Marine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation

Characterizing social-ecological transformation trajectories in the Western Indian Ocean

Abstract Marine social-ecological systems (SES) face unprecedented pressures, demanding approaches designed to create more sustainable interactions within and between those systems. Transformation theory offers frameworks for understanding and documenting systemic change, but its...

Post-disturbance temperate reef states influence fish contributions to nature and people

Abstract Background Climate-driven habitat reorganization is reshaping the capacity of marine ecosystems to sustain biodiversity and human well-being, with implications for SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger). Yet, it remains unclear to what extent post-disturbance...

Human pressure, habitat heterogeneity and species traits jointly determine the level of dark diversity in coastal fish communities

Understanding how anthropogenic pressures and environmental gradients shape coastal fish communities is a central question in biogeography and marine conservation. Yet, the set of species expected to occur at a site given ecological conditions but being absent – the so‐called dar...

A 45-year high-resolution wave hindcast for the Fijian archipelago: mean climate, spectral characteristics, and long-term trends

Fiji’s coastal communities are highly exposed to ocean waves that drive erosion, inundation and shoreline change. Yet the Fijian archipelago lacks a comprehensive, wave-climate assessment at a resolution that represents island effects appropriately. To address this gap, we presen...