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An integrated field-laboratory investigation of the effects of low oxygen and pH on North Pacific krill ( Euphausia pacifica ) Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-03-05 Anna K. McLaskey; Julie E. Keister
Krill are abundant and ecologically important zooplankton that inhabit dynamic environments characterized by strong natural variability, but global ocean change is shifting the range of conditions that they experience. Laboratory tests reveal that krill are sensitive to ocean acidification despite residing in naturally low pH areas, showing the importance of modulating factors for determining their
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Histopathological investigation of the reef coral Goniastrea sp. affected by macroalgal abrasion Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-03-05 B. Manikandan; A. A. Padelkar; J. Ravindran; S. Joseph
Interspecific competition between corals and macroalgae is a common phenomenon on coral reefs, and its impacts on the cellular structure of corals are not well studied. Field observations in Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park (GoM), a protected reef environment, during January 2020 revealed abundant growth of the macroalga Turbinaria conoides over the coral, Goniastrea sp., causing tissue discoloration
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Dynamics of marine predators off an oceanic island and implications for management of a preventative shark fishing program Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-03-04 Yuri Niella; Alexandre Wiefels; Ulian Almeida; Sébastien Jaquemet; Erwann Lagabrielle; Robert Harcourt; Victor Peddemors; David Guyomard
Oceanic islands are productive ecosystems, and so have higher densities of many marine predators. We investigated the dynamics of elasmobranch and teleost predators in coastal waters off Réunion Island, Indian Ocean, using fisheries-independent data from a preventative shark fishing program from January 2014 to December 2019. We developed a moonlight index that calculates exact moonlight through incorporating
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Bias in sea turtle productivity estimates: error and factors involved Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-03-04 Simona A. Ceriani; Beth Brost; Anne B. Meylan; Peter A. Meylan; Paolo Casale
The conservation and management of endangered species, including sea turtles, require consistent long-term monitoring of productivity (e.g., number of hatchlings emerged per nest, per female, per nesting site, per population). In sea turtle species, some of the relevant data are obtained by estimating the number of hatched eggs from fragments found in the nest after hatching. Yet, no formal assessment
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Spatial patterns of phytoplankton community and biomass along the Kuroshio Extension and adjacent waters in late spring Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-24 Yu Wang, Jianhua Kang, Xiuwu Sun, Jiang Huang, Yili Lin, Peng Xiang
The Kuroshio Extension (KE) is a natural boundary region characterized by complex hydrodynamic processes in the western North Pacific Ocean that fuel spring phytoplankton blooms in high latitudes. This study looked at the spatial patterns and diversity of phytoplankton community and biomass associated with oceanographic profiles across the KE from the north to south in June 2011. Results showed that
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Lessons from the study of plant mating systems for exploring the causes and consequences of inbreeding in marine invertebrates Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-24 Kevin C. Olsen, Will H. Ryan, Ellen T. Kosman, Jose A. Moscoso, Don R. Levitan, Alice A. Winn
Many benthic marine invertebrates resemble plants in being modular and either sessile or sedentary, and by relying on an external vector to disperse their gametes. These shared features, along with recent evidence of inbreeding in these taxa, suggest that theory and practice bearing on the evolutionary costs and benefits of inbreeding for plants could advance our understanding of the ecology and evolution
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Predator tactics and prey densities modulate the strength of trophic interactions in a temperate rocky reef Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-18 Rodrigo H Muñoz-Cordovez, Sergio A. Carrasco, F. Patricio Ojeda, Alejandro Pérez-Matus
Evaluating the species-specific effects of multiple predators on shared prey helps to identify the mechanisms regulating predator impacts. Here, we investigate the trophic impact of two predators of the Chilean rocky subtidal, the fish Graus nigra [F] and the octopus Robsonella fontaniana [O] on their shared prey, the porcelain crab, Petrolisthes violaceus. Manipulative laboratory experiments were
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Warming mediates intraspecific multiple predator effects from an invasive crustacean Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-17 Ross N. Cuthbert, Ryan J. Wasserman, Tatenda Dalu, Elizabeta Briski
Invasive alien species impacts might be mediated by environmental factors such as climatic warming. For invasive predators, multiple predator interactions could also exacerbate or dampen ecological impacts. These effects may be especially pronounced in highly diverse coastal ecosystems that are prone to profound and rapid regime shifts. We examine emergent effects of warming on the strength of intraspecific
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Diving behaviour of albatrosses: implications for foraging ecology and bycatch susceptibility Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-17 L. K. Bentley, A. Kato, Y. Ropert-Coudert, A. Manica, R. A. Phillips
Diving is an ecologically important behaviour that provides air-breathing predators with opportunities to capture prey, but that also increases their exposure to incidental mortality (bycatch) in commercial fisheries. In this study, we characterised the diving behaviour of 26 individuals of three species, the black-browed albatross Thalassarche melanophris, grey-headed albatross T. chrysostoma and
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Mediterranean aegagropiles from Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile (1813): a first complete description from macroscopic to microscopic structure Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-17 Laurence Lefebvre, Philippe Compère, Angélique Léonard, Erwan Plougonven, Nicolas Vandewalle, Sylvie Gobert
Aegagropiles are round-shaped conglomerations of Posidonia oceanica debris commonly found along the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. This study presents a detailed description of the composition of aegagropiles in terms of their internal organisation in different layers (and the orientation of the fibres in these layers), the proportion of constituent elements (fibres and minerals) and the histological
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Local conditions influence thermal sensitivity of pencil urchin populations ( Eucidaris galapagensis ) in the Galápagos Archipelago Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-14 Isabel Silva Romero, John F. Bruno, Nyssa J. Silbiger, Margarita Brandt
The responses of ectothermic organisms to changes in temperature can be modified by acclimatization or adaptation to local thermal conditions. Thus, the effect of global warming and the deleterious effects of extreme heating events (e.g., heatwaves) on the metabolism and fitness of ectotherms can be population specific and reduced at warmer sites. We tested the hypothesis that when environmental temperature
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Molecular data suggest the worldwide introduction of the bryozoan Amathia verticillata (Ctenostomata, Vesiculariidae) Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-14 Karine Bianca Nascimento, Alvaro Esteves Migotto, Karin Hoch Fehlauer-Ale
The arborescent bryozoan Amathia verticillata (Delle Chiaje, 1822) can be found in both tropical and temperate waters but little is known on how natural dispersal and human-mediated transport mediates its current widespread distribution. The species can rapidly cover and dominate large areas of natural and artificial substrates, and infests port areas, ships, pipelines, and industrial marine installations
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First highlight of sound production in the glassy sweeper Pempheris schomburgkii (Pempheridae) Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-11 Frédéric Bertucci, Eric Parmentier, Anaïs Hillion, Sébastien Cordonnier, David Lecchini, Malika René-Trouillefou
Many sounds produced by fishes remain to be described. Understanding sound production for vocal species would permit the development of passive acoustic monitoring of fish diversity. The present study investigated sound production in the glassy sweeper Pempheris schomburgkii in Guadeloupe reefs, French West Indies. Two recording approaches were used: passive acoustic monitoring in the wild and active
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Is analysis of otolith microstructure a valid method for investigating early life history of Western Baltic cod? Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-11 Rene Plonus, Kate McQueen, Claudia Günther, Steffen Funk, Axel Temming, Uwe Krumme
Daily formation of fish otolith micro-increments is frequently assumed, however applying inferences about timing of life history events and formation of otolith macro-structures requires further validation of the periodicity of micro-increment formation. We analysed micro-increments from Western Baltic cod (WBC, Gadus morhua) otoliths marked with tetracycline-hydrochloride as part of an age validation
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Long-term inter- and intraspecific dietary variation in sibling seabird species Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-11 William F. Mills, Tim I. Morley, Stephen C. Votier, Richard A. Phillips
Northern Macronectes halli and southern giant petrels M. giganteus are opportunistic predators and the dominant avian scavengers in sub-Antarctic and Antarctic ecosystems. At South Georgia, there are globally important breeding populations of both species; however, no detailed diet study has been carried out at this site for > 35 years. Here, we analysed stomach contents of northern (n = 81) and southern
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Potential distribution of the dinoflagellate Peridinium quadridentatum and its blooms in continental shelves globally: an environmental and geographic approach Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-11 Carlos F. Rodríguez-Gómez, Gabriela Vázquez, Carlos A. Maya-Lastra, José A. Aké-Castillo, Christine J. Band-Schmidt, Patricia Moreno-Casasola, Octavio Rojas-Soto
This work was designed to analyze the current ecological niche of Peridinium quadridentatum var. quadridentatum and its harmful algal blooms (HABs) using species distribution models. A maximum entropy model was fitted to samples of occurrence records gathered from the scientific literature and using environmental data for the continental shelves of the world obtained from BIO-ORACLE. The geographic
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Seasonal variations in viral distribution, dynamics, and viral-mediated host mortality in the Arabian Sea Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-10 Aparna Sreekumar, Parvathi Ammini, Jasna Vijayan, Pradeep Ram Angia Sriram, Sime-Ngando Telesphore
Viruses are key players in the marine ecosystem. It is critical to study specific viral processes and their inter-relationship with various biotic and abiotic variables to quantify their impact on the marine environment. This study investigates the influence of seasonality on viral distribution and their mediated processes in the coastal region of the southeastern Arabian Sea (India) for two consecutive
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Factors affecting adult body condition in the endangered northern rockhopper penguin Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-08 Karine Delord, Cédric Cotté, Pascal Terray, Charles-André Bost, Henri Weimerskirch, Christophe Barbraud
Understanding the factors that drive the dynamics of populations of long‐lived species presents a unique challenge for conservation management. Here, we investigated long-term change in the body condition of adult northern rockhopper penguins Eudyptes moseleyi at Amsterdam Island, southern Indian Ocean, which hosts 5–10% of the global population of this endangered species. Analysis of a long‐term dataset
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Long-term changes in a trochid gastropod population affected by biogenic sediment stability on an intertidal sandflat in regional metapopulation context Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-06 Akio Tamaki, Seiji Takeuchi, Soonbo Yang, Shinji Sassa
Although destabilization and stabilization of soft sediments by macro-infauna are regarded as key to understanding benthic community dynamics, how component populations are affected concurrently by both agents was poorly investigated. On an intertidal sandflat, Kyushu, Japan during 1979 − 2014 (previous study) and 2015 − 2019, monitoring was made of the populations of the filter-feeding gastropod,
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Novel insights into the evolution of genome size and AT content in mollusks Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-06 Kenta Adachi, Ai Yoshizumi, Takashi Kuramochi, Ryusuke Kado, Sei-Ichi Okumura
The genome size (C-value) of a species indicates the total amount of DNA included in its haploid chromosomes. It is one of the fundamental characteristics that relate closely to the evolution of organisms. Information on molluskan C-values is limited despite the abundance of morphological diversity. Therefore, to better understand molluskan genome evolution, we conducted a comprehensive survey of the
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Intertidal mussel reefs change the composition and size distribution of diatoms in the biofilm Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-04 Rosyta Andriana, Friederike G. Engel, Joao B. Gusmao, Britas Klemens Eriksson
Migrating diatoms are microscopic ecosystem engineering organisms that have functional consequences on the seascape scale by significantly contributing to the microphytobenthos biofilm. The microphytobenthos biofilm is a thin photosynthesising layer that covers the sediment on intertidal flats. It fuels the food web, increases sediment stability, and enhances the deposition of particles, providing
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Size structure of Antarctic krill inferred from samples of Pygoscelid penguin diets and those collected by the commercial krill fishery Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-03 Mariana A. Juáres, Marta G. Grech, Ricardo Casaux, Javier Negrete, Jazmín Fógel, Néstor R. Coria, M. Mercedes Santos
In the Antarctic Peninsula, during the chick-rearing period Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) and gentoo (P. papua) penguins feed primarily on Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), which is also exploited by the commercial fishery. Krill length and proportion of juvenile krill consumed by these predators that breed at Stranger Point, South Shetland Islands (from 2007/2008 to 2015/2016), and those collected
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Where to head: environmental conditions shape foraging destinations in a critically endangered seabird Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-02-03 Isabel Afán, José Manuel Arcos, Francisco Ramírez, David García, Beneharo Rodríguez, Karine Delord, Amélie Boué, Thierry Micol, Henri Weimerskirch, Maite Louzao
Foraging distribution of flying seabirds is constrained by environmental factors influencing individual decision-making. This must be particularly true during the breeding period, when individuals face additional limitations imposed by their central-place foraging behaviour. We used GPS data loggers and Argos PTTs to track the foraging flights of Balearic shearwaters (Puffinus mauretanicus) during
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The ecology of Lepas-based biofouling communities on moored and drifting objects, with applications for marine forensic science Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-27 Thomas P. Mesaglio, Hayden T. Schilling, Lewis Adler, Shane T. Ahyong, Ben Maslen, Iain M. Suthers
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Unexpected effects of coastal storms on trophic ecology of two rocky reef fish species Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-25 Javier Polanco-Pérez, Francesca V. Search, Patricio Winckler, María José Ochoa-Muñoz, Mauricio F. Landaeta
Coastal storm risks have been increasing over the last couple of decades, affecting both marine infrastructure and human security. Nevertheless, the ecological impact on intertidal marine fishes has not been addressed yet. We carried out a field experiment during austral summer 2018, using statistical wave parameters, characterizing coastal storms as a factor, and the gut content of two sympatric intertidal
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Temporal and spatial variation in adult and juvenile mobile fauna associated with natural and artificial coastal habitats Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-25 Alice E. Hall, Roger J. H. Herbert, Richard Stafford
Coastal habitats are important for commercially exploited and protected species of fish and larger mobile invertebrates. The addition of artificial structures within the marine environment has the potential to alter the connectivity between habitats and to affect metapopulations of a region. Baited remote underwater videos (BRUV) were used to investigate the spatial and seasonal variation in abundance
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Differences in genetic diversity and divergence between brooding and broadcast spawning corals across two spatial scales in the Coral Triangle region Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-23 Rosa Maria van der Ven, Hanneloor Heynderickx, Marc Kochzius
The Coral Triangle region contains the world’s highest marine biodiversity, however, these reefs are also the most threatened by global and local threats. A main limitation that prevents the implementation of adequate conservation measures is that connectivity and genetic structure of populations is poorly known. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity, population structure and
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Variable migration patterns of whitespotted eagle rays Aetobatus narinari along Florida’s coastlines Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-23 Breanna C. DeGroot, Kim Bassos-Hull, Krystan A. Wilkinson, Susan Lowerre-Barbieri, Gregg R. Poulakis, Matthew J. Ajemian
Basic distribution and movements of elasmobranch species, particularly mesopredatory rays, remain relatively unknown. This is especially true for the whitespotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari), a protected species in Florida with poorly described migratory and habitat use patterns. Passive acoustic telemetry was used to reveal multi-scale spatial patterns of A. narinari in Florida waters. Between
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In search of the “missing majority” of nesting loggerhead turtles: improved inter-seasonal recapture rates through subpopulation-scale genetic tagging Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-23 Brian M. Shamblin, Mark G. Dodd, S. Michelle Pate, Matthew H. Godfrey, Joseph B. Pfaller, Kristina L. Williams, Breanna L. Ondich, David A. Steen, Elizabeth S. Darrow, Paul Hillbrand, Ruth Boettcher, Michael S. Coyne, Campbell J. Nairn
Capture–mark–recapture (CMR) studies on marine turtle nesting beaches provide data on reproductive periodicity that inform population trends and models. Annual survival is estimated from observations of remigration, the return of females in subsequent nesting seasons. However, a significant proportion of tagged females are never encountered remigrating in many studies, presumably due to weak nest site
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Southwestern Atlantic reef-building corals Mussismilia spp. are able to spawn while fully bleached Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-21 Leandro Godoy, Miguel Mies, Carla Zilberberg, Yugo Pastrana, Amanda Amaral, Nayara Cruz, Cristiano M. Pereira, Amana G. Garrido, Alexandra Paris, Leandro F. A. Santos, Débora O. Pires
Bleaching events are becoming more frequent and intense worldwide. Southwestern Atlantic corals are considered stress-tolerant species that suffer less during bleaching episodes. Therefore, we investigated if the reef-building corals Mussismilia hispida and M. harttii are capable of spawning while fully bleached. We compared spermatozoa concentration and motility, egg diameter and embryo viability
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Geographical differences in sex-specific foraging behaviour and diet during the breeding season in the opportunistic Kelp Gull ( Larus dominicanus ) Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-12 Tatiana Kasinsky, Pablo Yorio, Patricia Dell’Arciprete, Cristian Marinao, Nicolás Suárez
Sexual segregation in feeding strategies has been widely reported in seabirds. Most seabirds occupy wide breeding distributional ranges, and dissimilar ecological settings may result in distinct environmental pressures on males and females leading to geographical differences in sexual segregation. Using GPS loggers and stable isotope analysis of whole blood (δ15N, δ13C), we assessed the occurrence
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Temporal variability in gametogenesis and spawning patterns of crown-of-thorns starfish within the outbreak initiation zone in the northern Great Barrier Reef Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-11 Ciemon Frank Caballes, Maria Byrne, Vanessa Messmer, Morgan S. Pratchett
Population outbreaks of the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS) have resulted in extensive coral mortality on reefs in the Indo-Pacific region and is considered one of the major contributors of significant declines in coral cover in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Effective management of CoTS outbreaks rely on improved understanding of the drivers of individual and population-level differences
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Isotope values from milk and blood serum in New Zealand sea lions: are pups feeding on milk a trophic level higher than their mothers? Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-08 B. Louise Chilvers
Stable isotope analysis is increasingly used to investigate diet and foraging behaviour in marine wildlife. For marine mammals, samples from offspring are being used as proxies for their mothers foraging isotope niche as the transfer of nutrients between mother and neonates is solely through milk. Most of these proxy studies have, however, used only easily collected tissues, such as fur or whiskers
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Evaluating the constraints governing activity patterns of a coastal marine top predator Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-07 Evan E. Byrnes, Ryan Daly, Vianey Leos-Barajas, Roland Langrock, Adrian C. Gleiss
How animals partition activity throughout the day is influenced by processes that affect supply and obtainability of resources. However, as resource supply and usability are often entrained by the same diurnal pattern, it has been difficult to disentangle their relative importance. Given the strong influence that tide has on the distribution and accessibility of resources, intertidal systems present
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Movements of green turtles from foraging areas of the United Arab Emirates: regional habitat connectivity and use of marine protected areas Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-07 Nicolas James Pilcher, Marina A. Antonopoulou, Clara Jimena Rodriguez-Zarate, Daniel Mateos-Molina, Himansu Sekhar Das, Ibrahim Bugla, Saif Mohammed Al Ghais
Adult sea turtles migrate between foraging areas and nesting sites that may be 100 s–1000 s of km away. Little is known of the connectivity between these sites in the Arabian region for green sea turtles. We document linkages between two foraging areas in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with key nesting sites and provide insights on effectiveness of marine protected areas for green sea turtles. Tracking
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Survival strategies on a semi-arid island: submersion and desiccation tolerances of fiddler crabs from the Galapagos Archipelago Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-04 Mariana V. Capparelli, Carl L. Thurman, Paloma Gusso Choueri, Denis Moledo de Souza Abessa, Mayana Karoline Fontes, Caio Rodrigues Nobre, John Campbell McNamara
During tidal cycles, fiddler crabs undergo alternating periods of submersion and desiccation. We compare physiological and biochemical adjustments to submersion and desiccation challenge in two gelasminids from the Galapagos archipelago: the indigenous Leptuca helleri, and Minuca galapagensis. We examine population distributions and habitat characteristics; survival and hemolymph osmolality after 6 h
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Unusual sexual dimorphism and small adult size for olive ridley sea turtles are linked to volumetric geometric constraints Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-04 Alexandre Girard, Nathalie Bréheret, Gaëlle Bal, Jean-Gabriel Mavoungou, Jean-Félix Tchibinda, Fils Makaya, Marc Girondot
Determination of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in marine turtles is challenging because females are observed on nesting beaches, while males remain at sea and are rarely encountered. Data obtained from a sea turtle bycatch survey and a nesting monitoring program conducted in the same area in the Republic of the Congo give access to the body size of both male and female olive ridleys (Lepidochelys olivacea)
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Untangling the origin of the newcomer Phorcus sauciatus (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in a remote Atlantic archipelago Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-04 Lara Baptista, António M. Santos, Carlos S. Melo, Ana C. Rebelo, Patrícia Madeira, Ricardo Cordeiro, Andrea Z. Botelho, Ana Hipólito, Joana Pombo, Antje H. L. Voelker, Sérgio P. Ávila
The marine topshell Phorcus sauciatus is currently found along the temperate–subtropical shores of the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. Although present in the Iberian Peninsula, Madeira, and Canaries for centuries, P. sauciatus has only recently reached another oceanic volcanic archipelago in the region. In 2013, a small population was recorded for the first time in Santa Maria Island (Azores), widening
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Diet niche segregation of co-occurring larval stages of mesopelagic and commercially important fishes in the Osumi Strait assessed through morphological, DNA metabarcoding, and stable isotope analyses Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-04 Gen Kume, Toru Kobari, Junya Hirai, Hiroumi Kuroda, Tsutomu Takeda, Mutsuo Ichinomiya, Tomohiro Komorita, Maki Aita-Noguchi, Fujio Hyodo
The Osumi Strait and its neighboring waters are major spawning grounds for commercially important small pelagic and coastal fish in the Pacific coastal area of Japan. Mesopelagic fish larvae are also abundant here, co-occurring with the larvae of commercial species. However, it is unknown whether these fish groups compete for prey. We examined the diet of four commercial fish groups (Engraulis japonicus
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Temporal variation in macroalgal removal: insights from an impacted equatorial coral reef system Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-04 Jovena C. L. Seah, Andrew G. Bauman, Peter A. Todd
Macroalgal removal is a critical ecosystem function yet few studies have considered its temporal variability, especially on impacted reefs with limited herbivorous fish biodiversity. To address this, we quantified macroalgal removal and mass-standardised bite rates of herbivorous fishes monthly from July 2016 to June 2017 using a series of transplanted Sargassum ilicifolium assays and underwater video
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Feeding ecology of juvenile green turtles in food-poor habitats of the Persian Gulf Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-04 Mohsen Rezaie-Atagholipour, Fahimeh Imani, Parviz Ghezellou, Jeffrey A. Seminoff
The Persian Gulf hosts marine mega-herbivores that forage in its coastal habitats. Some areas, mainly along its southern coast, contain abundant benthic plants; however, marine plant resources are limited throughout most of this warm sea, which presents nutritional challenges for large herbivores. We measured curved carapace length (CCL) for 102 green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from foraging grounds
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Fine-scale foraging effort and efficiency of Macaroni penguins is influenced by prey type, patch density and temporal dynamics Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-04 G. J. Sutton, C. A. Bost, A. Z. Kouzani, S. D. Adams, K. Mitchell, J. P. Y. Arnould
Difficulties quantifying in situ prey patch quality have limited our understanding of how marine predators respond to variation within and between patches, and throughout their foraging range. In the present study, animal-borne video, GPS, accelerometer and dive behaviour data loggers were used to investigate the fine-scale foraging behaviour of Macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) in response
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When does growth rate influence fitness in a colonial marine invertebrate? Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2021-01-04 Scott C. Burgess, Marília Bueno
Growth rate affects body size, and larger body sizes are often associated with the capacity to produce more surviving offspring. However, the assumption that growth rate should positively relate to fitness is rarely tested, especially in colonial marine invertebrates where size and age can be decoupled. We measured growth, survival, and reproduction through repeated census of 97 colonies from two populations
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Scavenging amphipods from the Wallaby-Zenith Fracture Zone: Extending the hadal paradigm beyond subduction trenches Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2020-12-21 Johanna N. J. Weston, Rachael A. Peart, Heather A. Stewart, Heather Ritchie, Stuart B. Piertney, Thomas D. Linley, Alan J. Jamieson
Our understanding of the ecology of the hadal zone (> 6000 m depth) is based solely on subduction trenches, leaving other geomorphological features, such as fracture zones, troughs, and basins, understudied. To address this knowledge gap, the Wallaby-Zenith Fracture Zone, Indian Ocean (WZFZ; ~ 22°S, 102°E; maximum depth 6625 m measured during Expedition SO258) was studied using free-fall baited landers
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Impact of heavy rainfall events and shading on the temperature of sea turtle nests Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2020-11-24 Melissa N. Staines, David T. Booth, Christine A. Madden Hof, Graeme C. Hays
While most studies assessing the ecological impacts of climate change have examined impacts from warming temperatures, less attention has been given to other parameters such as increased rainfall events. At a nesting rookery in the northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia, we used data loggers to examine the impact of heavy rainfall and shade on the nest temperatures for green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill
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Cryptic diversity in the macroalgal genus Lobophora (Dictyotales) reveals environmental drivers of algal assemblages Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2020-11-23 Laura D. Puk, Christophe Vieira, George Roff, Olivier De Clerck, Peter J. Mumby
Stress-induced reductions in the world’s coral populations are, in many locations, giving way to an increase in macroalgae, for example the common brown macroalgal genus Lobophora. While many ecological studies report a single species (Lobophora variegata), DNA-based identification methods have recently shown that Lobophora is a highly diverse genus with over 100 reported species. Here, we aim to identify
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Novel deep-water spawning patterns of bonefish ( Albula vulpes ), a shallow water fish Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2020-11-23 Steven M. Lombardo, Aaron J. Adams, Andy J. Danylchuk, Cameron A. Luck, Matthew J. Ajemian
Coastal marine fishes that form spawning aggregations most commonly exhibit a two-point movement pattern, with locations separated by migration: home range to spawning aggregation site and return to home range. However, the bonefish, Albula vulpes, partakes in a unique three-point spawning migration. Bonefish migrate up to 80 km from shallow water home flats to form nearshore pre-spawning aggregations
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No way home: collapse in northern gannet survival rates point to critical marine ecosystem perturbation Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2020-11-23 David Grémillet, Clara Péron, Amélie Lescroël, Jérôme Fort, Samantha C. Patrick, Aurélien Besnard, Pascal Provost
Seabirds are one of the most threatened of all bird groups, with a marked community-wide decline across the last decades. Yet, some seabird species are more resilient than others, and it is essential to study under which conditions even these highly resilient organisms are affected by global changes. Here, we report such a case in northern gannets (Morus bassanus). Using global location sensors (GLS)
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Skin δ 13 C and δ 15 N reveal spatial and temporal patterns of habitat and resource use by free-ranging odontocetes from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2020-11-22 Genyffer Cibele Troina, Silvina Botta, Frank Dehairs, Juliana Couto Di Tullio, Marc Elskens, Eduardo Resende Secchi
Large diversity and abundance of cetacean species occur along the Brazilian outer continental shelf and slope waters. In the present study, we analyzed carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotopes in skin biopsies of ten odontocete species (Delphinidae and Physeteridae) to assess the intra- and inter-specific patterns in the use of resources along the region. Our isotopic analysis allowed us to
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Shore-fish assemblage structure in the central Philippines from shallow coral reefs to the mesophotic zone Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2020-11-22 Rene A. Abesamis, Jean Asuncion T. Utzurrum, Lucille Jean J. Raterta, Garry R. Russ
Connectivity between shallow coral reefs and adjacent deeper habitats may be crucial to reef ecosystem stability. However, deeper habitats such as mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) remain understudied. We investigated the depth structuring of shore-fish assemblages in the central Philippines across shallow (10–30 m) and mesophotic (upper: 30–60 m, lower: 60–90 m) depth zones. Baited video surveys
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Diet and parasites of a mesopelagic fish assemblage in the Gulf of Mexico Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2020-11-21 Matthew S. Woodstock, Christopher A. Blanar, Tracey T. Sutton
Mesopelagic fishes are important consumers of zooplankton and are the prey of oceanic predators. Some mesopelagic fishes (e.g., Myctophidae) undertake a diel vertical migration where they ascend to the near-surface waters during the night to feed and descend into the depths during the day to avoid predators. Other mesopelagic fishes (e.g., Sternoptyx) remain at depth throughout the day. Although fishes
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A global review of green turtle diet: sea surface temperature as a potential driver of omnivory levels Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2020-11-16 Nicole Esteban, Jeanne A. Mortimer, Holly J. Stokes, Jacques-Olivier Laloë, Richard K. F. Unsworth, Graeme C. Hays
To better understand dietary requirements, trophic shifts, and trophic interactions of the threatened green turtle (Chelonia mydas), we conducted a comprehensive global review and literature tabulation (177 studies) reporting diets of individuals > 25 cm carapace length. We analysed those studies involving natural sites and healthy animals that reported relative proportions of all diet components (67
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Complex patterns of secondary spread without loss of genetic diversity in invasive populations of the Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus takanoi (Decapoda) along European coasts Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2020-11-04 Jonas C. Geburzi, Christine Ewers-Saucedo, Dirk Brandis, Günther B. Hartl
Genetic studies of introduced non-native species are a valuable tool to investigate invasion history and pathways, source populations and multiple introductions of alien species, as well as evolutionary genetic changes following establishment in a new environment. We used a set of nine polymorphic microsatellites to analyse the population genetic structure of the introduced Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus
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Body size constrains maternal investment in a small sea turtle species Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2020-11-04 Christopher R. Gatto, Nathan J. Robinson, James R. Spotila, Frank V. Paladino, Pilar Santidrián Tomillo
To maximise reproductive fitness, species make trade-offs among reproductive traits, e.g., offspring quantity vs. offspring size, within energetic, anatomical, and physiological constraints. Sea turtles are a model taxon to study reproductive trade-offs, because they lack parental care and because there are strong selective pressures on hatchlings due to high predation rates. Natural selection therefore
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Do species display characteristic intraspecific levels of patchiness in a given habitat type? The case of intertidal seagrass macrobenthos Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2020-11-04 R. S. K. Barnes
Intertidal macrobenthic assemblages associated with monospecific stands of Zostera muelleri, Cymodocea serratula, Halodule uninervis and Halophila ovalis seagrasses are known to display uniform spatial patchiness on the Moreton Bay coast of North Stradbroke Island, Queensland, as do those in Z. capensis in the Knysna estuarine bay, South Africa. Thirty-seven historical datasets of these macrobenthic
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Nutrient enrichment stimulates herbivory and alters epibiont assemblages at the edge but not inside subtidal macroalgal forests Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2020-11-04 Fabio Bulleri, Giuseppina Pardi, Laura Tamburello, Chiara Ravaglioli
Nutrient enrichment is a major threat to subtidal macroalgal forests. Several studies have shown that nutrient inputs can enhance the ability of opportunistic algal species to acquire space freed by disturbance, at the expense of architecturally complex species that form forests. However, competition between canopy- and turf-forming macroalgae is not limited to the aftermath of disturbance. Canopy-forming
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Seasonality dictates changes in the ecological interactions among spatial dominants Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2020-11-04 Marianela Gastaldi, Fausto Nahuel Firstater, María Alejandra Romero, Patricio Javier Pereyra, Maite Andrea Narvarte
Marine coasts are dynamic environments where spatial-physical gradients interact with seasonality. In the Patagonia in particular, high temperatures and strong winds lead to stressing physical conditions that shape intertidal communities. In a previous study, we found that the interaction between the sponge Hymeniacidon perlevis and the macroalga Ulva lactuca was context-dependent, switching from positive
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Macroalgal defense phenotype correlates with herbivore abundance Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2020-11-04 Scott S. Gabara, Benjamin P. Weitzman, Brenda H. Konar, Matthew S. Edwards
A primary goal in the study of producer–herbivore interactions is to characterize the tradeoffs between primary producer growth and defense. Across the Aleutian Island Archipelago, the widespread decline in sea otters has resulted in reduced predation on sea urchins, which has led to increases in urchin populations, the formation of urchin barrens, and ultimately to overgrazing of much of the region’s
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Stable isotope labeling reveals patterns in essential fatty acid growth efficiency in a lipid-poor coastal calanoid copepod Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2020-11-04 Laura Helenius, Suzanne M. Budge, Catherine L. Johnson
Copepods are an important link in marine food webs, transferring crucial nutrients such as essential fatty acids (EFA) from primary producers to higher consumers. Yet data on lipid dynamics in marine ecosystems associated with small lipid-poor copepods are scarce. In this study, we used the coastal calanoid copepod Eurytemora herdmani, which is an opportunistic generalist feeder, to assess EFA-specific
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Biology of Salpa thompsoni at the Chatham Rise, New Zealand: demography, growth, and diel vertical migration Mar. Biol. (IF 2.05) Pub Date : 2020-11-03 Florian Lüskow, Evgeny A. Pakhomov, Michael R. Stukel, Moira Décima
The abundant pelagic tunicate Salpa thompsoni is a major grazer in the Southern Ocean (SO) with high ingestion rates, fast-sinking faecal pellets, and the potential to rapidly grow and form dense blooms. We investigated the length-frequency distribution, maturity stage composition, growth, development speed, and size-specific diel vertical abundance patterns at one of the northernmost habitats of S
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