Marine Coastal Regions Research Articles

Integration of citizen science and eDNA reveals novel ecological insights for marine fish conservation

AbstractIn the face of climate change, the accelerating nature crisis, and other anthropogenic impacts, conserving biodiversity demands effective monitoring. While innovative approaches have emerged to enhance biodiversity assessment, significant data gaps persist, particularly within marine ecosystems. In this study, we assess the utility of combining citizen (community) science with environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding for characterizing and quantifying marine fish biodiversity. Over the summer of 2022, 32 volunteers conducted extensive water sampling in a large Norwegian fjord, yielding 96 samples. Contrasting eDNA findings with conventional observational surveys (such as a national species registration database and beach seine surveys) unveiled a substantial overlap in recorded species inventories. The eDNA citizen science initiative identified previously undocumented species and rediscovered others emphasizing an increase in warm‐water species within the study area. Additionally, eDNA data unveiled reduced diversity within the inner fjord relative to the outer fjord. To conclude, our study demonstrates the successful integration of eDNA within a citizen science framework, facilitating comprehensive biodiversity tracking across coastal marine regions. These findings hold promise for advancing marine conservation efforts by providing valuable data to inform critical decision‐making processes.

The temperate marine Peruvian Province: How history accounts for its unusual biota.

The Peruvian Province, from 6° S in Peru to 42° S in Chile, is a highly productive coastal marine region whose biology and fossil record have long been studied separately but never integrated. To understand how past events and conditions affected today's species composition and interactions, we examined the role of extinction, colonization, geologic changes to explain previously unrecognized peculiar features of the biota and to compare the Peruvian Province's history to that of other climatically similar temperate coasts. We synthesized all available data on the benthic (or benthically feeding) biota, with emphasis on fossilizable taxa, for the interval from the Miocene (23-5.4 Ma) and Pliocene (5.4-2.5 Ma) to the present. We outline the history of ecological guilds including primary producers, herbivores, predators, and suspension-feeders and document patterns of extinction, colonization, and geographic restriction. We identify twelve unusual attributes of the biota, most of which are the result of repeated episodes of extinction. Several guilds present during the Miocene and Pliocene are not represented in the province today, while groups such as kelps and perhaps intertidal predatory sea stars are relative newcomers. Guilds on soft bottoms and in sheltered habitats were severely affected by extinction, whereas those on hard bottoms were most affected by colonists and held their own in diversity. The Peruvian Province has not served as a biogeographic refuge, in contrast to the coasts of Australasia and Argentina, where lineages no longer present in the Peruvian Province survive. The loss of sheltered habitats since the Pliocene explains many of the present-day peculiarities of the biota. The history of the province's biota explains its unique attributes. High productivity, a rich Southern Hemisphere heritage, and colonization from the north account for the present-day composition and unusual characteristics of the biota.

The Spatial Distribution of Copepod Functional Traits in a Highly Anthropized Mediterranean Coastal Marine Region

Copepods dominate marine zooplankton in abundance and play key roles in pelagic food webs. These small crustaceans show high taxonomic and functional diversity. Although there has been considerable research on their taxonomy, only a few studies have focused on their functional traits. In this study, we analyzed the functional traits of 95 copepod species, considering their body size, trophic regime, feeding behavior, and spawning strategy. Based on samples collected during two surveys (autumn 2020 and summer 2021) located in the coastal waters of three gulfs (Gaeta, Naples, and Salerno) in the highly populated Campania region (the central Tyrrhenian Sea, NW Mediterranean), we identified nine functional groups of copepods with different characteristics. The group that comprised herbivorous copepods with feeding currents and a broadcast strategy was the most abundant in both seasons and all gulfs. This group was dominated by Acartia clausi, Centropages typicus, Temora stylifera, and the Paracalanus parvus complex. The other functional groups showed differences in their temporal and spatial distribution. Our study reports the functional diversity of copepods along the Campania coast, thus contributing to advancing our knowledge of the planktonic trophic structure in a region of considerable importance due to its marine resources and services.

Assessment of inter-regional dietary differences in anadromous Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) in Nunavik, Canada, and links with flesh quality indicators

Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) is a salmonid fish that is the second-most consumed country food species by Nunavimmiut. Its nutritional quality is determined by omega-3 fatty acids and carotenoid pigments. Those molecules cannot be synthetized by fish and must be acquired through diet. We sampled Arctic Char in 10 rivers from three marine coastal regions of Nunavik (Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay) and described diet (stable isotopes δ13C & δ15N) and flesh quality (fatty acids and carotenoids) and assessed associations between diet and flesh quality (including also bio-impedance and colorimetry). Our results suggested inter-regional differences in the diet and nutritional quality of Arctic Char in Nunavik where δ13C values indicated that diet in Hudson Bay was more pelagic, while in Ungava Bay it was more coastal. We also observed inter-regional differences in omega-3 fatty acids and astaxanthin, the pigment responsible for the redness of the flesh color, where concentrations were highest in Ungava Bay Arctic Char. In all sampling locations, Arctic Char were an exceptional source of omega-3 fatty acids and astaxanthin, confirming its importance as a high-quality wild food. Our models suggest that astaxanthin, canthaxanthin and water content influence flesh redness. Our data highlight inter-regional differences that could be taken in consideration to better predict the impact of climate change on fish quality and, ultimately, on Inuit diet and health.

Evaluation of Cs-137 and natural radionuclides on different marine biota (crustacean and fishes) along Beheira governorate Coast-Egypt: RESRAD biota

Purpose This work will focused on the environmental and radio-ecological impacts occurred on an Egyptian coastal region, based on the radiochemical measurement of 238U, 137Cs, 232Th, 40K. The novelty of the study was cleared by the using of new technique showing the integration of two biological RESRAD models, lead to a probabilistic estimation of the radionuclides bioaccumulation in different consumed marine organisms and determination the probability of human cancer risk at different ages. Material and methods The 20 water samples were collected and mounted into clean containers, and their decay products, were measured in Bq.L−1, using different quality assurance tools. The study will used different statistical analysis and different RESRAD modeling codes were used in the study to predict the degree of environmental and radio-ecological impacts at the studied area, this will be helpful in order to define the impacts resulted from the transferring and accumulation of different radionuclides. Results showed that the highest human dose conversion factor values of (5, 10, 15, with adult ages) were measured in Th-232 (mrem/pCi) while the lowest ingestion conversion factors values were observed in artificial 137Cs. On the other hand the highest values of external risk factor in case of (5, 10, 15 with adult age) were observed in artificial Cs-137(mrem/pCi), while the lowest value of external risk factor with the same ages were observed in U-238. This will lead to continual monitoring of artificial Cs-137 in different marine coastal regions. The arrangement of the bioaccumulation value (BIV) in Bq.kg−1 which being calculated by using RESRAD-Biota in case of crustacean animals will be as follow: U-238 > Th-232 > Cs-137, while the arrangement of BIV in case of fish animals will be: Cs-137 > U-232 > Th-232. On the other hand the arrangement of Internal Dose Conversion factors in case of crustacean animals will be: U-238 > Th-232 > Cs-137. While the arrangement of Internal Dose Conversion factors in case of fish animals will be: Cs-137> Th-232 > U-238. Conclusion RESRAD code’s results showed that the arrangement of the bioaccumulation and Dose Conversion factors were depend on the type of marine living organism. RESRAD code also showed that there are increments of the calculated external risk factor values which resulted from the adult than all the infants (5,10 and 15 ages) ages this may be related to the continuous replacement of new human’s body cells during the growth stages. The study results showed that, environmental bioaccumulation impacts of the artificial Cs-137 were very effective in both marine living organisms and human as this will support the relation between the ingestion Cs-137 in the body(inside the soft tissues), and the probability of the human cancer risk. On the other hand, study results showed the importance of using RESRAD BIOA code for the EIA's ecological and radiological studies which should be done for any future industrial coastal .projects.

Otolith microchemistry reveals various habitat uses and life histories of Chinese gizzard shad Clupanodon thrissa in the Min River and the estuary, Fujian Province, China

Otolith microchemistry allows reconstructing the life histories and understanding the habitat uses of fishes. In this study, the relationship of Sr:Ca ratios and salinity from various environments, i.e. freshwater of the Min River, brackish water of the estuary and seawater of the coastal marine (Fujian Province, China), were built, revealing a significant positive correlation (p < 0.05). A total of 29 adult Chinese gizzard shad Clupanodon thrissa were collected in 2017–2020 for otolith (sagitta) microchemistry. The specimens were only collected from the Min River and the estuary, with none from the coastal marine regions despite same efforts input. The results confirmed that all 29 individuals hatched in either freshwater or brackish water. Four contingents were recognized based on various life histories, including three migratory contingents (Types A-C, N = 26) and one freshwater residential contingent (Type D, N = 3). The three migratory contingents were the freshwater-brackish migratory contingent (Type A, N = 12), the brackish-freshwater migratory contingent (Type B, N = 10) and the brackish-variable migratory contingent (Type C, N = 4). Only a small proportion of C. thrissa individuals (N = 4) migrated to seawater habitat during the first few months of lifetime, and most individuals preferred freshwater habitat during the first year. There were no significant differences between life history pattern and sex (p = 1.00), and between the number of fish migratory times crossing different habitats and age (p = 0.84). The lower reaches of the Min River and the estuary are confirmed to be important spawning grounds for C. thrissa, based on otolith microchemistry of this study and gonad histology of a previous examination. The findings have significant implications for the Min River and the estuary protection and fishery stock management.

Population structure of mud flounder Paralichthys orbignyanus from the south-western Atlantic Ocean.

The mud flounder Paralichthys orbignyanus (Pleuronectiformes, Paralichthyidae) inhabits shallow waters of low salinities and mud bottoms in the temperate marine coastal regions of the Bonaerensean Ecoregion of the Argentinean Biogeographic Province in the south-western Atlantic Ocean. Specimens of P. orbignyanus were collected from Lagoa dos Patos (LDP) (southern Brazil), Mar Chiquita (MCH) and Marisol (MAR) both located in Buenos Aires (Argentina), and San Antonio Oeste (SAO) in the San Matías Gulf, Rio Negro (Argentina). A fragment of the mitochondrial DNA of the Control Region and seven microsatellite loci were characterized. In the Control Region, P. orbignyanus showed high variability, low nucleotide diversity, mild population expansion and a coalescence time of 35,000 years before the present. Flounders provided evidence of a genetic structure between the sampling sites LDP, MCH, MAR vs. SAO. On the other hand, P. orbignyanus displayed a lower to moderate contemporary genetic structure among all samples except between LDP and MCH. With no evidence of isolation by distance, this analysis supports a model of limited gene flow that is likely to be associated with a consistent larvae retention in all sampling sites. In addition, the present connectivity is ascribed to a lower migration process from SAO in the San Matías Gulf congruent with the prevailing littoral drift.

High incidence of plastic debris in Andean condors from remote areas: Evidence for marine-terrestrial trophic transfer

Plastic pollution is an alarming environmental problem affecting diverse species worldwide. Scavenging birds are currently exposed to plastic due to contamination of their food sources. Here, we evaluated the ingestion of plastic by a threatened top scavenger, the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus), and the potential origin of the plastic. We analyzed the biotic (organic items from the diet) and abiotic (synthetic material) composition of regurgitated pellets in two remote areas of Peru associated with protected areas: a marine-coastal region and an Andean region. Condors consume mainly Pinnipeds and South American camelids in the marine-coastal region, and camelids and livestock in the Andean region. We found different sizes and varieties of plastic debris, with a very high frequency of occurrence (85–100%) of microplastics in pellets of both areas studied. The occurrence of microplastics differed between sites; although very high in general, the rate of occurrence and density were higher in the marine-coastal region. We also confirmed that carcasses consumed by condors in both study areas were contaminated with plastic. Therefore, plastic in Andean condors is most probably acquired through the food web in both the marine and terrestrial environments. Andean condors from Peru are highly contaminated with plastic, which may affect their health, population dynamics, and conservation. Moreover, as condors are apex scavengers, our results highlight the fact that plastic pollution in remote areas of Peru is present at different levels of the food web and in the environment. Urgent Action should be taken to reduce environmental contamination with this hazardous pollutant.

Marine Pelagic Ecosystem Responses to Climate Variability and Change

abstract The marine coastal region makes up just 10% of the total area of the global ocean but contributes nearly 20% of its total primary production and over 80% of fisheries landings. Unicellular phytoplankton dominate primary production. Climate variability has had impacts on various marine ecosystems, but most sites are just approaching the age at which ecological responses to longer term, unidirectional climate trends might be distinguished. All five marine pelagic sites in the US Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) network are experiencing warming trends in surface air temperature. The marine physical system is responding at all sites with increasing mixed layer temperatures and decreasing depth and with declining sea ice cover at the two polar sites. Their ecological responses are more varied. Some sites show multiple population or ecosystem changes, whereas, at others, changes have not been detected, either because more time is needed or because they are not being measured.

The use of citizen science in fish eDNA metabarcoding for evaluating regional biodiversity in a coastal marine region: A pilot study

To test the feasibility of a citizen science program for fish eDNA metabarcoding in coastal marine environments, we recruited six groups of voluntary citizens for a science education course at a natural history museum. We held a seminar on eDNA and a workshop for seawater sampling and on-site filtration using syringes and filter cartridges for the participants. After that, they selected single survey sites following the guidelines for conducting a safe field trip. They performed seawater sampling and on-site filtration at these sites during their summer holidays. The six selected sites unexpectedly included diverse coastal habitats within a 40 km radius, located at temperate latitudes in central Japan (~35°N). After the field trips, they returned filtered cartridges to the museum, and we extracted eDNA from the filters. We performed fish eDNA metabarcoding, along with data analysis. Consequently, we identified 140 fish species across 66 families and 118 genera from the six samples, with species richness ranging from 14 to 66. Despite its limited sample size, such a diverse taxonomic range of fish species exhibited spatial biodiversity patterns within the region, which are consistent with species distribution. These include north-south and urbanization gradients of species richness, geographic structure of the fish communities, and varying salinity preferences of the component species. This case study demonstrates the potential of fish eDNA metabarcoding as an educational and scientific tool to raise public awareness and perform large-scale citizen science initiatives encompassing regional, national, or global fauna.

Methodology for integral assessment of environment state dynamics and its components in coastal-marine region of Western Yamal

Recently, various monitoring programs have been operating on the territory of the permafrost zone, this is associated with both the development of the permafrost zone for various practical purposes, and with the growing interest of the scientific community in global environmental change trends (including the climatic changes). Under the influence of an anthropogenic factor or natural processes independent of humans, negative changes can occur in the territories occupied by permafrost, accompanied by environmental crises, natural or man-made disasters. To prevent such changes or take timely measures to protect and eliminate the consequences, it is necessary to understand the essence of the processes occurring in the permafrost zone, as well as develop plans for the balanced development of territories. The work is aimed at studying major natural phenomenon, i.e. the formation of specific geoecological conditions in the transition region from land to sea under climate change. The article discusses the proposed basic principles of the integral (point-rating) assessment of the dynamics of geoecological state of natural environment of the coastal-marine region of Western Yamal under climate change. The information basis of the proposed methodology for the integral assessment of the dynamics of the state of natural environment is the analysis of changes in the parameters/factors of natural and man-made environment, reflecting the composition, structure, and state of its individual components, and determining its geoecological state with climate change.

Bridging Indigenous and Western sciences in freshwater research, monitoring, and management in Canada

Abstract Mutually respectful and reciprocal relationships between people and their environment is a central tenet of many Indigenous worldviews. Across the Americas, this relational connection is particularly evident when it comes to freshwater ecosystems. However, there are numerous threats to these central relationships between Indigenous peoples and their environment. Using all available ways of knowing to conserve, prioritize, and restore relationships between Indigenous peoples and the environment they live in, and are a part of, is critical. Despite legislative requirements and policy commitments, developing and implementing inclusive approaches that bridge multiple ways of knowing remains a challenge. This systematic map examines the extent, range, and nature of published case studies that seek to bridge Indigenous and Western sciences in ecological research, monitoring, or natural resource management across Canada's freshwater aquatic ecosystems. A total of 74 Canadian case studies from 72 articles were included in the systematic map. There were 30 distinct species of focus across the collection of case studies. This systematic map highlights the diversity of ways knowledge systems can be woven, but that the application of these approaches is limited to some key regions (the Pacific and northern regions) and species (whitefish and salmon). The extent and nature of information provided with regards to demographics (e.g., gender, age) of Indigenous knowledge holders contributing to the studies varied widely and in general was poorly reported. Across all of the case studies included in the systematic map there were 78 distinct Indigenous knowledge systems represented. Fifteen different methodological approaches were identified with community‐based participatory research being the most prevalent approach. The presence and diversity of Indigenous methodologies employed was also notable and was greater as compared to a previous study of Canada's coastal marine regions. Collectively, these findings point to a potential emerging transformation in research focused on freshwater ecosystems, habitats, and species to a practice that elevates the role of Indigenous communities, centres Indigenous science and knowledge, and is informed by Indigenous ways of being and doing.

Source apportionment of PM2.5 at IMPROVE monitoring sites within and outside of marine vessel fuel sulfur emissions control areas

ABSTRACT Fuel sulfur emissions control areas have been established in a few marine coastal regions to reduce environmental impacts from combustion of high sulfur residual fuel oil (RFO). For example, in August of 2012, the U.S. began enforcing fuel sulfur limits on certain large commercial marine vessels up to 200 nautical miles (nm) of its coasts as part of a North American Emissions Control Area (NA-ECA), and in January of 2014, the U.S. began enforcing fuel sulfur limits on these vessels within up to 50 nm of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as part of the U.S. Caribbean Sea ECA (USCAR-ECA). This work evaluates ECA effectiveness at reducing PM2.5 from combustion of RFO by using both spatial analysis, comparing PM2.5 source apportionment at IMPROVE monitoring sites largely impacted by air from either inside or outside of an ECA, along with temporal analysis, comparing RFO combustion impacts pre and post ECA enforcement at sites largely impacted by air from inside an ECA. Source apportionment was performed using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) on chemically speciated PM2.5 data from 2009 to 2018. Results for 7 coastal U.S. IMPROVE sites influenced by marine air masses within the NA-ECA showed an annual mean reduction of PM2.5 from RFO combustion of 79.0% (range, 60.2% to 91.5%) when comparing impacts from the pre-ECA (RFO average 2.7% S) period of 2009–2011 to the ECA 0.1% fuel S period of 2015–2018. In contrast, the Virgin Islands, Big Bend, and Baengnyeong Island South Korea IMPROVE sites were impacted by RFO combustion and were largely or wholly influenced by air masses from outside of an emissions control area. These sites saw a statistically significant 14.0% increase, a 21.0% decrease, or no statistically significant change, respectively, when comparing time periods pre and post ECA enforcement. Implications: This study performs source apportionment on PM2.5 monitoring data to identify 10 sites impacted by residual fuel oil combustion, mainly from marine vessel fuel use. The paper then evaluates the effects of enforcement of marine vessel fuel sulfur emissions control areas at reducing ambient impacts of this source on PM2.5. This study uses both temporal analysis of the source apportionment results, comparing source impacts before and after enforcement of marine vessel fuel sulfur emissions control areas, and spatial analysis, comparing source impacts between sites largely impacted or not impacted by airmasses originating inside of marine vessel fuel sulfur emissions control areas.

How does the World Bank shape global environmental governance agendas for coasts? 50 years of small-scale fisheries aid reveals paradigm shifts over time

Small-scale fisheries are becoming a global social and environmental concern. The contribution of marine small-scale fisheries to global food security and coastal livelihoods, coupled with the significant challenges they face, has attracted increasing attention and aid from environmental organizations, philanthropies, and multilateral agencies over recent decades. Our study attends to the understudied role of the World Bank, the largest individual funder shaping present and future sustainability of coastal marine regions, as a key actor shaping global environmental governance paradigms. We asked how funding to the sector has changed over the last 50 years and why, outlining distinct patterns in the flow of small-scale fisheries aid and the underlying intervention models. We contextualize our quantitative analysis of aid patterns over time with qualitative interview data with bank staff, identifying underlying paradigm shifts driven by internal and external factors. More than $2.48 billion was allocated by the World Bank to marine fisheries over the last 50 years, approximately 47% (~$1.17 billion) of which was targeted to marine small-scale fisheries. Three distinct funding periods are identified: rising support to SSF from the 1970s to mid-1980s; a sharp decline in funding in the mid-to-late 1980s and low levels of funding throughout the 1990s; and a steady return to funding SSF in the mid-2000s up to the present. Over time, Bank-funded interventions shifted from pure economic development in the earlier era, to an emphasis on governance and multi-dimensional environmental goals in the recent period. To understand why, we used key-informant interviews to unpack major internal drivers: internal staff changes and presence of key individuals, the decentralization and recentralization of decision-making, and the organization’s shifting emphasis from traditional economic growth to multi-dimensional objectives of poverty reduction, among others. External drivers behind funding and paradigm shifts included pressure from the environmental movement, the rise of sustainable development discourses, key global environmental summits in the 1990s, and rising levels of interest in the fisheries sector by the governments of both donor and recipient countries. Processes of ‘paradigm shifts’ were not swift or singular, rather they were affected by multiple, convergent factors over time. Our findings contribute to the literature on multi-lateral institutions as key actors in environmental governance shaping global development thinking, illustrating the arc of the last half-century of fisheries aid at the Bank while highlighting present dilemmas and future challenges that actors interested in working towards sustainable marine small-scale fisheries face.

Role of iodine oxoacids in atmospheric aerosol nucleation.

Iodic acid (HIO3) is known to form aerosol particles in coastal marine regions, but predicted nucleation and growth rates are lacking. Using the CERN CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets) chamber, we find that the nucleation rates of HIO3 particles are rapid, even exceeding sulfuric acid-ammonia rates under similar conditions. We also find that ion-induced nucleation involves IO3 - and the sequential addition of HIO3 and that it proceeds at the kinetic limit below +10°C. In contrast, neutral nucleation involves the repeated sequential addition of iodous acid (HIO2) followed by HIO3, showing that HIO2 plays a key stabilizing role. Freshly formed particles are composed almost entirely of HIO3, which drives rapid particle growth at the kinetic limit. Our measurements indicate that iodine oxoacid particle formation can compete with sulfuric acid in pristine regions of the atmosphere.

Development and Evaluation of Olive Flounder cyp1a1-Luciferase Assay for Effective Detection of CYP1A-Inducing Contaminants in Coastal Sediments.

Flounders have been widely used as indicator species for monitoring the benthic environment of marine coastal regions owing to their habitat and feeding preferences in or on sandy sediments. Here, a single-step, sensitive, specific, and simple luciferase assay was developed, using the olive flounder cyp1a1 gene, for effective detection of CYP1A-inducing contaminants in coastal sediments. The developed cyp1a1-luciferase assay was highly sensitive to the widely used CYP1A inducers 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), and 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB 126). In the case of TCDD, significant dose-dependent increases in luciferase activity (0.3-300 ng/L) were detected. The assay was more sensitive to PCB 126 than to B[a]P. The assay also involved the highly sensitive expression of luciferase to extracted mixtures of PCBs and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) collected from coastal sediments. PCBs were more capable of cyp1a1 induction in the assay system at small doses than PAHs in environmental samples. Using the cyp1a1-luciferase assay along with water or sediment chemistry will certainly aid in diagnosing CYP1A-inducing contaminants in coastal environments.

Using GIS technologies to create a scientific and information geoecological base in Western Yamal to identify the effects of climate change

Climate change and marine conditions affecting the formation and evolution of the permafrost zone of the shelf and the continental margin of the Russian Arctic, is an urgent problem for the Russian sector of the Arctic. The results of long-term monitoring of the permafrost zone clearly demonstrate the degradation of frozen rocks both in continental and in subaquatic conditions of the western sector of the Russian Arctic. The coastal-marine region of Western Yamal is the most vulnerable and therefore model territory with climatic changes. The assessment of the dynamics of the geoecological conditions of the coastal-marine region of Western Yamal with climate change is impossible without a GIS component. At the same time, the study of geoecological processes and their mapping becomes especially relevant for the preparation of long-term plans for the development of climate-dependent branches of economic activity. The permafrost zone of the western sector of the Russian Arctic remains poorly understood. Climate warming in the western sector of the Russian Arctic is recorded after 1970. There is an increase in air temperature and duration of the warm period, a change in the amount of precipitation, and an increase in snow thickness.

Geoecological situation in coastal and sea area of the Western Yamal

An urgent problem is climate change and marine conditions affecting the formation and evolution of the permafrost zone of the shelf and the continental border of the Russian Arctic. The results of long-term monitoring of the permafrost zone clearly demonstrate the degradation of frozen rocks in both continental and subaquatic conditions of the western sector of the Russian Arctic. The coastal-marine region of Western Yamal is the most vulnerable and therefore model territory with climatic changes. Against the background of the observed climate dynamics, the study of geoecological processes becomes especially relevant when drawing up long-term plans for the development of climate-dependent branches of economic activity.

Evaluating the boundaries of marine biogeographic regions of the Southwestern Atlantic using halacarid mites (Halacaridae), meiobenthic organisms with a low dispersal potential.

AimWe evaluated traditional biogeographic boundaries of coastal marine regions in Southwestern Atlantic using DNA sequence data from common, rocky‐shore inhabiting, marine mites of the genera Agauopsis and Rhombognathus, family Halacaridae.MethodsWe investigated geographic population genetic structure using CO1 gene sequences, estimated divergence times using a multigene dataset and absolute time‐calibrated molecular clock analyses, and performed environmental niche modeling (ENM) of common marine mite species.Results Agauopsis legionium has a shallow history (2.01 Ma) with four geographically differentiated groups. Two of them corresponded to the traditional Amazonian and Northeastern ecoregions, but the boundary between the two other groups was inferred at the Abrolhos Plateau, not Cabo Frio. Rhombognathus levigatoides s. lat. was represented by two cryptic species that diverged 7.22 (multilocus data) or 10.01 Ma (CO1‐only analyses), with their boundary, again at the Abrolhos Plateau. ENM showed that A. legionium has suitable habitats scattered along the coast, while the two R. levigatoides cryptic species differ considerably in their niches, especially in parameters related to upwelling. This indicates that genetic isolation associated with the Abrolhos Plateau occurred in both lineages, but for the R. levigatoides species complex, ecological niche specialization was also an important factor.Main conclusionsOur study suggests that the major biogeographic boundary in the Southwestern Atlantic lies not at Cabo Frio but at the Abrolhos Plateau. There two biogeographically relevant factors meet (a) changes in current directions (which limit dispersal) and (b) abrupt changes in environmental parameters associated with the South Atlantic Central Waters (SACW) upwelling (offering distinct ecological niches). We suggest that our result represents a general biogeographic pattern because a barrier at the Abrolhos Plateau was found previously for the fish genus Macrodon (phylogeographic data), prosobranch mollusks, ascidians, and reef fishes (community‐level data).

Spatiotemporal evaluation of Xiphopenaeus kroyeri (Heller, 1862) abundance in a region of the Southwest Atlantic shelf

Several activities, such as port and fishing operations, exploit coastal marine ecosystems around the world, creating significant environmental impact. Since these activities often overlap spatially, they can interfere with each other. This paper aims to evaluate the spatiotemporal variability in the relative abundance of the Atlantic seabob shrimp (Xiphopenaeus kroyeri), caught in the central coastal marine region of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, where port activity takes place next to environmental protection areas. Commercial fishing data from a 6-year period (2009–2014) were used to perform this evaluation. Generalized linear models (GLMs) were applied to the catch and effort data, and model coefficients were used to calculate the catch per unit effort (CPUE, kg/fishing day), which was standardized per square nautical mile and year. Semivariogram and kriging techniques were used to evaluate the existence of spatial dependence in the data and to estimate the standardized CPUE in unsampled areas. Isotropic spherical semivariogram models were fitted using the least squares method, and they showed a pattern of spatial dependence for all years. Variation in Atlantic seabob relative abundance within the vessel demarcation area of the Port of Santos was similar to that in the area used for dumping dredged material, although the latter was fished more frequently, thus creating larger catches. Therefore, commercial fishing data can be used to evaluate the spatiotemporal variation in the relative abundance of marine species in coastal regions. The results suggest that fishing and port activities interfere with one another in the region of the Port of Santos.