Environmental Science · Ecology
A study of temperate kelp forests along 600 kilometers of Baja California found that reef states after the 2014–2016 marine heatwave supported very different contributions to ecosystems and people. Reefs with persistent canopy-forming kelp generally supported more fish biomass, ecological functions and nutritional supply than simplified reefs.
Fossil coral communities in southern Okinawa preserve evidence of at least four relative sea-level cycles during the late Middle Pleistocene. The researchers identified seven coral groups linked to reef settings ranging from less than 5 meters to about 30 meters deep.
Researchers have described a new bubblegum coral from the Nazca Ridge that contains chitin in canals running through its tissues. The structural network may help explain how these corals maintain large, branching colonies despite lacking an axial skeleton.
Green turtles in the northern Great Barrier Reef did not consistently reuse the same routes between feeding and nesting areas. Tracking of eight turtles found that return journeys had little overlap with their outward routes, highlighting the varied paths conservation plans may need to consider.
A new article proposes a framework for managing coral reefs and other tropical marine ecosystems as human pressures accelerate their decline. It calls for stronger protection, better fishing and pollution controls, climate action, community involvement and sufficient funding.
A study mapped where gillnet fisheries and 13 cetacean species occur in Brazil’s Santos Basin. Guiana dolphins, franciscanas and bottlenose dolphins showed the greatest spatial overlap with the fisheries, highlighting areas for bycatch monitoring and management.
Heat stress before spawning changed reproductive traits in the coral Acropora aspera, but the effects depended on temperature and exposure time. Longer heat exposure increased egg volume while sperm production showed a more variable response.
A study of two coral species found that ordinary digital photographs can provide a low-cost proxy for bleaching severity in controlled heat-stress tests. A simple comparison with a white reference patch predicted symbiont density and chlorophyll better than a standard PAM fluorometry measure in the experiment.
Illegal fishing can enter seafood markets through ship-to-ship transfers, weakly regulated ports and false documents. The article estimates that illicit marine wild-fish seafood trade totals 8.4 to 15.4 million metric tons a year and is worth $6.2 billion to $12.2 billion, while noting that proposed solutions still need more research.
Ghana’s Keta Lagoon remains ecologically functional, but researchers found signs of nutrient enrichment, organic matter loading and habitat alteration. Water, sediment and bottom-dwelling animal communities varied across the lagoon, with more tolerant species dominant where nutrient and turbidity levels were higher.
Marine protected areas rely on protecting “connectivity”—how marine life and impacts move across space. A new systematic review finds that research on these links has grown, but MPA assessment often still treats nature and people separately, with limited attention to how they affect each other.
