Journal articles on the topic 'Marine habitats'
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1
Leppi, Jason C., Daniel J. Rinella, Mark S. Wipfli, and Matthew S. Whitman. "Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) isotopic niches: Stable isotopes reveal diverse foraging strategies and habitat use in Arctic Alaska." PLOS ONE 17, no. 7 (July 26, 2022): e0270474. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270474.
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Understanding the ecological niche of some fishes is complicated by their frequent use of a broad range of food resources and habitats across space and time. Little is known about Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) ecological niches in Arctic landscapes even though they are an important subsistence species for Alaska’s Indigenous communities. We investigated the foraging ecology and habitat use of Broad Whitefish via stable isotope analyses of muscle and liver tissue and otoliths from mature fish migrating in the Colville River within Arctic Alaska. The range of δ13C (-31.8– -21.9‰) and δ15N (6.6–13.1‰) across tissue types and among individuals overlapped with isotope values previously observed in Arctic lakes and rivers, estuaries, and nearshore marine habitat. The large range of δ18O (4.5–10.9‰) and δD (-237.6– -158.9‰) suggests fish utilized a broad spectrum of habitats across elevational and latitudinal gradients. Cluster analysis of muscle δ13Cˈ, δ15N, δ18O, and δD indicated that Broad Whitefish occupied four different foraging niches that relied on marine and land-based (i.e., freshwater and terrestrial) food sources to varying degrees. Most individuals had isotopic signatures representative of coastal freshwater habitat (Group 3; 25%) or coastal lagoon and delta habitat (Group 1; 57%), while individuals that mainly utilized inland freshwater (Group 4; 4%) and nearshore marine habitats (Group 2; 14%) represented smaller proportions. Otolith microchemistry confirmed that individuals with more enriched muscle tissue δ13Cˈ, δD, and δ18O tended to use marine habitats, while individuals that mainly used freshwater habitats had values that were less enriched. The isotopic niches identified here represent important foraging habitats utilized by Broad Whitefish. To preserve access to these diverse habitats it will be important to limit barriers along nearshore areas and reduce impacts like roads and climate change on natural flow regimes. Maintaining these diverse connected habitats will facilitate long-term population stability, buffering populations from future environmental and anthropogenic perturbations.
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Mallory, Mark L., Anthony J. Gaston, Jennifer F. Provencher, Sarah N. P. Wong, Christine Anderson, Kyle H. Elliott, H. Grant Gilchrist, et al. "Identifying key marine habitat sites for seabirds and sea ducks in the Canadian Arctic." Environmental Reviews 27, no. 2 (June 2019): 215–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/er-2018-0067.
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The Canadian Arctic hosts millions of marine birds annually, many of which aggregate in large numbers at well-defined sites at predictable times of the year. Marine habitats in this region will be under increasing threats from anthropogenic activities, largely facilitated by climate change and long-term trends of reduced sea ice extent and thickness. In this review, we update previous efforts to delineate the most important habitats for marine birds in Arctic Canada, using the most current population estimates for Canada, as well as recent information from shipboard surveys and telemetry studies. We identify 349 160 km2of key habitat, more than doubling earlier suggestions for key habitat extent. As of 2018, 1% of these habitats fall within the boundaries of legislated protected areas. New marine conservation areas currently being finalized in the Canadian Arctic will only increase the proportion protected to 13%.
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Jackson, Susan E., and Carolyn J. Lundquist. "Limitations of biophysical habitats as biodiversity surrogates in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park." Pacific Conservation Biology 22, no. 2 (2016): 159. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc15050.
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The Hauraki Gulf Marine Park (HGMP) is recognised for its diverse natural environment and associated biodiversity, as well as the extensive social, cultural and economic values derived therein. Here, we evaluate the current level of biodiversity protection provided by existing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) within the HGMP. We use abiotic datasets to develop a habitat classification system to identify the suite of biophysical habitats found in the Marine Park, and their relative protection within existing MPAs (both no-take marine reserves and Cable Protection Zones). Our analysis demonstrated that half of the biophysical habitats identified in the HGMP are not currently afforded protection within MPAs, and that biophysical classifications poorly differentiate across subtidal, soft-sediment habitats using available data layers. We then evaluated representation of these environmental surrogates within a biodiversity prioritisation analysis based on distribution models for demersal fish species. Biophysical habitat surrogates showed poor representation across habitats within highest-priority areas based on prioritisations of demersal fish biodiversity. This suggests the need for further development of biophysical habitat surrogates that are more strongly correlated with biodiversity, if they are to be used to inform biodiversity protection in the HGMP.
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Abaza, Valeria, Camelia Dumitrache, and Adrian Filimon. "The Status of the Sedimentary Benthic Broad Habitats and their Associated Communities in the Romanian Marine Area in 2020." Cercetări Marine - Recherches Marines 51, no. 1 (January 12, 2021): 64–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.55268/cm.2021.51.64.
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"The management of marine areas are guided by environmental policies, such as European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Habitats Directive, all requiring periodic assessment and reporting. In 2020, the macrozoobenthos was monitored on the entire Black Sea Romanian shelf at depths ranging between 10 and 100 m. Out of the 43 sampling points of the marine monitoring network, 56 samples were collected in 22 selected stations distributed among broad sedimentary habitat types in Romanian waters in three marine reporting units (variable salinity waters, coastal waters and marine waters). Six types of sedimentary habitats were identified in the above-mentioned marine reporting units according to Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) clearly specifies that assessment must take into consideration benthic broad habitat types, including their associated biological communities. To assess the ecological status according to the MSFD of macrozoobenthos from the Romanian shore, M-AMBI*(n) index was used. Following the assessment, the ecological status of the macrozoobenthic communities was determined as good in all three marine reporting units. The data collected in 2020 will contribute to the six-year assessment of the benthic broad habitats and establishment of thresholds for different sub-types. Key-Words: Black Sea, macrozoobenthos, benthic habitat types, M-AMBI *(n) index, environmental status "
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Murphy, Grace E. P., Melisa C. Wong, and Heike K. Lotze. "A human impact metric for coastal ecosystems with application to seagrass beds in Atlantic Canada." FACETS 4, no. 1 (June 1, 2019): 210–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/facets-2018-0044.
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Coastal biogenic habitats are vulnerable to human impacts from both terrestrial and marine realms. Yet the broad spatial scale used in current approaches of quantifying anthropogenic stressors is not relevant to the finer scales affecting most coastal habitats. We developed a standardized human impact metric that includes five bay-scale and four local-scale (0–1 km) terrestrial and marine-based impacts to quantify the magnitude of anthropogenic impacts to coastal bays and nearshore biogenic habitats. We applied this metric to 180 seagrass beds ( Zostera marina), an important biogenic habitat prioritized for marine protection, in 52 bays across Atlantic Canada. The results show that seagrass beds and coastal bays exist across a wide human impact gradient and provide insight into which are the most and least affected by human threats. Generally, land alteration, nutrient loading, and shellfish aquaculture were higher in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, whereas invasive species and fishing activities were higher along the Atlantic coast. Sixty-four percent of bays were at risk of seagrass decline from nitrogen loading. We also found high within-bay variation in impact intensity, emphasizing the necessity of quantifying impacts at multiple spatial scales. We discuss implications for management and conservation planning, and application to other coastal habitats in Canada and beyond.
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Chasco, Brandon, Brian Burke, Lisa Crozier, and Rich Zabel. "Differential impacts of freshwater and marine covariates on wild and hatchery Chinook salmon marine survival." PLOS ONE 16, no. 2 (February 9, 2021): e0246659. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246659.
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Large-scale atmospheric conditions in the Northeast Pacific Ocean affect both the freshwater environment in the Columbia River Basin and marine conditions along the coasts of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, resulting in correlated conditions in the two environments. For migrating species, such as salmonids that move through multiple habitats, these correlations can amplify the impact of good or poor physical conditions on growth and survival, as movements among habitats may not alleviate effects of anomalous conditions. Unfortunately, identifying the mechanistic drivers of salmon survival in space and time is hindered by these cross-habitat correlations. To address this issue, we modeled the marine survival of Snake River spring/summer Chinook salmon with multiple indices of the marine environment and an explicit treatment of the effect of arrival timing from freshwater to the ocean, and found that both habitats contribute to marine survival rates. We show how this particular carryover effect of freshwater conditions on marine survival varies by year and rearing type (hatchery or wild), with a larger effect for wild fish. As environmental conditions change, incorporating effects from both freshwater and marine habitats into salmon survival models will become more important, and has the additional benefit of highlighting how management actions that affect arrival timing may improve marine survival.
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Hemery, Lenaïg G., Kailan F. Mackereth, and Levy G. Tugade. "What’s in My Toolkit? A Review of Technologies for Assessing Changes in Habitats Caused by Marine Energy Development." Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 10, no. 1 (January 11, 2022): 92. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jmse10010092.
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Marine energy devices are installed in highly dynamic environments and have the potential to affect the benthic and pelagic habitats around them. Regulatory bodies often require baseline characterization and/or post-installation monitoring to determine whether changes in these habitats are being observed. However, a great diversity of technologies is available for surveying and sampling marine habitats, and selecting the most suitable instrument to identify and measure changes in habitats at marine energy sites can become a daunting task. We conducted a thorough review of journal articles, survey reports, and grey literature to extract information about the technologies used, the data collection and processing methods, and the performance and effectiveness of these instruments. We examined documents related to marine energy development, offshore wind farms, oil and gas offshore sites, and other marine industries around the world over the last 20 years. A total of 120 different technologies were identified across six main habitat categories: seafloor, sediment, infauna, epifauna, pelagic, and biofouling. The technologies were organized into 12 broad technology classes: acoustic, corer, dredge, grab, hook and line, net and trawl, plate, remote sensing, scrape samples, trap, visual, and others. Visual was the most common and the most diverse technology class, with applications across all six habitat categories. Technologies and sampling methods that are designed for working efficiently in energetic environments have greater success at marine energy sites. In addition, sampling designs and statistical analyses should be carefully thought through to identify differences in faunal assemblages and spatiotemporal changes in habitats.
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Peirano, Andrea, Mattia Barsanti, Ivana Delbono, Elena Candigliota, Silvia Cocito, Ta’hirih Hokafonu, Francesco Immordino, Lorenzo Moretti, and Atelaite Lupe Matoto. "Baseline Assessment of Ecological Quality Index (EQI) of the Marine Coastal Habitats of Tonga Archipelago: Application for Management of Remote Regions in the Pacific." Remote Sensing 15, no. 4 (February 7, 2023): 909. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs15040909.
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The loss of coral habitats and associated biodiversity have direct effects both on the physical dynamics of the coast and on natural resources, threatening the survival of local populations. Conservative actions, such as the creation of new Marine Protected Areas, are urgent measures needed to face climate change. Managers need fast and simple methods to evaluate marine habitats for planning conservation areas. Here, we present the application of an Ecological Quality Index (EQI), developed for regional-scale habitat maps of the Atlas of the Marine Coastal Habitats of the Kingdom of Tonga, by processing Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery. Both the habitat mapping classification and the EQI application were focused on the importance of coral reef, seagrass and mangrove habitats, both as natural defense and sustenance for the local populations. Twelve main Pacific reef habitats were evaluated through a three-level EQI score assigned to six parameters: nursery ground, connectivity, species reservoir, fish attraction, biodiversity and primary production. The EQI was integrated into a developed georeferenced database associated to the QGIS software providing the ability to identify on the maps the area of interest and the associated habitats, and to quantify their ecological relevance. The EQI is proposed as a tool that can offer to stakeholders and environmental managers a simple and direct indicator of the value of the marine coastal environment. The index may be handled for management purposes of vast areas with remote and uninhabited islands.
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Farr, Emily R., Michael R. Johnson, Mark W. Nelson, Jonathan A. Hare, Wendy E. Morrison, Matthew D. Lettrich, Bruce Vogt, et al. "An assessment of marine, estuarine, and riverine habitat vulnerability to climate change in the Northeast U.S." PLOS ONE 16, no. 12 (December 9, 2021): e0260654. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260654.
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Climate change is impacting the function and distribution of habitats used by marine, coastal, and diadromous species. These impacts often exacerbate the anthropogenic stressors that habitats face, particularly in the coastal environment. We conducted a climate vulnerability assessment of 52 marine, estuarine, and riverine habitats in the Northeast U.S. to develop an ecosystem-scale understanding of the impact of climate change on these habitats. The trait-based assessment considers the overall vulnerability of a habitat to climate change to be a function of two main components, sensitivity and exposure, and relies on a process of expert elicitation. The climate vulnerability ranks ranged from low to very high, with living habitats identified as the most vulnerable. Over half of the habitats examined in this study are expected to be impacted negatively by climate change, while four habitats are expected to have positive effects. Coastal habitats were also identified as highly vulnerable, in part due to the influence of non-climate anthropogenic stressors. The results of this assessment provide regional managers and scientists with a tool to inform habitat conservation, restoration, and research priorities, fisheries and protected species management, and coastal and ocean planning.
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Dobbs, Kirstin, Leanne Fernandes, Suzanne Slegers, Belinda Jago, Leanne Thompson, James Hall, Jon Day, et al. "Incorporating marine turtle habitats into the marine protected area design for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Queensland, Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 13, no. 4 (2007): 293. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc070293.
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Marine turtle habitats were considered in the design of the new zoning network for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park as part of the Representative Areas Programme. One of the specific design guidelines developed was the incorporation of marine turtle inter-nesting and foraging habitats into the overall network of no-take areas. The guideline was refined further for individual nesting and foraging sites to incorporate all very high priority nesting sites and to incorporate 20% of each identified foraging site, respectively. Marine turtle inter-nesting habitat increased in no-take area protection from 781 km2 to 1 886 km2 (23.4% to 56.5% of all identified sites); marine turtle foraging habitat increased in no-take area protection from 3 063 km2 to 12 490 km2 (7.1% to 29.1% of all identified sites). Although the nesting and foraging principles were not achieved in total for all identified marine turtle sites, overall the level of protection afforded by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003 increased for nearly all marine turtle sites identified. Additionally, other activities (e.g. water quality, fisheries, traditional use of marine resources) occurring in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park that may impact upon marine turtles are being addressed via other mechanisms.
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Kazanidis, Georgios, Adriano Guido, Antonietta Rosso, Rossana Sanfilippo, J. Murray Roberts, and Vasilis Gerovasileiou. "One on Top of the Other: Exploring the Habitat Cascades Phenomenon in Iconic Biogenic Marine Habitats." Diversity 14, no. 4 (April 12, 2022): 290. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d14040290.
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Biogenic habitats often form hot spots of biodiversity. However, the role of epibiosis and the ‘habitat cascades’ phenomenon in enhancing structural heterogeneity and biodiversity in biogenic habitats in remote and difficult-to-access areas is little known. In this work, we provide the first insight by exploring epibiosis across remote habitats that often support high levels of biodiversity, i.e., cold-water coral reefs and marine caves. The present study acts as a stepping-stone for the further exploration of ‘habitat cascades’ in habitats where scientific knowledge about this phenomenon is limited.
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Koehl, Mimi A. R. "Ecological biomechanics of marine macrophytes." Journal of Experimental Botany 73, no. 4 (February 24, 2022): 1104–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erab536.
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Abstract Macroalgae and seagrasses in coastal habitats are exposed to turbulent water currents and waves that deform them and can rip them off the substratum, but that also transport essential water-borne substances to them and disperse their propagules and wastes. Field studies of the physical environment, ecological interactions, and life history strategies of marine macrophytes reveal which aspects of their biomechanical performance are important to their success in different types of natural habitats and enable us to design ecologically relevant laboratory experiments to study biomechanical function. Morphology and tissue mechanical properties determine the hydrodynamic forces on macrophytes and their fate when exposed to those forces, but different mechanical designs can perform well in the same biophysical habitat. There is a trade-off between maximizing photosynthesis and minimizing breakage, and some macrophytes change their morphology in response to environmental cues. Water flow in marine habitats varies on a wide range of temporal and spatial scales, so diverse flow microhabitats can occur at the same site. Likewise, the size, shape, and tissue material properties of macrophytes change as they grow and age, so it is important to understand the different physical challenges met by macrophytes throughout their lives.
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ESPINOSA, F., C. NAVARRO-BARRANCO, A. R. GONZÁLEZ, M. MAESTRE, J. C. GARCÍA-GÓMEZ, A. BENHOUSSA, A. LIMAM, and H. BAZAIRI. "A combined approach to assessing the conservation status of Cap des Trois Fourches as a potential MPA: is there a shortage of MPAs in the southern Mediterranean?" Mediterranean Marine Science 15, no. 3 (October 6, 2014): 654. http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/mms.775.
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The Mediterranean basin is recognized as one of the most diverse regions on the planet, but is being threatened by overexploitation and habitat loss. Furthermore, the Strait of Gibraltar and adjacent Alboran Sea have been identified as representing an important habitat for many threatened or endangered species. In this context, one vehicle for marine conservation is the creation of marine protected sites, although Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are neither large nor representative enough to form an effective network of protection. An inventory of the benthic communities and habitats of conservation interest has been carried out in Cap des Trois Fourches, an ecological and biogeographical site of interest. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed differences for marine communities among habitats and localities, indicating a great diversity in marine assemblages but an absence of a spatial gradient in marine α-diversity. The Trois Fourches area showed a high environmental quality and hosted several endangered species. Habitats of conservation concern, such as marine caves, seagrass meadows and coralligenous assemblages, were detected and studied. The scientific data recorded provide sound support for the establishment of a new MPA in Trois Fourches, taking into account that the findings match the scientific criteria required for declaration as a protected area. The benefits for connectivity at the Mediterranean scale and the local economy are discussed.
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Doukari, M., and K. Topouzelis. "UAS DATA ACQUISITION PROTOCOL FOR MARINE HABITAT MAPPING: AN ACCURACY ASSESSMENT STUDY." ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences XLIII-B3-2020 (August 22, 2020): 1321–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-xliii-b3-2020-1321-2020.
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Abstract. Marine habitat mapping is essential for updating existing information, preserving, and protecting the marine environment. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are an important tool for monitoring and mapping coastal and marine environment because of their ability to provide very high-resolution aerial imagery.Environmental conditions have a critical role in marine mapping using UAS. This is due to the limitations of UAS surveys in coastal areas, i.e. the environmental conditions prevailing in the area. The limitations of weather and oceanographic conditions affecting the quality of marine data led to the creation of a UAS protocol for the acquisition of reliable marine information. The produced UAS Data Acquisition Protocol consists of three main categories: (i) Morphology of the study area, (ii) Environmental conditions, (iii) Flight parameters. These categories include the parameters that must be considered for marine habitat mapping.The aim of the present study is the accuracy assessment of the UAS protocol for marine habitat mapping through experimental flights. For the accuracy assessment of the UAS protocol, flights on different dates and environmental conditions were conducted, over a study area. The flight altitude was the same for all the missions, so the results were comparable. The high-resolution orthophoto maps derived from each date of the experiment were classified. The classification maps show several differences in the shape and size of the marine habitats which are directly dependent on the conditions that the habitats were mapped. A change detection comparison was conducted in pairs to examine the exact changes between the classified maps.The results emphasize the importance of the environmental conditions prevailing in an area during the mapping of marine habitats. The present study proves that the optimal flight conditions that are proposed of the UAS Data Acquisition protocol, respond to the real-world conditions and are important to be considered for an accurate and reliable mapping of the marine environment.
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Vasconcelos, Rita P., David B. Eggleston, Olivier Le Pape, and Ingrid Tulp. "Patterns and processes of habitat-specific demographic variability in exploited marine species." ICES Journal of Marine Science 71, no. 3 (September 7, 2013): 638–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fst136.
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Abstract Population dynamics are governed by four demographic rates: births, deaths, immigration, and emigration. Variation in these rates and processes underlying such variation can be used to prioritize habitat conservation and restoration as well as to parameterize models that predict habitat-specific effects on population dynamics. The current understanding of patterns of habitat-specific demographic variability in exploited marine species, as well as processes underlying these patterns, was reviewed. We describe patterns of (i) habitat-specific density, followed by ontogenetic changes in habitat use, such as (ii) immigration (i.e. use as a settlement habitat) and (iii) emigration (i.e. use as a habitat for secondary dispersal to and from), and demographic rates such as (iv) growth, and (v) mortality. Despite the importance of coastal habitats for fish and invertebrate species and the vulnerability of these habitats to human impacts, there was ambiguous evidence on their role in driving of population dynamics. Roughly 63% of the studies were descriptive, 21% experimental, and 11% used a combination of descriptive and experimental approaches, whereas 5% used meta-analyses. Habitat-specific density was the most common pattern quantified, followed by growth and mortality, with relatively few examples of studies of habitat-specific larval settlement. There were many examples of the influence of coastal habitats on survival, growth, and movement, especially at young stages, and there was an emerging focus on the effects of habitat degradation on demographic rates. There needs to be an increased effort on quantifying habitat-specific demographic rates and integrating these to better predict the effects of coastal habitats on the dynamics of exploited marine populations.
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Hyman, A. Challen, Thomas K. Frazer, Charles A. Jacoby, Jessica R. Frost, and Michał Kowalewski. "Long-term persistence of structured habitats: seagrass meadows as enduring hotspots of biodiversity and faunal stability." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 286, no. 1912 (October 2, 2019): 20191861. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.1861.
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Ecological studies indicate that structurally complex habitats support elevated biodiversity, stability and resilience. The long-term persistence of structured habitats and their importance in maintaining biodiverse hotspots remain underexplored. We combined geohistorical data (dead mollusc assemblages, ‘DA’) and contemporary surveys (live mollusc assemblages, ‘LA’) to assess the persistence of local seagrass habitats over multi-centennial timescales and to evaluate whether they acted as long-term drivers of biodiversity, stability and resilience of associated fauna. We sampled structured seagrass meadows and open sandy bottoms along Florida's Gulf Coast. Results indicated that: (i) LA composition differed significantly between the two habitat types, (ii) LA from seagrass sites were characterized by significantly elevated local biodiversity and significantly higher spatial stability, (iii) DA composition differed significantly between the two habitat types, and (iv) fidelity between LA and DA was significantly greater for seagrass habitats. Contemporary results support the hypotheses that local biodiversity and spatial stability of marine benthos are both elevated in structured seagrass habitats. Geohistorical results suggest that structured habitats persist as local hotspots of elevated biodiversity and faunal stability over centennial-to-millennial timescales; indicating that habitat degradation and concomitant loss within structurally complex marine systems is a key driver of declining biodiversity and resilience.
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Caddy, John F. "Why do assessments of demersal stocks largely ignore habitat?" ICES Journal of Marine Science 71, no. 8 (April 19, 2013): 2114–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fss199.
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AbstractThe divergence between most stock assessments and studies in marine ecology is characterized by the low priority usually given to assessing the holding capacity of marine habitats. Habitats of high structural complexity are relatively uncommon in shelf waters, are contagiously distributed, and are damaged incidentally by bottom-towed gear. Structurally complex habitats are used by many demersal fish and crustaceans for predation abatement and as a site for feeding forays. Successive life-history stages typically migrate through several structurally complex habitats which recent studies show often to have fractal properties. One consequence of fractal structures as cover is a rapid reduction of protection from predators with growth in size: migration is the only response possible when further growth of the recruiting age class renders individuals in that habitat vulnerable to predation. A common feature of structurally complex habitats with high vulnerability at size is the occurrence of population bottlenecks. It is suggested that identifying and rectifying shortages of structured habitat, and eliminating habitat bottlenecks, will be effective in stock enhancement. This will require placing strict spatial constraints on the operation of bottom gear. This paper reviews new methods of estimating juvenile predation mortality, including mortality-at-age and mortality-at-life-history stage, which depend on the fractal characteristics of structurally complex habitats.
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Friedman, S. T., S. A. Price, K. A. Corn, O. Larouche, C. M. Martinez, and P. C. Wainwright. "Body shape diversification along the benthic–pelagic axis in marine fishes." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 287, no. 1931 (July 22, 2020): 20201053. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.1053.
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Colonization of novel habitats can result in marked phenotypic responses to the new environment that include changes in body shape and opportunities for further morphological diversification. Fishes have repeatedly transitioned along the benthic–pelagic axis, with varying degrees of association with the substrate. Previous work focusing on individual lineages shows that these transitions are accompanied by highly predictable changes in body form. Here, we generalize expectations drawn from this literature to study the effects of habitat on body shape diversification across 3344 marine teleost fishes. We compare rates and patterns of evolution in eight linear measurements of body shape among fishes that live in pelagic, demersal and benthic habitats. While average body shape differs between habitats, these differences are subtle compared with the high diversity of shapes found within each habitat. Benthic living increases the rate of body shape evolution and has led to numerous lineages evolving extreme body shapes, including both exceptionally wide bodies and highly elongate, eel-like forms. By contrast, we find that benthic living is associated with the slowest diversification of structures associated with feeding. Though we find that habitat can serve as an impetus for predictable trait changes, we also highlight the diversity of responses in marine teleosts to opportunities presented by major habitats.
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Accola, KL, JK Horne, JR Cordell, and JD Toft. "Nocturnal distributions of juvenile Pacific salmon along an eco-engineered marine shoreline." Marine Ecology Progress Series 687 (April 7, 2022): 113–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps14006.
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Nocturnal distributions and habitat preferences of juvenile fish along urban shorelines are understudied relative to daytime investigations. As a case study, nocturnal distributions of juvenile Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) among ecological engineered and conventional seawall and pier habitats were characterized from May through August 2019 along the Seattle, WA, USA, waterfront. A multibeam sonar mounted beneath a kayak enabled day-night fish density comparisons to identify distribution and habitat use differences. Ecological engineering included mattresses (mesh bags filled with rocks) to create intertidal benches, a textured seawall to increase invertebrate colonization, and embedded glass blocks in an overhanging sidewalk to increase ambient light. Overall juvenile salmon night presence was twice that of daytime, and counts were 1.5 times higher during peak salmon densities. Juvenile salmon presence in eco-engineered and reference habitats was more similar at night compared to day. At night, juvenile salmon avoided traditional under-pier habitats and were more likely to navigate around piers that lack nearshore eco-engineered habitats. Increased use of eco-engineered habitats by juvenile salmon at night highlights the need to incorporate diel fish distribution differences in resource abundance estimates, and in the design and construction of coastline modifications.
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Saldanha, Luiz. "Marine Fishes, Habitats and Conservation." Netherlands Journal of Zoology 42, no. 2-3 (1991): 190–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156854291x00270.
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Ambrose, Philippa. "Developments threaten unique marine habitats." Marine Pollution Bulletin 34, no. 11 (November 1997): 854. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0025-326x(97)90035-7.
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RIGINOS, CYNTHIA, and CLIFFORD W. CUNNINGHAM. "Hybridization in postglacial marine habitats." Molecular Ecology 16, no. 19 (September 10, 2007): 3971–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.2007.03505.x.
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Schill, Steven R., Valerie Pietsch McNulty, F. Joseph Pollock, Fritjof Lüthje, Jiwei Li, David E. Knapp, Joe D. Kington, et al. "Regional High-Resolution Benthic Habitat Data from Planet Dove Imagery for Conservation Decision-Making and Marine Planning." Remote Sensing 13, no. 21 (October 21, 2021): 4215. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs13214215.
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High-resolution benthic habitat data fill an important knowledge gap for many areas of the world and are essential for strategic marine conservation planning and implementing effective resource management. Many countries lack the resources and capacity to create these products, which has hindered the development of accurate ecological baselines for assessing protection needs for coastal and marine habitats and monitoring change to guide adaptive management actions. The PlanetScope (PS) Dove Classic SmallSat constellation delivers high-resolution imagery (4 m) and near-daily global coverage that facilitates the compilation of a cloud-free and optimal water column image composite of the Caribbean’s nearshore environment. These data were used to develop a first-of-its-kind regional thirteen-class benthic habitat map to 30 m water depth using an object-based image analysis (OBIA) approach. A total of 203,676 km2 of shallow benthic habitat across the Insular Caribbean was mapped, representing 5% coral reef, 43% seagrass, 15% hardbottom, and 37% other habitats. Results from a combined major class accuracy assessment yielded an overall accuracy of 80% with a standard error of less than 1% yielding a confidence interval of 78–82%. Of the total area mapped, 15% of these habitats (31,311.7 km2) are within a marine protected or managed area. This information provides a baseline of ecological data for developing and executing more strategic conservation actions, including implementing more effective marine spatial plans, prioritizing and improving marine protected area design, monitoring condition and change for post-storm damage assessments, and providing more accurate habitat data for ecosystem service models.
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Pakalniete, Kristīne, Heini Ahtiainen, Juris Aigars, Ingrīda Andersone, Aurelija Armoškaite, Henning Sten Hansen, and Solvita Strāķe. "Economic Valuation of Ecosystem Service Benefits and Welfare Impacts of Offshore Marine Protected Areas: A Study from the Baltic Sea." Sustainability 13, no. 18 (September 9, 2021): 10121. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su131810121.
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Knowledge of ecosystem services (ES) and the benefits provided by offshore marine areas, including the welfare impacts from the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) is still limited. In the present study we evaluated benefits from ES, citizens’ willingness-to-pay for potential changes in the provision of ES, and welfare losses to citizens due to restrictions on economic activities from establishing new offshore MPAs in Latvian waters. The scenarios for the economic valuation were based on analysing the supply of ES from the protected marine habitats, showing changes in the ES supply in policy relevant scenarios of the MPA size. Our study evaluates a wide array of ES delivered by offshore protected habitats and reveals that citizens’ willingness-to-pay for preserving habitats and ES supply exceeds their welfare losses from restrictions in economic activities. Our approach supports the prioritisation of habitat types according to their contribution to ES supply and benefits for citizens. The analysis can be complemented with spatial data regarding distribution of habitats, providing an opportunity to identify areas with the highest ES benefits to support marine protection and spatial planning.
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Amaral, Valter, Henrique N. Cabral, and José Paula. "Implications of habitat-specific growth and physiological condition on juvenile crab population structure." Marine and Freshwater Research 59, no. 8 (2008): 726. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf08006.
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Post-settlement processes can regulate the size and structure of marine invertebrate and fish populations. Faster growth and better physiological condition generally increase the survival potential of early juveniles, being usually associated with structurally complex habitats. Successive cohorts of early juvenile Carcinus maenas were followed in sandy and seagrass (Zostera noltii) habitats in the Mira Estuary, Portugal, to estimate growth and physiological condition (evaluated by RNA/DNA ratio) of juvenile populations. Mean cohort growth was similar in both habitats. However, in the sandy habitat, population size structure progressed to cohorts of larger carapace width (CW) and the RNA/DNA ratio was always higher than in the Z. noltii habitat. In this habitat, cohorts of low CW prevailed throughout and RNA/DNA ratio only increased after ~5.0 mm CW. Higher densities characterising seagrass areas may result in higher competition for resources, limiting growth and condition and leading to dispersal to less populated habitats. Larger juveniles had the best physiological condition, especially early in the season. Seagrass habitats do not necessarily yield enhanced growth rates and physiological condition of early juvenile crabs in relation to sandy areas. Knowledge of such trends is vital to understand distribution and abundance patterns of fish and marine invertebrate populations.
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Romano, Elena, Luisa Bergamin, and Mario Parise. "Benthic Foraminifera as Environmental Indicators in Mediterranean Marine Caves: A Review." Geosciences 12, no. 1 (January 16, 2022): 42. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12010042.
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Marine caves are characterized by wide environmental variability for the interaction between marine and continental processes. Their conditions may be defined as extreme for inhabiting organisms due to the enclosed morphology, lack of light, and scarcity of nutrients. Therefore, it is necessary to identify reliable ecological indicators for describing and assessing environmental conditions in these habitats even more than elsewhere. This review aims to provide the state of art related to the application of benthic foraminifera as proxies in the (paleo)ecological characterization of different habitats of marine caves. Special attention was addressed to a research project focused on Mediterranean marine caves with different characteristics, such as extent, morphology, freshwater influence, salinity, sediment type, oxygenation, and organic matter supply. This review aims to illustrate the reliability of foraminifera as an ecological and paleoecological indicator in these habitats. They respond to various environmental conditions with different assemblages corresponding to a very detailed habitat partitioning. Because marine caves may be considered natural laboratories for environmental variability, the results of these studies may be interpreted in the perspective of the global variability to understand the environmental drivers of future changes in marine systems.
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Orfanidis, Georgios A., Konstantinos Touloumis, Claus Stenberg, Patrizio Mariani, Josianne Gatt Støttrup, and Jon C. Svendsen. "Fish Assemblages in Seagrass (Zostera marina L.) Meadows and Mussel Reefs (Mytilus edulis): Implications for Coastal Fisheries, Restoration and Marine Spatial Planning." Water 13, no. 22 (November 17, 2021): 3268. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w13223268.
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Seagrass meadows and mussel reefs provide favorable habitats for many fish species, but few studies have compared the associated fish assemblages directly and examined the influence of environmental variables. Knowledge of fish assemblages associated with disparate habitats is needed for the conservation of coastal fisheries and marine spatial planning. Catch per unit effort data derived from fyke nets showed similar species richness and diversity in seagrass meadows and mussel reefs, suggesting that both habitats support elevated marine biodiversity of mobile fauna. However, it was shown that fish assemblage structure differed between those habitats, and also fish abundance in seagrass meadows was significantly higher than in mussel reefs by comparing the data with a multivariate extension of Generalized Linear Models (GLM). Furthermore, employing underwater video recordings to compare fish abundances in high and low water current speed mussel reefs with a Generalized Linear Mixed Model with negative binomial distribution, data revealed similar fish abundances (in terms of the MaxN metric) despite the variation in current speed, probably because the mussel formations provide sufficient shelter, even from high water currents. The commercially important species Atlantic cod (G. morhua), however, was significantly more abundant in the low water current mussel reef. Therefore, restoration efforts targeting G. morhua could benefit from restoring low current mussel reefs. Our study provides input for the conservation of coastal recreational and commercial fisheries, habitat restoration and marine spatial planning where certain habitats may be prioritized.
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Meynecke, J. O. "Coastal habitat connectivity ? implications for declared fish habitat networks in Queensland, Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 15, no. 2 (2009): 96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc090096.
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Estuaries are widely recognized as key habitats supporting nearshore secondary production and catch of commercial fisheries. In Queensland, some of these coastal marine habitats are protected by the declared fish habitat programme run by the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries. Expected environmental changes for Australian estuarine systems include reduced freshwater flow, increased sedimentation and with them, a loss of connectivity. At present, the relationship between the protected declared fish habitat and habitat connectivity remains unknown. By comparing long term coastal fish catch data with geomorphic characteristics of coastal habitats structural connectivity was previously identified as a potential driver of commercial fish catch in Queensland. An ecology landscape approach was used for this study to identify potential fish habitat hotspots along the coastline of Queensland thus allowing better defined networks of declared fish habitats. A comparison between this approach and the current declared fish habitats demonstrated potential deficits and provided important insights for fisheries management. Declared fish habitats should be placed in coastal habitats with high structural connectivity to ensure sustainability of fisheries in light of environmental changes.
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Amani, Meisam, Candace Macdonald, Abbas Salehi, Sahel Mahdavi, and Mardi Gullage. "Marine Habitat Mapping Using Bathymetric LiDAR Data: A Case Study from Bonne Bay, Newfoundland." Water 14, no. 23 (November 23, 2022): 3809. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w14233809.
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Marine habitats provide various benefits to the environment and humans. In this regard, an accurate marine habitat map is an important component of effective marine management. Newfoundland’s coastal area is covered by different marine habitats, which should be correctly mapped using advanced technologies, such as remote sensing methods. In this study, bathymetric Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data were applied to accurately discriminate different habitat types in Bonne Bay, Newfoundland. To this end, the LiDAR intensity image was employed along with an object-based Random Forest (RF) algorithm. Two types of habitat classifications were produced: a two-class map (i.e., Vegetation and Non-Vegetation) and a five-class map (i.e., Eelgrass, Macroalgae, Rockweed, Fine Sediment, and Gravel/Cobble). It was observed that the accuracies of the produced habitat maps were reasonable considering the existing challenges, such as the error of the LiDAR data and lacking enough in situ samples for some of the classes such as macroalgae. The overall classification accuracies for the two-class and five-class maps were 87% and 80%, respectively, indicating the high capability of the developed machine learning model for future marine habitat mapping studies. The results also showed that Eelgrass, Fine Sediment, Gravel/Cobble, Macroalgae, and Rockweed cover 22.4% (3.66 km2), 51.4% (8.39 km2), 13.5% (2.21 km2), 6.9% (1.12 km2), and 5.8% (0.95 km2) of the study area, respectively.
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Bueno, Marilia, Glauco B. O. Machado, and Fosca P. P. Leite. "Colonization of novel algal habitats by juveniles of a marine tube-dwelling amphipod." PeerJ 8 (October 15, 2020): e10188. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10188.
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Background Dispersal is an important process affecting population dynamics and connectivity. For marine direct developers, both adults and juveniles may disperse. Although the distribution of juveniles can be initially constrained by their mothers’ choice, they may be able to leave the parental habitat and colonize other habitats. We investigated the effect of habitat quality, patch size and presence of conspecific adults on the colonization of novel habitats by juveniles of the tube-dwelling amphipod Cymadusa filosa associated with the macroalgal host Sargassum filipendula. Methods We tested the factors listed above on the colonization of juveniles by manipulating natural and artificial plants in both the field and laboratory. Results In the laboratory, juveniles selected high-quality habitats (i.e., natural alga), where both food and shelter are provided, when low-quality resources (i.e., artificial alga) were also available. In contrast, habitat quality and algal patch size did not affect the colonization by juveniles in the field. Finally, the presence of conspecific adults did not affect the colonization of juveniles under laboratory condition but had a weak effect in the field experiment. Our results suggest that C. filosa juveniles can select and colonize novel habitats, and that such process can be partially affected by habitat quality, but not by patch size. Also, the presence of conspecifics may affect the colonization by juveniles. Successful colonization by this specific developmental stage under different scenarios indicates that juveniles may act as a dispersal agent in this species.
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Muhamad, M. A. H., and R. Che Hasan. "Seagrass Habitat Suitability Models using Multibeam Echosounder Data and Multiple Machine Learning Techniques." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1064, no. 1 (July 1, 2022): 012049. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1064/1/012049.
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Abstract Seagrass beds are important habitats in the marine environment by providing food and shelter to dugongs and sea turtles. Protection and conservation plans require detail spatial distribution of these habitats such as habitat suitability maps. In this study, machine learning techniques were tested by using Multibeam Echo Sounder System (MBES) and ground truth datasets to produce seagrass habitat suitability models at Redang Marine Park. Five bathymetric predictors and seven backscatter predictors from MBES data were used to representing topography features and sediment types in the study area. Three machine learning algorithms; Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt), Random Forests (RF), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) were tested. The results revealed that MaxEnt and RF models achieved the highest accuracy (93% and 91%, respectively) with SVM produced the lowest (67%). Depth was identified as the most significant predictor for all three models. The contributions of backscatter predictors were more central for SVM model. High accuracy models showed that suitable habitat for seagrass is distributed around shallow water areas (<20 m) and between fringing reef habitats. The findings highlight that acoustic data and machine learning are capable to predict how seagrass beds are spatially distributed which provide important information for managing marine resources.
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Parsons, D. M., N. T. Shears, R. C. Babcock, and T. R. Haggitt. "Fine-scale habitat change in a marine reserve, mapped using radio-acoustically positioned video transects." Marine and Freshwater Research 55, no. 3 (2004): 257. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf03190.
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Large-scale changes in subtidal reef habitats have occurred within the Leigh Marine Reserve (New Zealand) since its establishment in 1976. To determine the extent of habitat change within Goat Island Bay, video transects positioned by a radio acoustic positioning telemetry (RAPT) system were used to map habitats within a Geographic Information System (GIS) framework. This map was compared to a map of the same area constructed 22 years earlier in 1978. Visual categorisation of habitats was consistent with the quantification of habitat-forming species within quadrats, justifying the creation of a map based on visually interpreted video footage. Furthermore, the large-scale changes in habitats were consistent with smaller-scale changes in community structure identified at permanent sites located in the study area. The most obvious changes were the total disappearance of ‘urchin barrens’ across all depths and the recovery of kelp forest in water <8 m, caused by a trophic cascade related to predator recovery. In water > 12 m, the extent of kelp forest and sponge flats was found to decrease by 25 and 33%, respectively, while turfing algal habitat had increased by 50%. This increase in turfing algal habitat had not been previously documented due to the spatial scale of traditional sampling methods.
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Arai, Takaomi, Aya Kotake, Chris Harrod, Michelle Morrissey, and T. Kieran McCarthy. "Ecological plasticity of the European eel Anguilla anguilla in a tidal Atlantic lake system in Ireland." Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 99, no. 5 (February 7, 2019): 1189–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315419000031.
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AbstractRecent studies have shown that anguillid eel populations in habitats spanning the marine–freshwater ecotone can display extreme plasticity in the range of catadromy expressed by individual fish. The apparent use of marine and freshwater habitats by the European eel Anguilla anguilla was examined by analysing the strontium (Sr) and calcium (Ca) concentrations in otoliths of eels collected from a tidal Atlantic lake system in Ireland. Variations of the Sr:Ca ratio in the otoliths indicated that a variety of environmental salinities had been experienced in the habitats that were occupied during the growth phase of these individuals in the tidal Atlantic lake system. The otolith microchemistry of these eels indicated that most of the eels had entered each salinity environment (freshwater (FW); brackish water (BW); marine-dominated water (MW) and full seawater (SW)) from fresh water to full seawater just after recruitment and had stayed in each environment until maturation without movement to other salinity environments. Only 2 of 93 (2%) eels had shifted their habitat once in their lives. This result suggests that each individual might have an environmental habitat preference, although each individual could move along a short (<2 km) salinity gradient.
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Yamazaki, D., O. Miura, S. Uchida, M. Ikeda, and S. Chiba. "Comparative seascape genetics of co-distributed intertidal snails Monodonta spp. in the Japanese and Ryukyu archipelagoes." Marine Ecology Progress Series 657 (January 7, 2021): 135–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps13553.
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Recent molecular ecological studies have focused on how the relationships between physical and ecological factors influence marine biogeography. Comparative phylogeography using closely related species is a powerful approach to evaluate the role of ecological traits in the genetic variation of marine organisms. In the present study, we compared ecological traits and genetic variation in 3 species of the intertidal snail genus Monodonta that co-occur in the Japanese and Ryukyu archipelagoes. We found that M. labio was dominant in sheltered habitats and M. perplexa was dominant in wave-exposed habitats, while M. confusa showed no habitat specificity. This indicates that M. labio and M. perplexa are habitat specialists regarding wave exposure, while M. confusa is a generalist. M. labio and M. perplexa showed lower genetic diversity and greater genetic differentiation among populations than M. confusa. Our findings support the specialist-generalist variation hypothesis in a well-connected marine environment.
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Beckley, Lynnath E., and Amanda T. Lombard. "A systematic evaluation of the incremental protection of broad-scale habitats at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia." Marine and Freshwater Research 63, no. 1 (2012): 17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf11074.
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Incremental increases to marine conservation areas in response to changing goals, policy, threats or new information are common practice worldwide. Ningaloo Reef, in north-western Australia, is protected by the Ningaloo Marine Park (state waters), which was expanded incrementally in 2004 so that 34% of the park now comprises ‘no-take’ sanctuary zones. To test the hypothesis that all habitats (benthic cover types) at Ningaloo are actually protected at this 34% level, a systematic conservation planning exercise was conducted using existing broad-scale habitat data (as a surrogate for marine biodiversity) and C-Plan decision-support software. Although subtidal and intertidal coral communities were found to be adequately protected, other habitats, particularly those in deeper waters seaward of the reef, did not attain the 34% target. Efficient incremental additions to the sanctuary zones to allow increased representation of these under-represented habitats were explored with C-Plan. It is recommended that systematic conservation planning incorporating new biodiversity and social information (now becoming available) be undertaken for the next iteration of the Ningaloo Marine Park management plan. This analysis at Ningaloo Reef serves as a useful example of a post hoc systematic approach to guide incremental expansion of existing marine protected areas in other parts of the world.
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Spitzer, Paul R. "Common loon mortality in marine habitats." Environmental Reviews 3, no. 3-4 (July 1, 1995): 223–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/a95-011.
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The common loon remains remarkably anonymous and biologically little-known during its winter season. A major portion of the breeding population winters off coasts of the United States: Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific. Adult common loons are flightless for a few weeks in midwinter during a simultaneous molt of their wing feathers. This apparently makes loons especially sensitive to environmental disturbance, because they are among the most commonly recorded dead and dying birds on coastal beaches from winter through spring. Loons' large size, slowness to die, and tendency to beach themselves as a last resort also render their mortality more visible. Contributing causes of mortality include storms, food limitation, entanglement in fishing nets, oil, and possibly, other toxic substances. Occasional, unpredictable die-offs of many hundreds (1993) or even thousands (1983) of emaciated loons have occurred in southeastern U.S. waters. Loons offer a prime opportunity for study of this unexplained marine mortality. In the 1980s, neurotoxic bioaccumulated mercury was hypothesized as a cause of mass mortality, but data on the mercury and selenium loading of loons and other long-lived marine carnivores, and on the marine mortality patterns of loons and other seabirds, indicate that mercury is not the cause. Algal neurotoxins in marine food chains have caused some seabird die-offs and are one useful hypothesis for future research. Interdisciplinary study of unusual seabird mortality events can provide a major paradigm for the study of marine environmental health.Key words: common loon, mortality, mercury, biotoxin, bioindicator, marine environment.
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Radford, C. A., C. J. Sim-Smith, and A. G. Jeffs. "Can larval snapper, Pagrus auratus, smell their new home?" Marine and Freshwater Research 63, no. 10 (2012): 898. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf12118.
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The ability to find a suitable settlement habitat after a pelagic larval period represents a significant challenge to marine settlement-stage larvae, and the mechanisms by which they achieve this are poorly understood. There is good evidence that olfactory cues are used by some coral reef fish larvae to locate suitable settlement habitats; however, the same understanding is lacking for marine temperate fish. Here we show for the first time that the larvae of an important commercial and recreational marine temperate fish, Pagrus auratus, can use olfactory cues to orient to appropriate settlement habitat. Using pairwise choice experiments, naive hatchery reared fish were offered water collected from a range of habitats in the Kaipara Harbour, an important nursery area for P. auratus. Larvae selected to swim towards water taken from over seagrass beds, their preferred settlement habitat, than water taken from the harbour entrance, Asian date mussel habitat, artificial seawater or artificial seawater in which seagrass had been soaked. The preference by the fish for water from the seagrass habitat over artificial seawater in which seagrass had been soaked strongly suggests that chemical cues from sources other than seagrass, such as from prey or conspecifics present in the seagrass habitat, may also be involved.
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Hultgren, Kristin M., and Hannah Mittelstaedt. "Color change in a marine isopod is adaptive in reducing predation." Current Zoology 61, no. 4 (August 1, 2015): 739–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/czoolo/61.4.739.
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Abstract Although background matching is a common form of camouflage across a wide diversity of animals, there has been surprisingly little experimental work testing the fitness consequences of this camouflage strategy, especially in marine ecosystems. In this study, we tested whether color camouflage enhances survival of the intertidal marine isopod Pentidotea (Idotea) wosnesenskii, quantified patterns of camouflage in different algal habitats, and examined how algal diet affected color change and growth using laboratory assays. In the field, isopods collected from two differently colored algal habitats (the brown alga Fucus distichus and the red alga Odonthalia floccosa) matched the color of their respective algal habitats, and also differed significantly in body size: smaller red isopods were found on red algae, while larger brown isopods were found on brown algae. Predation experiments demonstrated these color differences had fitness benefits: brown isopods that matched their brown algae habitats survived at higher rates than red unmatched isopods. Surprisingly, despite the propensity of isopods to match their algal habitats, algal diet had no effect on color change in color change experiments. Instead, isopods in all treatments turned browner, matching the color of the algal habitat that many isopods are found on as adults. In summary, our data supported our hypothesis that background matching serves an adaptive function in reducing predation, with important evolutionary implications for explaining the wide variation in color change mechanisms in idoteid isopods.
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Layman, CA, CP Dahlgren, GT Kellison, AJ Adams, BM Gillanders, MS Kendall, JA Ley, I. Nagelkerken, and JE Serafy. "Marine nurseries and effective juvenile habitats." Marine Ecology Progress Series 318 (2006): 307–8. http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps318307.
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Osenberg, Craig W., and Russell J. Schmitt. "Detecting Human Impacts in Marine Habitats." Ecological Applications 4, no. 1 (February 1994): 1–2. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1942109.
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McKinney, Richard A. "Prioritizing urban marine habitats for conservation." Journal of Coastal Conservation 12, no. 4 (November 2008): 217–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11852-009-0045-z.
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Rédou, Vanessa, Marion Navarri, Laurence Meslet-Cladière, Georges Barbier, and Gaëtan Burgaud. "Species Richness and Adaptation of Marine Fungi from Deep-Subseafloor Sediments." Applied and Environmental Microbiology 81, no. 10 (March 13, 2015): 3571–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.04064-14.
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ABSTRACTThe fungal kingdom is replete with unique adaptive capacities that allow fungi to colonize a wide variety of habitats, ranging from marine habitats to freshwater and terrestrial habitats. The diversity, importance, and ecological roles of marine fungi have recently been highlighted in deep-subsurface sediments using molecular methods. Fungi in the deep-marine subsurface may be specifically adapted to life in the deep biosphere, but this can be demonstrated only using culture-based analyses. In this study, we investigated culturable fungal communities from a record-depth sediment core sampled from the Canterbury Basin (New Zealand) with the aim to reveal endemic or ubiquist adapted isolates playing a significant ecological role(s). About 200 filamentous fungi (68%) and yeasts (32%) were isolated. Fungal isolates were affiliated with the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, including 21 genera. Screening for genes involved in secondary metabolite synthesis also revealed their bioactive compound synthesis potential. Our results provide evidence that deep-subsurface fungal communities are able to survive, adapt, grow, and interact with other microbial communities and highlight that the deep-sediment habitat is another ecological niche for fungi.
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Lillis, Ashlee, Francesco Caruso, T. Aran Mooney, Joel Llopiz, DelWayne Bohnenstiehl, and David B. Eggleston. "Drifting hydrophones as an ecologically meaningful approach to underwater soundscape measurement in coastal benthic habitats." Journal of Ecoacoustics 2, no. 1 (February 6, 2018): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.22261/jea.stbdh1.
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The ambient acoustic environment, or soundscape, is of broad interest in the study of marine ecosystems as both a source of rich sensory information to marine organisms and, more broadly, as a driver of the structure and function of marine communities. Increasing our understanding of how soundscapes affect and reflect ecological processes first requires appropriate characterization of the acoustic stimuli, and their patterns in space and time. Here, we present a novel method developed for measuring soundscape variation, using drifting acoustic recorders to quantify acoustic dynamics related to benthic habitat composition. Selected examples of drifter results from sub-tidal oyster-reef habitats in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, USA, and from coral reef habitats in St. John, US Virgin Islands, highlight the efficacy and utility of this approach in quantifying soundscape variation in diverse habitats. The platform introduces minimal noise into the acoustic recordings, and allows sampling at spatial scales that might typically be overlooked using stationary hydrophone methods. We demonstrate that mobile hydrophone recording methods offer new insight into soundscape variation and provide a complementary approach to conventional passive acoustic monitoring techniques.
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Murray, Taryn S., Paul D. Cowley, Rhett H. Bennett, and Amber-Robyn Childs. "Fish on the move: connectivity of an estuary-dependent fishery species evaluated using a large-scale acoustic telemetry array." Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 75, no. 11 (November 2018): 2038–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0361.
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Connectivity — movements of animals between and among numerous habitats — and the factors (rhythmic cycles and environmental variables) influencing connectivity of juvenile Lichia amia (Teleostei: Carangidae) were assessed in complementary acoustic telemetry studies in two geographically separated estuaries (620 km apart) in South Africa. The studies were conducted within a nationwide array of acoustic receivers moored in estuaries and coastal waters. Tagged fish in both the Kowie (n = 21) and Goukou (n = 17) estuaries displayed high levels of multiple habitat connectivity, with 81% and 76% visiting nearby marine and estuarine environments, respectively. The presence of tagged L. amia within the tagging estuaries was significantly influenced by river and sea temperature (Kowie) and river inflow and moon phase (Goukou). Tidal phase, time of day, and season were found to significantly influence marine excursions undertaken by Kowie- and Goukou-tagged fish. Our study provides an assessment of connectivity among multiple estuarine, port, and marine habitats, relating those movements to rhythmic cycles and environmental variables, and highlights the benefits of tracking animals using an extensive acoustic receiver array that spans multiple habitats.
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Ning, Wang, Liu Bin, and Shou Youping. "Analysis of the impact of reclamation project on the health of Marine ecosystem in Cangzhou coastal area." E3S Web of Conferences 206 (2020): 03006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202020603006.
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For a comprehensive understanding of Cangzhou nearshore reclamation project construction effect on Marine ecosystem health, the evaluation scope is divided into six areas. According to the spring monitoring data in 2017, the regional ecosystem health evaluation method is used to evaluate the health index, and five evaluation indexes including seawater environment, sediment environment, biological habitat, biological forms and organisms are selected. Studies have shown that: the seawater environment, sediment environment and biological forms in the Cangzhou coastal area were all healthy; biological habitats, organisms and marine ecosystems were Unhealthy or sub-healthy; Reclamation activities are associated with the deterioration of seawater quality and the reduction of benthic and plankton biomass. The destruction of biological habitats is the main reason for the low ecosystem health index. destruction of biological habitats is the main reason for the low ecosystem health index.
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White, J. Wilson. "Marine reserve design theory for species with ontogenetic migration." Biology Letters 11, no. 1 (January 2015): 20140511. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2014.0511.
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Models for marine reserve design have been developed primarily with ‘reef fish’ life histories in mind: sedentary adults in patches connected by larval dispersal. However, many fished species undertake ontogenetic migrations, such as from nursery grounds to adult spawning habitats, and current theory does not fully address the range of reserve options posed by that situation. I modelled a generic species with ontogenetic migration to investigate the possible benefits of reserves under three alternative scenarios. First, the fishery targets adult habitat, and reserves can sustain yields under high exploitation, unless habitat patches are well connected. Second, the fishery targets the nursery, and reserves are highly effective, regardless of connectivity patterns. Third, the fishery targets both habitats, and reserves only succeed if paired on adjacent, well-connected nursery and adult patches. In all cases, reserves can buffer populations against overexploitation but would not enhance fishery yield beyond that achievable by management without reserves. These results summarize the general situations in which management using reserves could be useful for ontogenetically migrating species, and the type of connectivity data needed to inform reserve design.
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Hemery, Lenaïg G., Andrea E. Copping, and Dorian M. Overhus. "Biological Consequences of Marine Energy Development on Marine Animals." Energies 14, no. 24 (December 15, 2021): 8460. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/en14248460.
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Marine energy devices harness power from attributes of ocean water to form a sustainable energy source. Knowledge gaps remain about whether marine energy systems can affect the environment, adding another threat to animal populations and habitats already under pressure from climate change and anthropogenic activities. To date, potential environmental effects have been studied under the scope of stressor–receptor interactions, where moving parts of, or emissions from, a system could harm the animals, habitats, and natural processes. While crucial for understanding effects and identifying knowledge gaps, this approach misses a holistic view of what animals may experience in the presence of marine energy systems. We look at six biological consequences and forces that drive the health of an animal population and the effects expected from marine energy development: success of early life stages; changes in competitive capabilities; growth and survival based on food availability; susceptibility to predators; injury or death; and reproductive success. We use case studies to develop this approach, focusing on a variety of marine animals. An approximate level of risk is assigned for each interaction based on the biological consequences. This work highlights the need to examine the effects of marine energy development on animal populations within their natural habitats.
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von Rönn, Gitta Ann, Knut Krämer, Markus Franz, Klaus Schwarzer, Hans-Christian Reimers, and Christian Winter. "Dynamics of Stone Habitats in Coastal Waters of the Southwestern Baltic Sea (Hohwacht Bay)." Geosciences 11, no. 4 (April 9, 2021): 171. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11040171.
Full textAbstract:
Cobbles and boulders on the seafloor are of high ecological value in their function as habitats for a variety of benthic species, contributing to biodiversity and productivity in marine environments. We investigate the origin, physical shape, and structure of habitat-forming cobbles and boulders and reflect on their dynamics in coastal environments of the southwestern Baltic Sea. Stone habitats are not limited to lag deposits and cannot be sufficiently described as static environments, as different dynamic processes lead to changes within the physical habitat structure and create new habitats in spatially disparate areas. Dynamic processes such as (a) ongoing exposure of cobbles and boulders from glacial till, (b) continuous overturning of cobbles, and (c) the migration of cobbles need to be considered. A distinction between allochthonous and autochthonous habitats is suggested. The genesis of sediment types indicates that stone habitats are restricted to their source (glacial till), but hydrodynamic processes induce a redistribution of individual cobbles, leading to the development of new coastal habitats. Thus, coastal stone habitats need to be regarded as dynamic and are changing on a large bandwidth of timescales. In general, wave-induced processes changing the physical structure of these habitats do not occur separately but rather act simultaneously, leading to a dynamic type of habitat.
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Dickey-Collas, Mark, Abigail McQuatters-Gollop, Eileen Bresnan, Alexandra C. Kraberg, John P. Manderson, Richard D. M. Nash, Saskia A. Otto, Anne F. Sell, Jacqueline F. Tweddle, and Verena M. Trenkel. "Pelagic habitat: exploring the concept of good environmental status." ICES Journal of Marine Science 74, no. 9 (August 20, 2017): 2333–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsx158.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Marine environmental legislation is increasingly expressing a need to consider the quality of pelagic habitats. This paper uses the European Union marine strategy framework to explore the concept of good environmental status (GES) of pelagic habitat with the aim to build a wider understanding of the issue. Pelagic ecosystems have static, persistent and ephemeral features, with manageable human activities primarily impacting the persistent features. The paper explores defining the meaning of “good”, setting boundaries to assess pelagic habitat and the challenges of considering habitat biodiversity in a moving medium. It concludes that for pelagic habitats to be in GES and able to provide goods and services to humans, three conditions should be met: (i) all species present under current environmental conditions should be able to find the pelagic habitats essential to close their life cycles; (ii) biogeochemical regulation is maintained at normal levels; (iii) critical physical dynamics and movements of biota and water masses at multiple scales are not obstructed. Reference points for acceptable levels of each condition and how these may change over time in line with prevailing oceanographic conditions, should be discussed by knowledge brokers, managers and stakeholders. Managers should think about a habitat hydrography rather than a habitat geography. Setting the bounds of the habitats requires a consideration of dimension, scale and gradients. It is likely that to deal with the challenges caused by a dynamic environment and the relevance of differing spatial and temporal scales, we will need to integrate multidisciplinary empirical data sets with spatial and temporal models to assess and monitor progress towards, or displacement from GES of the pelagic habitat.
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Mayer-Pinto, Mariana, Miguel G. Matias, and Ross A. Coleman. "The interplay between habitat structure and chemical contaminants on biotic responses of benthic organisms." PeerJ 4 (May 3, 2016): e1985. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1985.
Full textAbstract:
Habitat structure influences the diversity and distribution of organisms, potentially affecting their response to disturbances by either affecting their ‘susceptibility’ or through the provision of resources that can mitigate impacts of disturbances. Chemical disturbances due to contamination are associated with decreases in diversity and functioning of systems and are also likely to increase due to coastal urbanisation. Understanding how habitat structure interacts with contaminants is essential to predict and therefore manage such effects, minimising their consequences to marine systems. Here, we manipulated two structurally different habitats and exposed them to different types of contaminants. The effects of contamination and habitat structure interacted, affecting species richness. More complex experimental habitats were colonized by a greater diversity of organisms than the less complex habitats. These differences disappeared, however, when habitats were exposed to contaminants, suggesting that contaminants can override effects of habitats structure at small spatial scales. These results provide insight into the complex ways that habitat structure and contamination interact and the need to incorporate evidence of biotic responses from individual disturbances to multiple stressors. Such effects need to be taken into account when designing and planning management and conservation strategies to natural systems.