

Abstract Artificial structures such as offshore oil and gas platforms can significantly alter local species communities. It has been argued that this effect should be considered during decisions over their removal during decommissioning. In the North Sea, leaving such structures in place is prohibited but derogations are allowed for large concrete installations. To assess removal options for one such

Abstract The dietary preferences of 61 Western Mediterranean species of fish belonging to different trophic levels were studied. Specimens were collected during the annual bottom trawl survey MEDITS for the period 2011–2018, with a total of 16,588 stomach contents analyzed, providing a highly valuable raw dataset for advanced studies in trophic ecology. The software EstimateS 9.1 was used, for the

Abstract We examined seasonal succession in a phytoplankton and mesozooplankton community in open coastal waters with frequently occurring harmful algal blooms. Chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration was positively related to the N/P/Si ratio, suggesting that nitrate is a major limiting nutrient for phytoplankton biomass increase. Heterotrophic red Noctiluca, but not toxic dinoflagellate, abundance showed

Abstract Jellyfish are non-model organisms that have brought the scientific community's attention over the last decades since the frequency and intensity of these species blooms around the world have increased significantly. The occurrence of blooms has been hypothesized due to the rise in seawater temperature associated with climate change. This fact has promoted an increased interest in studying

Abstract Tropical estuaries are characterised by high spatial and temporal variability in the conditions they provide for living organisms, which in turn may affect their biochemical composition. Anthropogenic contaminants such as nutrients, antibiotics, pesticides and trace metals may also affect the biochemical composition of these coastal organisms, notably with regard to fatty acids (FA), of which

Abstract The red-tide dinoflagellate Karenia mikimotoi can vertically migrate ~20 m in a day. This property enables K. mikimotoi to acquire nutrients over a wide range of depths and to receive optimal irradiance. We conducted day and night observations of diurnal vertical migrations (DVMs) during the declining stage of blooms and daily-weekly investigations of the relationship between environmental

Abstract Zinc is essential for animal metabolism, but the variation in Zn concentrations within seabird populations has been seldom explored. We collected Blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) eggs during 2012 and 2013 and blood samples from nestlings and adults during 2011 and 2012 in Sinaloa, Mexico, to evaluate differences in Zn concentrations among years, ages, sexes, and breeding stages. Zinc concentrations