Advances in marine biology最新文献

Coral reef ecosystems are inherently dependent on their surrounding ocean. Mounting evidence reveals that oceanographic processes deliver pelagic subsidies that shape coral reef food webs and influence reef persistence following disturbance. These findings are challenging the classical view of reefs as 'self-sustaining' ecosystems in oligotrophic seas. Yet our observations of these biophysical interactions are limited, and we lack a fundamental understanding of how ocean-reef interactions structure shallow reef dynamics. As climate change continues to alter fundamental physical processes within our ocean, the impacts of ocean-reef interactions on reef futures remain unknown. In this review, we offer a forward-looking perspective to catalyze our understanding of ocean-reef connections through interdisciplinary studies and more standardized approaches to data collection and validation. We provide a primer for ecologists on some of the foundational physical processes structuring subsurface temperature dynamics and resource supply to coral reef ecosystems and synthesize the available evidence on how these biophysical interactions influence reef food webs, from microbes to sharks and ultimately humans. Lastly, we emphasize how climate change is restructuring vital biophysical processes in the ocean and on reefs and identify practical solutions for improving our ability to more critically evaluate ocean-reef interactions across scales. Achieving this will be crucial to improve our projections of coral reef futures and to help inform strategic management to support and promote reef persistence under climate change.

This volume of Advances highlights not only the importance of marine benthic diversity in several regions of the world but also the impediments to describing this fauna. Taxonomy is the science of classifying organisms and is the bedrock of marine biodiversity research and conservation, yet it faces significant decline in Australia. Thus, it is critical that the scientific community understand why taxonomy is so important. This paper underscores the foundational role of taxonomy in marine ecology, using case studies that highlight its critical relevance to species management, conservation policy, and international trade regulation. Despite extensive research and funding, unresolved taxonomies continue to affect our management of ecologically and economically important taxa, including crown-of-thorns seastar (Acanthaster spp.), exploited sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea), and invasive Cassiopea jellyfish. These ambiguities hamper accurate species identification, hinder effective conservation strategies, and complicate regulatory listings under frameworks such as CITES and the IUCN Red List. Key challenges include dwindling taxonomic expertise, reduced funding, lack of university training, and limited career pathways, all of which contribute to Australia's inability to adequately explore and manage its vast marine jurisdiction. The paper advocates for immediate systemic reforms through a series of 11 recommendations related to revitalizing taxonomic education, fostering museum-university partnerships, supporting early career researchers, and investing in infrastructure to enable species discovery. Taxonomic rigor is also essential to validate modern tools like eDNA, metagenomics, and image-based analysis. Without it, efforts to safeguard biodiversity and to foster a sustainable blue economy risk failure.

The life cycle of sessile marine invertebrates relies on a successful transition from a free-swimming larval stage to a benthic adult form. Gaining a deeper understanding of this transition is essential, as this transition often serves as a bottleneck in the life cycle of marine invertebrates and shapes the marine communities, particularly in diverse ecosystems like coral reefs. Recent studies focusing on various marine invertebrate model organisms have shed light on how ciliated larvae navigate their environments, detect essential cues, and activate their specialised sensory nervous systems to initiate larval settlement and metamorphosis. This chapter synthesises current knowledge on the sensory abilities of larvae, the role of peptidergic and classical neurotransmitter signalling in neural control, the influence of environmental cues, and the evolution of intracellular pathways that underpin settlement processes. It focuses on the early-branching metazoans, such as sponges (phylum Porifera) and cnidarians. Despite lacking a true nervous system, sponges show coordinated sensory responses, illustrating that fundamental molecular elements of sensory functions predate the emergence of neural complexity. Cnidarians, as one of the oldest extant phyla with a nervous system, provide crucial insights into the early evolution of neural organisation.

The world is facing a double crisis of climate change and biodiversity erosion. Global environmental changes have sparked an unprecedented and ongoing loss of biodiversity. To minimize this alarming trend, a deeper understanding of biodiversity is essential for effective conservation and management strategies. However, major taxonomic knowledge gaps remain, particularly in remote and understudied regions such as the Southern Ocean. Without knowledge on the marine biota living within these ecosystems, it becomes challenging to assess the success of existing marine protected areas or to design new ones that can address both current and future threats. This paper aims to highlight the critical role of taxonomy and species identification in biodiversity research and for the implementation of effective conservation and protection measures for vulnerable and sensitive ecosystems. We address key challenges of the taxonomy field and provide recommendations to improve the characterization of marine diversity in poorly known and unexplored environments.

Seasonal upwelling events have a significant impact on the Mauritanian waters, which are a component of the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME). These events frequently provide nutrient-rich waters to Mauritania's coastal waters. This influx of nutrients supports some of the most productive fish stocks in the Atlantic and sustains the development of a rich and diverse marine biodiversity. Despite its ecological and economic importance, a significant part of Mauritania's marine fauna remains insufficiently investigated, with significant taxonomic gaps spanning over a variety of taxa. A comprehensive understanding of regional biodiversity is essential for the implementation of sustainable fisheries management and the effective protection of marine ecosystems. Such understanding depends on accurate taxonomic knowledge, which forms the basis for assessing species distributions, ecological interactions and trophic networks. This review provides a synthesis of past research initiatives and campaigns conducted along the Mauritanian coast and identifies key coastal ecosystems of particular ecological relevance. It further highlights current gaps in taxonomic knowledge and points out the importance of an integrative approach to biodiversity research that combines classical morphological taxonomy with modern genetic species identification techniques. Additionally, the review advocates for the establishment and maintenance of a scientific reference collection of the Mauritanian marine fauna as a foundational resource for ongoing and future biodiversity assessments. Ultimately, this article proposes an integrative and interdisciplinary biodiversity research strategy for Mauritania's unique marine environment, thereby contributing to long-term conservation efforts and the sustainable use of marine resources at times of climate change and overexploitation of biological resources.

Benthic marine macroinvertebrates are one of the main components of the marine ecosystem. Proper management of these animals is therefore crucial to maintain sustainable ecosystem functions and services. However, information on the diversity of these phyla in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries has been patchy. This study aimed to determine the current status of benthic marine macroinvertebrate identification in the ASEAN countries and its implications for effective marine resource management and conservation. Regional data on identified species and authors were analysed to determine the species diversity, as well as local and foreign taxonomists and ecologists. A total of 18,084 benthic marine macroinvertebrate species from six phyla (i.e., Annelida, Arthropoda, Cnidaria, Echinodermata, Mollusca, and Porifera) were documented. The Philippines has the highest marine benthic macroinvertebrate species recorded (11,685 species), followed by Thailand and Indonesia, while Cambodia has the lowest recorded species. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand exhibited the highest species similarity. Notably, the number of local taxonomists in the Southeast Asia region was lower than that of their foreign counterparts. Several ASEAN countries, such as Brunei, Cambodia and Myanmar, relied more on either foreign taxonomists or ecologists in identifying their local species, although species identification by the latter workers potentially leads to misidentifications. Possible causes and improvements are discussed.

Amid the current global biodiversity crisis, understanding and conserving marine invertebrates is more urgent than ever. Marine invertebrates are key components of biodiversity in benthic ecosystems, however, in Australia they remain underrepresented in biodiversity data and conservation planning. Australia's coastline extends from the tropics to subpolar environments and the surrounding waters comprise the Australian Territorial Seas and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Currently there are 60 Australian Federal and 98 State Marine Parks which by law must ensure the sustainable management of their biodiversity. Polychaetes are dominant in benthic communities both in terms of species richness and diversity and play a critical role in the functioning of marine ecosystems. Polychaetes are also sensitive to environmental disturbance and change and must be considered in developing marine park zoning and monitoring plans. Here we review the history of species discovery (1791-2025) in shallow (0-300 m) and deep waters (300-5,000 m) within Australia. We highlight that many species remain undescribed, especially in the deep sea, and vast areas in Australian waters have little or no data on the polychaetes that occur there. Finally, we propose what can be done to ensure that polychaetes are included in management plans, including (1) increased availability of information for benthic ecologists from museums, (2) the development of reference DNA barcode libraries by museums, (3) increased tertiary education opportunities and (4) increased philanthropic funding sources.