Abstract
Since the origin of life in the primordial ocean, the marine environment has developed into a vast variety of habitats in both the coastal and open waters of the world ocean. Coastal waters are home of a range of transition zones between the sea, freshwater and land, such as intertidal muddy, sandy and rocky shores, mangrove and saltmarshes, estuaries, kelp forests, seagrass meadows and coral reefs. The open ocean comprises the wellknown epipelagic zone, i.e. the upper 100 200 meters of the open ocean fueled by solar radiations and photosynthesis, where plethora of marine life is concentrated, and the still drastically unexplored deep-sea habitats that rely on vertical fluxes of organic matter from the surface. Marine organisms ranging from minute microbes to large fish, seabirds and mammals have colonized all of these habitats. Reflecting this great diversity in living conditions and selective forces, aquatic organisms have evolved a corresponding diversity of forms (Figure 1), life history patterns, physiological and biological adaptations, and reproductive and behavioral strategies. Understanding the biology of these various organisms becomes especially important in an era of global change where anthropogenic and climatic stressors (e.g. organic and mineral contaminants, temperature, pH) are increasingly threatening marine habitats. Marine biology is undeniably vast topic. Despite its limited length, this special issue compiles seven papers that reflect this diversity and cover diverse aspects of the biology of marine organisms ranging from invertebrates such as flagellates [1], corals [2,3] and krill [4], to vertebrates such as waders [5] and dolphins [6], and also addresses more fundamental questions related to the actual relevance and future of benthic indicators [7]. All of the papers briefly described hereafter introduce new insights into the biology of their target organisms, and it is hoped that the reader will enjoy the salty taste of this sub-sample of such a vast topic, Marine Biology. 2. The Diatom-Eager Benthic Flagellate
Highlights
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The open ocean comprises the wellknown epipelagic zone, i.e. the upper 100 - 200 meters of the open ocean fueled by solar radiations and photosynthesis, where plethora of marine life is concentrated, and the still drastically unexplored deep-sea habitats that rely on vertical fluxes of organic matter from the surface
Understanding the biology of these various organisms becomes especially important in an era of global change where anthropogenic and climatic stressors are increasingly threatening marine habitats
Summary
Heterotrophic nanoflagellates have typically been considered as grazers of heterotrophic bacteria [8], trophically distinct from herbivorous protists like ciliates and dinoflagellates [9,10]. Following recent studies describing heterotrophic nanoflagellates feeding on diatoms much larger than themselves [11,12,13], Ohno et al [1] describe the trophic biology and growth of a diatomfeeding flagellate (Figure 2) recently discovered in the bottom sediment of Onagawa Bay, Japan [14]. Ohno et al [1] demonstrate that (a). This suggests that diatom-feeding flagellates may have a significant impact on diatom dynamics and play an important, though overlooked, role in benthos-pelagos coupling
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