Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective最新文献

{"title":"Boring Pattern of Isopods in the Intertidal Hard Mud Substratum of Gulf of Khambhat, With Two New Records From Gujarat Coast","authors":"Vaishali Prajapat,&nbsp;Kauresh D. Vachhrajani","doi":"10.1111/maec.70024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.70024","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The study of the burrowing and boring pattern is an important bioturbatory behavioral display that provides information about interactions of animals with their surrounding factors and habitat selection preferences. Previous studies have explored the boring activities of sphaeromatid isopods in a variety of substrates, including wood, polystyrene, and rock, across different regions worldwide. However, no previous reports have been documented on the boring pattern of isopods in hard mud substratum. Present studies were carried out on the silt-clay rich hard substratum of coastal mudflats at Kamboi, the northern innermost region of the Gulf of Khambhat, Gujarat. This habitat is selectively preferred by the isopod <i>Sphaeroma annandalei</i> Stebbing 1911, which is indicated by its abundance. To decipher the boring patterns, we examined the sediment blocks during low tides, took multidirectional sections of the exposed regions, and photographed the boring patterns. It showed that there were incidences of the bores of different sizes crossing each other. We primarily interpreted it as the borings of younger and older isopods. However, to further confirm, resin casting was done, which gave us a complex network of interconnected borings. It clearly exposed, for the first time, the continuous interconnected burrows of different sizes of individuals (0.56 mm to 4.75 mm) of <i>S. annandalei</i> in hard mudflat habitat. The study has recorded the presence of two species, <i>S. annandalei</i> and <i>Cirolana willeyi</i> Stebbing 1904, for the first time from Gujarat.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":49883,"journal":{"name":"Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective","volume":"46 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144171814","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fishers as Potential Dispersal Agents for Corals: Balancing the Impact of Small-Scale Fisheries on a Pillow Coral Bed","authors":"Kostas Ganias","doi":"10.1111/maec.70025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.70025","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Mediterranean Sea is home to the endemic pillow coral, <i>Cladocora caespitosa</i>, which thrives on stony or rocky substrates to form coral beds or banks. A <i>C. caespitosa</i> hotspot habitat was identified in the eastern Thermaikos Gulf, with densely populated, large colonies of over 0.5 m in diameter. Local small-scale fishers intentionally avoid operating in this area in order to prevent damage to their nets. The substrate in the adjacent fishing ground consists of a heterogeneous assemblage of soft substrates, mainly sandy sediments and patches of seagrass meadows, and scattered colonies of <i>C. caespitosa</i>. Nonetheless, the colonies were shown to be fragmented, and most were smaller than in the hotspot area. This indicates that this area is not the native environment of <i>C. caespitosa</i>, but rather transported from the hotspot region. Static nets, primarily trammel nets but also gillnets, were shown to capture <i>C. caespitosa</i> colonies, which are subsequently discarded by fishers and returned to the seafloor. It is thus anticipated that small-scale fishers contribute to the spread of the <i>C. caespitosa</i> population and the transfer from the hotspot area to the entire sandy zone, serving as potential dispersal agents. Indeed, the majority of <i>C. caespitosa</i> in the sandy region had living polyps present on them, and in many instances, the colonies attained the characteristic spherical shape. The role of small-scale fishers as dispersal agents of <i>C. caespitosa</i> colonies closely resembles the fragment-based transplant approach, applicable for the restoration of coral banks.</p>","PeriodicalId":49883,"journal":{"name":"Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective","volume":"46 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/maec.70025","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144171700","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Estimation of Foraging Grounds Based on Morphological and Molecular Analyses of Green Turtle Diets","authors":"Rina Sasamori,&nbsp;Satomi Kondo,&nbsp;Chiyo Kitayama,&nbsp;Kazuki Sadakane,&nbsp;Hidekazu Suzuki,&nbsp;Mitsunobu Kamiya","doi":"10.1111/maec.70026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.70026","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Green turtles, <i>Chelonia mydas</i>, migrate to the Ogasawara Islands for breeding once every few years. However, the foraging grounds of these turtles prior to their visit to the Ogasawara Islands remain uncertain. In this study, we examined the genetic similarity between macroalgal specimens collected from various coastal regions and macroalgal fragments in the gut contents of green turtles visiting the Ogasawara Islands in order to estimate their foraging grounds. A total of 4 green, 13 brown, and 3 red algal species were identified from the gut contents of 62 adult green turtles. Macroalgal species composition differed by year of green turtle harvest, but not by sex of green turtle. <i>Grateloupia angusta</i> and <i>Besa paradoxa</i> were the most abundant temperate species obtained from the intestines, but they are rarely distributed around the Ogasawara Islands. Therefore, the <i>cox</i>1 gene and/or <i>cox</i>2-<i>cox</i>3 spacer region, which are useful to detect intraspecific genetic diversity, were analyzed for the two algal species obtained from the intestines and collected from various sea coasts. Four haplotypes of <i>G. angusta</i> recovered from the intestines were identical to specimens from some Japanese Pacific coasts and Korean islands. In contrast, a single haplotype of <i>B. paradoxa</i> retrieved from the intestines was identical to that of specimens from Enoshima, which is close to Tokyo. These data suggest that green turtles may have come to the Ogasawara Islands from different foraging grounds depending on the year. Determining the origin of green turtle diets is important to better understand the migratory connectivity between grazing and breeding grounds.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":49883,"journal":{"name":"Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective","volume":"46 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144135738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Current Wild Population Status of Protected Mother-Of-Pearl Oyster Pinctada mazatlanica in Mexican Pacific Reefs","authors":"A. Beylán-González,&nbsp;J. Gómez-Gutiérrez,&nbsp;L. Huato-Soberanis,&nbsp;E. González-Rodríguez,&nbsp;C. Sánchez","doi":"10.1111/maec.70007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.70007","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The mother-of-pearl oyster <i>Pinctada mazatlanica</i> (Hanley, 1856) obtained full protection from the Mexican government after the fishery collapse in 1939. <i>P. mazatlanica</i> was listed in 1994 as a threatened species in the “Special Protection” category. However, no quantitative assessment of the state of the population has been done so far. Our study is the most comprehensive summer interannual monitoring program conducted so far in the Eastern Pacific using SCUBA diving censuses conducted in 314 sampling sites located along the Mexican Pacific between 1998 and 2021. We propose the hypothesis that although <i>P. mazatlanica</i> had full protection with the NOM-059, global warming reported in northwest Mexico has caused a decrease in the population abundance along the Pacific coast, which may render the protection effort useless. However, we demonstrate that <i>P. mazatlanica</i> was the numerically dominant macro–mollusk and occupied the 18th ranked abundance place compared with the entire epibenthic macroinvertebrate fauna that included 241 species at rocky reefs of the Mexican Pacific, particularly abundant along the peninsular coast of the Gulf of California. Population frequency size distribution of <i>P. mazatlanica</i> dorsoventral length showed positive population growth and latitudinally similar dorsoventral length range (2–30 cm, mode 14 cm when protandry takes place) along the peninsular coast of the Gulf of California, indicating a stable population in time and space. We observed high abundances in the central Gulf of California (Baja Peninsula), mainly from Loreto to La Paz. We conclude that <i>P. mazatlanica</i> is a stable and healthy population along the rocky reefs of the peninsular coast of the Gulf of California even during prolonged anomalous warm events in 2013–2016. Therefore, the present protection status should be modified accordingly.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":49883,"journal":{"name":"Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective","volume":"46 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144126022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Scavenging Behavior of Cyclammina cancellata (Foraminifera, Rhizaria) on a Crustacean Carcass: Amino Acid Nitrogen Isotope and Microbiome Analyses","authors":"Hidetaka Nomaki,&nbsp;Yoshiyuki Ishitani,&nbsp;Satoshi Okada,&nbsp;Noriyuki Isobe,&nbsp;Naoto F. Ishikawa","doi":"10.1111/maec.70023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.70023","url":null,"abstract":"<p><i>Cyclammina cancellata</i> is a common benthic foraminifer found at bathyal depths across the world's oceans. Despite its important role in deep-sea food webs and biogeochemical cycles, the feeding habits of this species remain poorly understood. In this study, we document an aggregation of <i>C. cancellata</i> on a crustacean carcass at a depth of 750 m in the upper bathyal zone of Sagami Bay, Japan. Over 40 specimens of <i>C. cancellata</i> were observed on a crustacean carcass approximately 3 cm in length, with few other foraminiferal species, such as <i>Lobatula wuellestorfi</i> and <i>Globobulimina affinis</i>, present. To investigate whether the carcass served as a food source, we employed two recently developed techniques: individual amino acid nitrogen isotope analysis and metabarcoding. The nitrogen isotopic compositions of phenylalanine, which is an indicator of the primary producer in the food source, were similar across <i>C. cancellata</i> individuals and the carcass, suggesting that <i>C. cancellata</i> derives its nutrition from the carcass. Based on microbiome analyses of the crustacean carcass and the foraminifers, some potential endobiotic bacteria present in the foraminifer may be responsible for the degradation of the carcass. These findings suggest that <i>C. cancellata</i> may scavenge animal carcasses that fall to the deep-sea floor, while also acting as a deposit feeder when carcasses are unavailable. Given its wide geographic distribution and high individual and population biomass, <i>C. cancellata</i> likely plays a significant role in the degradation of both photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic organic matter that reaches the deep-sea floor.</p>","PeriodicalId":49883,"journal":{"name":"Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective","volume":"46 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/maec.70023","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144108868","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative Metabarcoding Analysis of Bacterial Communities and Functional Profiles in the Seaweed and Mangrove Blue Carbon Ecosystems of Goa, India","authors":"Ashutosh Shankar Parab,&nbsp;Mayukhmita Ghose,&nbsp;Vitasta Jad,&nbsp;Sumit Sudhir Phakatkar,&nbsp;Aiswarya Kalathil Jayan,&nbsp;Cathrine Sumathi Manohar","doi":"10.1111/maec.70020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.70020","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Seaweed and mangrove ecosystems, as integral components of the blue carbon habitat, play pivotal roles in global carbon sequestration and coastal protection. This study explores the bacterial communities and their functional profiles from the coastal habitats of Goa, emphasising their critical roles in the blue carbon ecosystems. The bacterial diversity based on the metabarcoding analysis of the V3–V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was assessed from the seaweed habitats at Dona Paula and the mangrove ecosystem at Chorao, Goa. Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria and Actinobacteria dominated the seaweed ecosystems. In contrast, mangrove ecosystems had a more complex microbiota, including Firmicutes and Planctomycetes, which thrive in anaerobic conditions. A comparative reanalysis of taxonomic and functional profiles from the study locations and seven additional locations from different seaweed and mangrove ecosystems of Goa reported in previous studies was also carried out to understand the temporal changes from 2017 to 2024. The results showed a significant presence of Firmicutes at selected locations, with an increased abundance of pathogenic taxa such as <i>Bacillus</i>, <i>Clostridium</i> and <i>Shewanella</i>. These locations, Anjuna, Hawaii and Bogmolo in the seaweed and Ribandar, Panaji and Campal in the mangrove habitats of Goa, were situated near urban regions and influenced by anthropogenic activities, including tourism and urban runoff. Analysis of the bacterial functional profiles also showed an increased representation of the genes associated with xenobiotic biodegradation pathways in these locations. These findings emphasise the urgent need for effective conservation strategies to protect these vital ecosystems against the rising threats of anthropogenic pressures, pollution and climate change.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":49883,"journal":{"name":"Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective","volume":"46 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144074572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Can the Movement of the Deep-Sea Bivalve Acesta excavata Lead to a Dynamic Habitat?","authors":"D. Sacco,&nbsp;P. Cardinale,&nbsp;S. P. Canese,&nbsp;F. Cardone,&nbsp;S. Greco,&nbsp;R. Danovaro","doi":"10.1111/maec.70018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.70018","url":null,"abstract":"<p><i>Acesta excavata</i> is one of the largest and ecologically relevant bivalves along continental margins and is often associated with cold-water coral assemblages of the upper bathyal zone. Like other habitat-forming species, <i>A. excavata</i> contributes to increasing the secondary substrata and provides opportunities for the colonization and feeding of other sessile and mobile organisms. Despite most of the bivalves producing byssus being thought to be sessile or sedentary throughout their adult life stages, some species are known to be able to displace. Here we investigated, in mesocosm conditions, the ability of this deep-sea species to move/displace and compared its mobility with that of other shallow-water species. We report here for the first time that <i>A. excavata</i> moves almost continuously, with a maximum speed of 6.5 cm day⁻¹ (maximum weekly displacement of ca 28 cm), with average speeds of approximately 0.3–1.3 cm per day. This speed is the highest value reported so far for byssus-attached bivalves (including <i>Mytilus</i> spp. and <i>Pictada imbricata radiata</i>). The movement of these bivalves, apparently due to the search for optimal feeding and substratum characteristics, can displace the habitat they create in response to changes in environmental and ecological conditions. These findings offer new opportunities for using this species in restoration protocols of deep-sea habitats and change our view of deep-sea hard bottoms from static to dynamic entities.</p>","PeriodicalId":49883,"journal":{"name":"Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective","volume":"46 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/maec.70018","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143944644","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multi-Species Fish Foraging Associations Involving Common Sydney Octopus With Crimsonband Wrasse, Günther's Wrasse and Yellowfin Bream","authors":"Kimberley J. Pryor,&nbsp;Ashley M. Milton","doi":"10.1111/maec.70021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.70021","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Multi-species fish foraging associations occur when individuals from two or more aquatic species forage with one another. Associations involving octopuses have been documented in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the Red Sea. To determine which fishes interact with an octopus species in temperate coastal waters off eastern Australia, we video-recorded foraging common Sydney octopus, <i>Octopus tetricus</i>, at Fly Point in the Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park, New South Wales. This study provides evidence that crimsonband wrasse and Günther's wrasse from family Labridae and yellowfin bream from family Sparidae attend common Sydney octopus. The octopuses and attendants did not behave aggressively towards each other. However, aggression between different attendants and agonistic interactions between wrasses were observed. Octopuses produce visual cues, such as appearance changes and substrate disturbances, which may have attracted attendants. Following an octopus is a novel feeding behaviour that appears to be learned by only some individuals in each attendant species. These findings will improve our understanding of interspecies interactions and trophic relationships in temperate coastal marine ecosystems.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":49883,"journal":{"name":"Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective","volume":"46 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143938790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Meiofauna in Rhodolith Beds on the Continental Shelf of the Potiguar Basin (Brazil)","authors":"P. J. P. Santos,&nbsp;A. P. Wandeness,&nbsp;C. C. Lucena,&nbsp;A. M. Esteves,&nbsp;P. F. Neres,&nbsp;A. Manoel,&nbsp;E. Gomes-Junior,&nbsp;M. F. Rocha","doi":"10.1111/maec.70019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.70019","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In continental shelves of tropical areas, ecological studies on meiofauna are scarce and most studies were mainly based on a single sampling event or limited spatial design. Along the Potiguar Basin continental shelf, carbonate sediments, produced by calcareous algae (rhodoliths) and corals, dominate. The ecology of rhodolith beds has been the subject of relatively few studies despite this ecosystem being under strong pressure due to its large economic potential, especially in poorly known tropical areas, and because of global climate change that will likely have a profound impact on crustose coralline species. In the Potiguar Basin, oil spill hazards should also be considered as potential sources of stress due to its history of oil and gas exploration in both onshore and offshore areas. This study focuses on the spatial and temporal patterns of meiofauna communities and their relationship to natural variables. Four campaigns were conducted. Three replicates at four isobaths (5, 10, 20 and 50 m) were sampled, in which 20 stations, each at a distance of 20 km, were positioned, totaling five transects (T1–T5). For each of the Nematoda, Copepoda, and Tardigrada groups, which together accounted for more than 88% of total meiofauna abundance during each campaign, up to 100 individuals per replicate, when available, were identified to the lowest taxonomic level. Three hundred and twenty one lower taxa (species and genera) were identified, with an overall average density of almost 700 ind.cm⁻². The data indicate that the Potiguar Basin benthos has one of the most diverse meiofauna communities ever sampled, with densities falling within the ranges of similar continental shelf environments. Considering spatial variation, a large part of the meiofauna community variability was clearly related to the presence of the Açu incised valley. Despite the importance of spatial factors, which would suggest sediment parameters as the most important, our analysis indicated that ecological interactions may have the same importance in this eco-engineered system. Temporal variation was particularly evident in the density trend. We hypothesize that the much lower meiofauna densities observed during the 2014 campaigns were the result of a very strong seawater warming event during 2010, associated with the ENSO of 2009–2010, and a subsequent strong reduction in precipitation over several years, due to an anomalously northward position of the ITCZ. This hypothesis predicts that as climate change continues, there will be widespread modifications in the structure and functioning of meiofauna communities in rhodolith beds.</p>","PeriodicalId":49883,"journal":{"name":"Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective","volume":"46 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/maec.70019","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143879858","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing Fish Community Structure and Diversity Across Environmental Gradients in a Tropical Bay","authors":"Leonardo Almeida Freitas,&nbsp;Francisco Gerson Araújo","doi":"10.1111/maec.70016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.70016","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Understanding the relationship between species distribution and the environment across spatial gradients is crucial for biodiversity evaluation. We surveyed fish populations in a tropical bay, covering a spatial gradient from the outer zone with favorable marine conditions to the inner zone affected by human activities. The tested hypothesis is that natural environmental gradients (e.g., temperature, salinity, turbidity) and anthropogenic influences (e.g., pollution, organic enrichment) affect fish communities and that environmental filters reduce taxonomic and functional diversity in more impacted zones. Species richness increased, while fish abundance and biomass decreased from the inner to the outer zone. Only functional divergence changed spatially, being higher in the outer zone. This suggests changes in species but the maintenance of most functions. Fourteen functional groups were identified based on locomotion and food acquisition traits. Higher taxonomic diversity and functional divergence in the outer zone likely stem from greater resource utilization differentiation and more favorable environmental conditions near the sea, fostering species with distinct functional attributes. Conversely, the inner zone, burdened by high organic and pollutant loads, favors species highly tolerant of harsh environmental conditions, such as marine catfishes. Fish communities exhibited spatial changes due to environmental gradients and anthropogenic influences. Environmental filters altered taxonomic indices, while functional indices remained stable, except for functional divergence, which was lower in the most impacted area, partially confirming our hypothesis. These findings advance our understanding of environmental influences on species distribution along spatial gradients in coastal systems, proving to be a promising and increasingly utilized tool for ecological assessment.</p>","PeriodicalId":49883,"journal":{"name":"Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective","volume":"46 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/maec.70016","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143840524","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}