Environmental problems are often construed as having straightforward causes, such as human population growth or greed. Yet, the social sciences offer more elaborate theories that allow for a much more accurate and actionable understanding of these causes. A new study puts the explanatory power of some such theories to the test on coral reefs.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.05.012 | DOI Listing |
Ecology
January 2025
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA.
Understanding how foundation species recover from disturbances is key for predicting the future of ecosystems in the Anthropocene. Coral reefs are dynamic ecosystems that can undergo rapid declines in coral abundance following disturbances. Understanding why some reefs recover quickly from these disturbances whereas others recover slowly (or not at all) gives insight into the drivers of community resilience.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZookeys
January 2025
Steinhart Aquarium, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA.
Herein, we describe a new species of perchlet found at depths of 100-125 meters in mesophotic coral ecosystems of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. is unique in both morphology and coloration. The following combination of characters distinguishes it from all known congeners: dorsal fin X, 15; anal-fin rays III, 7; pectoral-fin rays 13 | 13 (13 | 12), all unbranched; principal caudal-fin rays 9 + 8; lateral line complete with 30-32 tubed scales; gill rakers 5 + 12; circumpeduncular scales 11-12; and absence of antrorse or retrorse spines on ventral margin of preopercle.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMar Pollut Bull
January 2025
Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Center for Biosciences, Av. Prof. Morais Rêgo s/n, Recife, Pernambuco 50670-420, Brazil; Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Department of Zoology, Center for Biosciences, Av. Prof. Morais Rêgo s/n, Recife, Pernambuco 50670-420, Brazil. Electronic address:
During the last half of 2019, the Northeast coast of Brazil suffered from an extensive oil spill of unknown origin, and marine organisms in those areas were subjected to significant impacts. In situations like this, the contaminant effects can persist for varying periods. Oil contaminants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), generally reduce taxa's abundance and diversity in benthic communities in areas with greater exposure to chemical components.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Microbiome
January 2025
Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.
Background: Recovery of degraded coral reefs is reliant upon the recruitment of coral larvae, yet the mechanisms behind coral larval settlement are not well understood, especially for non-acroporid species. Biofilms associated with reef substrates, such as coral rubble or crustose coralline algae, can induce coral larval settlement; however, the specific biochemical cues and the microorganisms that produce them remain largely unknown. Here, we assessed larval settlement responses in five non-acroporid broadcast-spawning coral species in the families Merulinidae, Lobophyllidae and Poritidae to biofilms developed in aquaria for either one or two months under light and dark treatments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAppl Microbiol Biotechnol
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Marine Ranching, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China, South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou, 510300, China.
The construction of artificial reefs (ARs) is an effective way to restore habitats and increase and breed fishery resources in marine ranches. However, studies on the impacts of ARs on the structure, function, and assembly patterns of the bacterial community (BC), which is important in biogeochemical cycles, are lacking. The compositions, diversities, assembly patterns, predicted functions, and key environmental factors of the attached and free-living microbial communities in five-year ARs (O-ARs) and one-year ARs (N-ARs) in Fangchenggang, China, were analyzed via 16S rRNA gene sequencing.
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