Journal of Sea Research最新文献

{"title":"Possible evidence of range expansion of the tropical ghost crab Ocypode ceratophthalmus to a temperate region driven by climate change","authors":"Dain Kim ,&nbsp;Sook-Jin Jang ,&nbsp;Taewon Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102623","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102623","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recent rapid climate change caused by global warming has significantly affected marine organisms, and species normally found in tropical zone have been reported in temperate zones. This cryptic range expansion may influence ecosystems due to interspecific competition for habitats, prey, and population reproductive resources with native species. In September 2021 and August 2022, we identified the tropical ghost crab species <em>Ocypode ceratophthalmus</em> in the southern region of the Korean Peninsula. To date, only three species of ghost crabs, <em>O. stimpsoni</em>, <em>O. cordimana</em>, and <em>O. sinensis</em>, had been reported. Morphologically, all specimens of <em>O. ceratophthalmus</em> possess a stridulating ridge composed of two parts of circular and horizontal lines but lack prolonged eyestalks. Species identification was confirmed using a partial sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome <em>c</em> oxidase subunit I (<em>mtCO1</em>) gene for each individual given their morphological immaturity. Additionally, population genetic analyses using the <em>mtCO1</em> and nuclear sodium‐potassium ATPase α-subunit (<em>NaK</em> intron) genes revealed the high genetic connectivity between Korean populations and the neighboring populations in Northeast Asia. The results of the neutrality test and mismatch distribution indicated that the Jeju population in South Korea experienced a recent population expansion. Given the oceanic flow of the Kuroshio Current and the smaller currents branching off, the genetic homogeneity of populations is anticipated to be a result of continuous immigration of individuals from more southern localities. These findings provide pivotal insights into the habitat expansion of the tropical crabs into temperate zones. Additionally, they inform conservation strategies for native crabs by enabling effect-based estimation of species range expansion and settlement.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sea Research","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 102623"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145019144","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Physical mechanisms behind the interhemispheric teleconnection between South Pacific Meridional Mode and Bohai, Yellow and East China Seas during boreal summers of 2001–2019","authors":"Guandong Gao ,&nbsp;Ming Feng ,&nbsp;Lin Wang ,&nbsp;Zhaoxuan Yang ,&nbsp;Xingru Feng ,&nbsp;Baoshu Yin","doi":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102621","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102621","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The emergence of SPMM (South Pacific Meridional Mode)-BYECS (Bohai, Yellow and East China Seas) interhemispheric teleconnection after the early 2000s contributed to extreme marine heatwaves in the BYECS, yet the underlying physical mechanism remains poorly understood. We examined this teleconnection comprehensively, utilizing observational data from multiple sources, and proposed a physical mechanism involving SPMM-ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone)-WPSH (western Pacific subtropical high) variabilities. The weakened ITCZ associated with a positive SPMM resulted in a weakened sinking branch to the north, consequently increasing convection and precipitation in the western Pacific (150–180°E; 9–27°N). This weakened the WPSH by stimulating a cyclonic anomaly, which promoted moisture transport and precipitation on the eastern edge, establishing positive feedback. At the western edge of this cyclonic anomaly, strong northerly wind anomalies reduced moisture replenishment and caused descending anomalies over the eastern part of BYECS. High-pressure anomalies on the western side of the northerly wind anomalies also resulted in descending anomalies over the BYECS. The inhibited upward motion and moisture replenishment jointly led to reduced cloud cover and increased shortwave radiation, thereby increasing BYECS sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTa) alongside SPMM-SSTa. This study proposed new physical mechanisms regarding with SPMM-ITCZ-WPSH interhemispheric teleconnection which is crucial to climate prediction in marginal seas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sea Research","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 102621"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145004292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Water color remote sensing models: Inversion mechanisms, optimization, and challenges","authors":"Jiarong Tang ,&nbsp;Fei Zhang ,&nbsp;Ngai Weng Chan ,&nbsp;Verner Carl Johnson ,&nbsp;Di Wu ,&nbsp;Lifei Wei ,&nbsp;Mou Leong Tan ,&nbsp;Xu Ma ,&nbsp;Ziheng Feng ,&nbsp;Zhihui Li","doi":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102622","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102622","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Water color remote sensing plays a vital role in monitoring aquatic environments, yet significant challenges remain in model applicability and data integration. This review presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 577 WCRS-related articles indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection, identifying research hotspots, international collaborations, and model evolution trends. The analysis reveals that China leads in publication count, while the United States holds a dominant position in citation impact and international collaboration, highlighting a gap between research output and influence. Keyword co-occurrence mapping shows that bio-optical modeling, eutrophication monitoring, and high-resolution sensing in optically complex waters are key research frontiers. The main types of models such as empirical, analytical, semi-analytical, and machine learning. Are systematically categorized and assessed based on their application scope, limitations, and optimization strategies through representative case studies. Persistent challenges remain, particularly in data quality, algorithm generalization, and the fusion of multi-source data. To address these issues, five future research directions are proposed, including the development of physics-informed AI models and creation of global data-sharing platforms. This work provides both a knowledge map and practical guidance to advance WCRS theory and applications under increasingly complex water and aquatic conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sea Research","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 102622"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144932698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Artificial tidepools promote marine diversity on Dutch sea-dikes","authors":"Britas Klemens Eriksson ,&nbsp;Johanna Catharina Rippen ,&nbsp;Martje Birker-Wegter ,&nbsp;Benja Blaschke ,&nbsp;Anne-Mare Branderhorst ,&nbsp;Jordis Dörfler ,&nbsp;Pieter van Essen ,&nbsp;Lars Gehin ,&nbsp;Jet Hiltermann ,&nbsp;Tolga Finn Kucuk ,&nbsp;Aveline Meekhof ,&nbsp;Leah Merlijn ,&nbsp;Marit Nygård ,&nbsp;Sanne Puister ,&nbsp;Meander Tijsseling ,&nbsp;Denise Vaas ,&nbsp;Bente Wittendorp ,&nbsp;Lucía Irazábal-González","doi":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102620","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102620","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Marine construction homogenise coastal ecosystems by replacing a diverse array of shoreline habitats with artificial hard structures, such as seawalls and jetties. Climate adaptation will further increase shoreline hardening, posing an additional threat to coastal biodiversity. We therefore addressed the urgent need for practically oriented research on how to best promote marine biodiversity on different types of artificial substrates by testing the effects of enriching a Dutch sea-dike with artificial tidepools. For three years we monitored the development of different functional groups of sessile organisms on three different types of tidepools that were added in six clusters to the existing boulder base of a sea-dike. The artificial tidepools developed diverse sessile communities that included the common groups barnacles, green algae, bladderwrack, mussels and oysters; but also unique species groups, such as anemones, hydroids, red algae and colonial diatoms, that were otherwise absent or very rare on the sea-dike. Consequently, after three years, the taxonomic diversity of benthic organisms were 50 % higher in the artificial tidepools than on comparable rock habitats on the sea-dike, and the tidepool communities were more different from each other than from the other habitats on the dike. We demonstrate that artificial tidepools can play an important role in management interventions to increase habitat heterogeneity and bolster marine biodiversity on artificial substrates.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sea Research","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 102620"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144932828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Synergistic effects of ocean acidification and copper on gamete health and fertilization potential of the Pacific oyster Magallana (Crassostrea) gigas","authors":"Jihyuk Kim ,&nbsp;Hyun-Ki Hong ,&nbsp;Byeong-Gweon Lee","doi":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102617","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102617","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ocean acidification (OA) and metal pollution pose significant threats to marine ecosystems, particularly in coastal areas. This study investigated the synergistic effects of OA and copper toxicity on Pacific oyster (<em>Magallana gigas</em>) gametes. Spermatozoa and oocytes were exposed to varying <em>p</em>CO₂ levels and copper concentrations for 2 h. Flow cytometry was used to assess cell mortality, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and fertilization success. Results showed increased mortality in both sperm and oocytes with rising copper and <em>p</em>CO₂ levels, with sperm exhibiting higher sensitivity. ROS production in gametes displayed complex patterns, suggesting adaptive responses at lower copper concentrations and potential cell death at higher levels. Fertilization success decreased significantly at lower pH combined with higher copper concentrations (&gt; 10 μg Cu/L). These findings demonstrate that OA exacerbates copper toxicity in <em>M. gigas</em> gametes through interactive effects, highlighting the need to consider multiple stressors when assessing pollutant impacts on coastal ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sea Research","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 102617"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144865616","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microplastics in the Bay of Bengal: A critical review of bioaccumulation and ecological impacts across Bangladesh","authors":"Abu Hena Muhammad Yousuf,&nbsp;Mosa. Tania Alim Shampa,&nbsp;MD. Niamul Hasan Rifat,&nbsp;Sahadat Habib","doi":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102615","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102615","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Microplastics (MPs) exert a substantial threat to marine ecosystems, including the Bay of Bengal (BoB), due to their widespread presence and high potential for bioaccumulation in marine biota. This review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the bioaccumulation of MPs, their prevalence, and the potential pathways for these contaminants in the BoB. By systematically reviewing existing literature, we analyzed relevant studies and identified key findings. MPs were detected in various marine organisms, including finfish, shellfish, and plankton in the BoB. Demersal species were found to ingest more MPs than pelagic species, likely due to their proximity to MP-laden sediments. The concentration of MPs varied with body weight and length, with some species showing a positive correlation, while others exhibited a negative correlation. MP particle sizes ranged from &lt;500 μm to 1000 μm, with black particles, fibers, and fragments being the most common forms. Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) were identified as the dominant polymers. Major sources of MP pollution in the BoB include fisheries, industrial and sewage discharge, tourism, and agricultural runoff. The review also highlights the ecological implications of their accumulation and the potential health risks to humans through the consumption of contaminated seafood. Lack of information on deep-sea and cultured species, trophic transfer, and standard methods are some of the most important shortcomings. Researchers should use more advanced methods of discovery in future studies and look into the long-term effects on health and the environment. To reduce MP pollution in the BoB, policymakers should work on reducing the use of plastic, making waste management better, and walking biodegradable alternatives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sea Research","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 102615"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144885468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The impact of marine industrial agglomeration on marine economic resilience—A case study of China's coastal areas","authors":"Zixin Feng,&nbsp;Qiang Gao,&nbsp;Runping Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102609","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102609","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the current complex domestic and international environment, marine economic resilience has become one of the basic guarantees for whether the marine economy can achieve high-quality development. At the same time, the development of the marine industry in coastal areas is undergoing rapid development and showing a trend of agglomeration, providing an unprecedented opportunity to increase marine economic resilience. Thus, the impact of marine industrial agglomeration on marine economic resilience deserves further investigation. This study takes 11 coastal provinces and cities in China as an example. First, marine economic resilience is divided into three subsystems: resistance ability, recovery ability, and evolution ability, and evaluated by several methods. Second, this study uses empirical methods to analyse the impact of marine industrial agglomeration on economic resilience and its influencing mechanism. The results show that: (1) Marine industrial agglomeration can significantly increase marine economic resilience. (2) Marine industrial agglomeration increases marine economic resilience through scale effects and spillover effects, and the impact of division of labor effects on marine economic resilience has a single threshold effect. (3) The impact of marine industrial agglomeration on marine economic resilience has significant spatial heterogeneity. Our study can enrich the research in this field and provide reference for the development of marine industry and marine economy in coastal areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sea Research","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 102609"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144895505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prediction of harmful algal blooms in the Persian Gulf using remote sensing and artificial intelligence modeling","authors":"Mitra Naeimi ,&nbsp;Zahra Azizi ,&nbsp;Mohammad Seddiq Mortazavi ,&nbsp;Seyedeh Laili Mohebbi Nozar ,&nbsp;Mojtaba Ezam","doi":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102619","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102619","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Harmful algal blooms (HABs) represent a significant environmental and socio-economic threat across the Persian Gulf region, impacting marine ecosystems, public health, and coastal economies. This study shows an advanced predictive pipeline that uses satellite remote sensing data with ensemble Artificial intelligence (AI) modeling to forecast HAB events along the coastlines of Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, and Hormuz. Key environmental variables, including chlorophyll-a concentration, sea surface temperature (SST), and remote sensing reflectance (R_rs) at wavelengths of 412, 443, 488, 513, and 555 nm, were extracted from MODIS-Aqua imagery, providing a comprehensive depiction of the spatial and temporal variability in the marine environment. We employed a species distribution modeling approach that integrates an ensemble of five machine learning (ML) algorithms—Random Forest (RF), Boosted Regression Trees (BRT), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), and Radial Basis Function (RBF)—to mitigate the limitations of single-model predictions and enhance forecast reliability. Our modeling framework utilized 1809 confirmed HAB presence observations alongside 13,396 systematically generated pseudo-absence points, with model performance validated through bootstrapping and cross-validation over 713 daily prediction intervals. The ensemble model, formulated via AUC-weighted aggregation of individual predictions, achieved a robust average Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.95 and a peak True Skill Statistic (TSS) of 0.85. Specifically, a case study on November 23, 2008, yielded a sensitivity of 96.67 % and specificity of 74.37 %, highlighting the model's proficiency in correctly identifying HAB events. Variable importance plots pinned SST and certain Rrs bands (particularly at 443 and 555 nm) as key predictors, which concurs with established drivers of algal growth. Further, this coupled method not only yields high-resolution spatial and temporal forecasts of bloom events but also refined insight into environmental mechanisms underlying HAB dynamics, informing effective coastal governance and policy making. Collectively, these findings illustrate the promise of combining remote sensing data with ensemble AI methods to create effective early-warning systems and inform targeted management practices for reducing impacts of HABs in the Persian Gulf.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sea Research","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 102619"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144890183","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Eutrophication-driven biogeochemical processes influencing dissolved organic matter dynamics in a tropical coastal bay: Insights from Lianzhou Bay, northwestern South China Sea","authors":"Siyi Xu ,&nbsp;Ye Xu ,&nbsp;Xin Wang ,&nbsp;Renming Jia ,&nbsp;Qizhong Su ,&nbsp;Chao Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102616","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102616","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The global understanding of coastal carbon cycling is increasingly recognising the disproportionate importance of small estuary-coastal bay systems. This study analysed dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON), coloured and fluorescent dissolved organic matter (DOM, CDOM and FDOM), along with environmental parameters in Lianzhou Bay, northwestern South China Sea, during summer 2022. A two-endmember mixing model was applied to quantify the non-conservative (Δ) dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), phosphorus (SRP), and DOM. DIN decreased linearly with salinity, suggesting conservative mixing, while SRP showed no salinity dependence and was elevated nearshore, suggesting anthropogenic inputs. Non-conservative additions of DOC (44 %), CDOM (31–44 %), and protein-like FDOM (FDOM_P, 46 %) were accompanied by substantial DON removal (−83 %). ΔDOC and ΔCDOM were negatively correlated with chlorophyll-a, suggesting their origin from the early microbial transformation of phytoplankton-derived particles. Conversely, the positive correlation between ΔDON and chlorophyll-a, together with a negative ΔDON–ΔDIN correlation of differing magnitudes, suggests partial microbial utilisation of N-rich compounds, with nitrogen not fully retained as DIN. Regionally, CDOM accumulated in the middle bay with minimal ΔDOC, driven by microbial processing of biogenic particles; the southern bay showed zero ΔDOC but positive ΔFDOM_P, suggesting coupled production and degradation; in the north, excess primary production led to DOC buildup and DON removal, with labile DOM actively utilized. Among Chinese bays, the relatively low FDOM_P proportion in Lianzhou Bay, despite high DOM levels, reflects limited direct anthropogenic inputs and substantial microbial humification, highlighting the complex interplay of natural and human-driven processes shaping coastal DOM composition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sea Research","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 102616"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144885561","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The diversity and biogeography of macrobenthic fauna in the rocky intertidal zone of islands in the Pearl River estuary: effects of island area, isolation, salinity and human disturbance","authors":"Yafang Li ,&nbsp;Quehui Tang ,&nbsp;Shuangshuang Liu ,&nbsp;Lianggen Wang ,&nbsp;Jiajia Ning ,&nbsp;Lei Xu ,&nbsp;Delian Huang ,&nbsp;Feiyan Du","doi":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102618","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seares.2025.102618","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The theory of classical island biogeography alone cannot encapsulate the dynamic pattern of island biodiversity, factors such as salinity, and anthropogenic influence and species traits should be considered. Here, islands of varying sizes, degrees of isolation, salinity, and anthropogenic influence from the inner to the outer waters of the Pearl River estuary in China, were selected as the sampling sites. During January to March 2023 (dry season), macrobenthic fauna, comprising various groups with distinct ecological traits, were collected in the rocky intertidal zones. Environmental gradients were derived from long-term salinity, temperature, depth, and dissolved oxygen (DO) records from the Pearl River Estuary ecosystem field station, field measurements of anthropogenic disturbance, and GIS-calculated isolation distances. Island areas were obtained from the Guangdong Province Department of Natural Resources. The findings revealed that the species richness of the total, Molluscs and Annelids fit the power-function species–area relationship, whereas Arthropods did not. The generalized linear models showed a significant negative correlation between anthropogenic disturbances and Arthropod richness. Principal coordination analysis and beta diversity indicated substantial dissimilarities in the spatial structure similarity of communities among islands in this area. The analysis of generalized dissimilarity modeling indicated both environmental gradients and spatial distance could affect the β diversity of macrobenthic fauna. In the upper tidal zone, β diversity was predominantly influenced by geographic distance, while in the middle and lower zones, community composition was shaped by the salinity gradient. The outcomes of this study supports the role of area and spatial isolation in structuring community composition and diversity. However, environmental gradients such as salinity and anthropogenic disturbances may take precedence over other biogeographical processes. The significance of these gradients varies across different groups.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sea Research","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 102618"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144865615","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}