Environmental Science · Ecology
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.
