Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science最新文献

{"title":"Carbon dioxide emission and dissolved carbon transport of a large lowland river entering the Gulf of Mexico under hydrological drought","authors":"Anamika Dristi ,&nbsp;Lishan Ran ,&nbsp;Siyue Li ,&nbsp;Y. Jun Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109465","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109465","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>River flows have been reported to export large quantities of dissolved carbon, via both lateral transport and vertical outgassing. However, less is known about how hydrological drought years can affect transport and transformation. This study investigated dissolved carbon dynamics in North America's largest swamp river, the Atchafalaya River (AR), under the historically dry conditions during 2021–2023. Discharging on average 200 km³ of freshwater annually into the Northern Gulf of Mexico, the AR makes a substantial contribution of terrestrial carbon flux to the coastal system. From June 2021 to May 2023, we conducted river measurements and sampling in the AR at Morgan City, which included partial pressure of dissolved carbon dioxide (<em>p</em>CO₂), water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, chlorophyll-a, colored dissolved organic matter (cDOM), and turbidity. From this 24-month study, we found a significantly lower <em>p</em>CO₂ (850–5422 μatm) and CO₂ outgassing rates (mean: 13.06 mmol m⁻² hr⁻¹) compared to previous years of 2019–2021 (pCO₂: 1130–8650 μatm; CO₂ outgassing: 19.70 mmol m⁻² hr⁻¹). Similarly, during the 2-year dry conditions, mass export of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to the Gulf of Mexico decreased to 4.21 Tg C yr⁻¹ and 1.78 Tg C yr⁻¹, respectively, from 6.40 Tg C yr⁻¹ and 2.40 Tg C yr⁻¹ in the previous wet years. River droughts lowered riverine carbon transport and transformation, likely due to the limited hydrological connectivity of the river channel with the floodplains. However, during both the wet and dry years, DIC concentrations were constantly higher than DOC concentrations, suggesting active organic carbon mineralization in the river water, and also in the soil organic matter.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 109465"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144713549","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A megastorm formation of a coastal lake basin (∼3.9 ka) and subsequent event chronology, southern Eleuthera, The Bahamas","authors":"Lisa E. Park Boush ,&nbsp;A. Myrbo ,&nbsp;I.V. Buynevich ,&nbsp;M.J. Berman ,&nbsp;A.V. Michelson ,&nbsp;E. Kjellmark ,&nbsp;P. Gnivecki ,&nbsp;Dawn Beamer","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109454","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109454","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Coastal geomorphological modification due to a superstorm around 3.9 thousand years ago has been documented through an integrated dataset comprising ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and lake sediment core records on a carbonate platform. The superstorm led to the formation of a storm-emplaced barrier, isolating a lagoonal marine embayment on Eleuthera Island, The Bahamas, resulting in the creation of a hypersaline lake basin. Originally, the area was a coastal mangrove swamp before the installation of the barrier. The lake basin developed on antecedent topography, with Pleistocene headlands bounding the embayment. Georadar surveys indicate that the barrier's origin was a single event, likely an intense storm. Shore-normal images reveal landward-sloping bounding surfaces and point-source reflections consistent with a surge barrier, in contrast to multiple beach-ridge sets of adjacent paleoshorelines.</div><div>The recorded event falls within a global period of heightened storminess between 4100-3700 YBP, serving as a southern datapoint that complements Atlantic seaboard records. The preserved barrier suggests that its installation was followed by a sea-level stillstand after the postglacial rise, aligning with regional and global sea-level records.</div><div>Post-impoundment, the saline coastal pond preserves a finely detailed hydroclimatic and hurricane record. These records indicate increased wetness in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic after 1300 cal BP, with a relatively stable period in the Bahamas from 1300 cal BP to approximately 300 cal BP. Hurricane proxy indicators reveal heightened activity between 3900 and 2000 cal BP, with additional spikes between 1100-1000 and 900-500 cal BP, coinciding with the Medieval Climate Anomaly. This study highlights the integration of geophysical and sedimentological data to reveal both stochastic and gradual processes shaping the evolution of coastal geomorphology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 109454"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144738809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ocean drifters’ displacement compared to Sargassum spp. distribution in the Mexican Caribbean","authors":"Eduardo Cuevas ,&nbsp;Abigail Uribe-Martínez ,&nbsp;Noé Arias-Martínez ,&nbsp;Laura Carrillo ,&nbsp;Oscar Reyes-Mendoza ,&nbsp;Miguel A. Rodríguez-Flores ,&nbsp;Héctor García-Nava ,&nbsp;Fernando Andrade ,&nbsp;Napoleón Gudiño-Elizondo ,&nbsp;Xavier Flores-Vidal","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109436","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109436","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Given the impacts of <em>Sargassum</em> spp. fluxes on the environment and society, there is a need to better understand the cover and displacement dynamics of this macroalgae at a local scale. The advances in telemetry and remote sensing technologies allow us to integrally assess the association between <em>Sargassum</em> coverage and the ocean surface movements at scales of tens to hundreds of kilometers. This study aimed to synthesize the displacement patterns of surface drifters and evaluate their association with historical patterns (2014–2020) of satellite-detected <em>Sargassum</em> coverage. Between 2019 and 2021, we deployed 20 satellite-tracked drifters (known as DORIS) in the southern Mexican Caribbean. Using multivariate tools, we assessed an overall residency time spatial index based on their surface displacement patterns and evaluated their spatial configuration. We compared the historic satellite-detected <em>Sargassum</em> coverages with the DORIS displacement patterns. The drifters depicted close-to-shore coherent shape displacement patterns and fast offshore streaming displacement. The region between southern Cozumel and Tulum exhibited the slowest DORIS displacement and, consequently, the longest residency time in the region, coinciding with the area where the satellite-detected <em>Sargassum</em> presence was characterized by high recurrence and intense, frequent episodes. These results enhance our understanding of a local oceanic recirculation area in the Mexican Caribbean, while also strengthening Mexico's technological capabilities for procuring resilient oceans and the essential conditions necessary for sustaining the livelihoods of local coastal communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 109436"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144724903","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seasonal shifts in microbial communities drive differential carbon accumulation and remineralization in the eastern Arabian Sea","authors":"Ashutosh Shankar Parab ,&nbsp;Mayukhmita Ghose ,&nbsp;Cathrine Sumathi Manohar","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109456","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109456","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Marine sediments are crucial to the carbon cycle, yet the balance between carbon burial and microbial remineralization remains unclear, particularly in regions experiencing seasonal variations. In the eastern Arabian Sea (EAS), monsoon-driven seasonal changes significantly influence the primary productivity and the associated microbial activities. This study investigated the bacterial community composition and its functions in coastal and offshore sediments along the EAS during the non-monsoon and monsoon seasons, using metabarcoding analysis to understand their role in sediment carbon dynamics. The results indicate distinct seasonal shifts in bacterial communities and predictive metabolic pathways. A significant difference in carbon dynamics was detected between coastal and offshore stations (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05), with slightly higher carbon values recorded during the non-monsoon season. During the non-monsoon season, the anaerobic bacterial taxa affiliated with the phylum Firmicutes, including <em>Bacillus</em>, Clostridiales and Planctomycetes class Pirellulaceae, were predominant, particularly in offshore stations, which were predicted to contribute to carbon retention through fermentation and nitrate reduction pathways. In contrast, during the monsoon season, aerobic genera from the Proteobacteria, such as <em>Idiomarina</em>, <em>Halomonas</em>, <em>Marinobacter</em> and <em>Salegentibacter</em>, were dominant and associated with functions including chemoheterotrophy, aerobic chemoheterotrophy and aromatic compound degradation, indicating enhanced microbial carbon processing that likely limited sedimentary carbon accumulation despite elevated primary productivity. This study emphasizes the dynamic nature of microbial communities in regulating carbon processing in response to seasonal environmental changes. The findings have significant implications for understanding the impact of seasonal changes on carbon storage and remineralization, particularly in coastal upwelling ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 109456"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144713061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Submarine groundwater discharge into a temperate tidal basin: Mapping and characterization by a multi-method and multi-scale approach","authors":"Ercan Erkul ,&nbsp;Tina Wunderlich ,&nbsp;Dennis Wilken ,&nbsp;Jan Igel ,&nbsp;Mike Müller-Petke ,&nbsp;Mathias Ronczka ,&nbsp;Tobias Splith ,&nbsp;Simon Fischer ,&nbsp;Benjamin Gilfedder ,&nbsp;Michael Ernst Böttcher ,&nbsp;Cátia M. Ehlert von Ahn ,&nbsp;Ralf Gründling ,&nbsp;Jasper Hoffmann ,&nbsp;Anna-Kathrina Jenner ,&nbsp;Erman Lu ,&nbsp;Till Oehler ,&nbsp;Wolfgang Rabbel ,&nbsp;Lasse Sander ,&nbsp;Jan Scholten ,&nbsp;Franz Schulze ,&nbsp;Ulf Mallast","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109445","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109445","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is considered as an important source of chemical substances to the oceans. Investigations of SGD need to consider varying spatial and temporal scales. They remain a challenge and require the application of different complementary detection and quantification methods. Our study focuses on the identification of fresh SGD (FSGD) in intertidal zones using the Königshafen Bay on the island Sylt, Germany, as an example case. We applied geophysical, remote sensing and in-situ pore water measurements to develop a suitable combination of survey methods for an efficient detection of FSGD. Our results provide detailed information on the occurrence and spreading of FSGD at scales ranging from meters to kilometers. We propose a stepwise approach to identify FSGD in intertidal zones as follows: First, orthophotos from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can highlight distinct tidal flat features characterized by brighter surrounding sediments and typical plant growth at possible FSGD sites. These can be mapped by large-scale electromagnetic induction (EMI), where possible FSGD patches appear as areas of higher electrical resistivity. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) can then be used to check the possible FSGD patches directly on the surface with high lateral resolution. The deep structure of FSGD can then be explored with Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) on targeted profiles to detect fresh water in the sediment through the zone of increased electric resistivity. Additional Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) measurements from the surface will help to estimate the water content of the sediments and to distinguish between clay layers and salt water containing sand layers. Finally, the geophysical results are verified by in-situ measurements of pore water salinity. Using this approach, 17 significant areas with FSGD sites in the Königshafen bay could be efficiently identified. These areas have a diameter of 30–60 m and are characterized by increased electrical resistivities of 5 Ωm to 30 Ωm and decreased salinity of 0–10 PSU with respect to the surrounding saltwater-saturated areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 109445"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144721685","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Trajectories in soil surface elevation during tidal restoration of heterogeneous coastal wetlands","authors":"Vicki Bennion,&nbsp;Alice J. Twomey,&nbsp;Jack W. Hill,&nbsp;Alex L. Pearse,&nbsp;Valerie Kwan,&nbsp;Mayara de Oliveira,&nbsp;Catherine E. Lovelock","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109455","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109455","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Coastal wetland restoration projects are increasing as the ecological importance of these ecosystems becomes more apparent. With sea-level rise, coastal agricultural land that was drained and closed off from the tide decades ago is becoming available for restoration of coastal ecosystems. Conversion back to coastal wetlands usually involves reconnecting tidal flows through the modification or removal of tidal gates. Knowledge of the links between differing levels of hydrological connectivity over landscapes, vegetation growth and soil surface elevation increments is limited but important for understanding changes in ecosystem functions with restoration. Using Rod-Surface Elevation Tables (RSETs), marker horizons, sediment pins and pressure loggers, we assessed how these factors combined to create different habitats within the Yandina Creek Wetland at the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. Over time, adaptive management strategies aimed at limiting tidal ingress onto adjacent land have led to high variation in tidal connectivity across the landscape. Monitoring hydrology, vegetation and soil surface elevation over four years found that duration of inundation and salinity were factors driving the establishment of mangroves, open water areas for birds and fish, and supratidal forests. Surface elevation and surface accretion within the restoration site were similar to that observed in adjacent reference sites, but were not correlated with the %time inundated, but instead by seasonal differences in rainfall. This research will assist future coastal restoration projects in similar drained landscapes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 109455"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144704718","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Benthic trophic status and spatiotemporal variability of macrobenthic assemblages in S'Ena Arrubia Lagoon (Sardinia, Italy)","authors":"Jacopo Giampaoletti ,&nbsp;Davide Moccia ,&nbsp;Maria Flavia Gravina ,&nbsp;Alessandro Conforti ,&nbsp;Giovanni De Falco ,&nbsp;Antonio Pusceddu ,&nbsp;Paolo Magni","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109452","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109452","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Quantity and nutritional availability of sedimentary organic matter (OM) are among the most important factors affecting benthic fauna dynamics. Despite this, the relative importance of food sources with different nutritional quality on the macrobenthos dynamics has been poorly investigated, especially in naturally eutrophic coastal lagoons. We investigated the spatiotemporal variations in the relationship between the macrobenthic assemblages and the quantity and nutritional quality of OM in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon (S'Ena Arrubia lagoon, Sardinia, Italy). Sampling was carried out at six stations selected at different distances from the sea inlet and with a different degree of confinement, in two dates in winter (February and March) and two dates in summer (June and July) 2021. The PERMANOVA tests showed significant differences among stations, seasons and sampling dates in the benthic assemblages, and the quantity and quality of OM. The DistLM analyses revealed that the photosynthetically produced OM (as total phytopigment contents) and OM freshness (as the protein-to-carbohydrate ratio), as well as the nutritional quality of OM (as the algal fraction of biopolymeric C), played a crucial role in influencing the spatiotemporal distribution of the macrobenthic abundance, taxonomic richness and composition, with the most significant correlations being detected for the deposit-feeders and detritivores, such as <em>Streblospio shrubsolii</em>, <em>Microdeutopus gryllotalpa</em>, <em>Malacoceros fuliginosus</em> and <em>Polydora ciliata</em>. These results suggest that a thorough assessment of the environmental quality of coastal lagoon's sediments should consider jointly macrobenthic metrics and the benthic trophic status, as assessed using complementary biochemical descriptors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 109452"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144704719","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Population dynamics of the potentially invasive Asian date mussel, Arcuatula senhousia, in Arcachon Bay, France","authors":"Xavier de Montaudouin ,&nbsp;Léa Baudot ,&nbsp;Guillaume Bernard ,&nbsp;Hugues Blanchet ,&nbsp;Cécile Masse ,&nbsp;Marie P.A. Fouet","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109448","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109448","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Originated from Asia, <em>Arcuatula senhousia</em> has spread globally and is often reported as an invasive species that alters benthic communities and ecosystem functioning. However, very few studies have focused on the population dynamics of this ecosystem-engineering mytilid, partly due to the difficulty in monitoring cohorts of this short-lived, fast-growing species. Through a one-year monthly monitoring of mussel in two distinct locations in Arcachon Bay, France, we observed higher growth performance and P/B ratio at the station closer to the main river mouth, confirming the species preference for brackish, estuarine conditions. Post-recruitment mortality was particularly high, exceeding typical bivalve mortality rates, likely due to the vulnerability of this small species at the sediment surface. Trematode parasites, absent in our samples, were not implicated in mortality. In both locations, the reproductive phenology was similar, with a prolonged spawning season centred in the warmer months. As of 2024, <em>A. senhousia</em> remains a colonizing introduced species in Arcachon Bay with relatively low densities. However, vigilance is necessary, as its population dynamics resemble those observed in the few areas where these data are available and where this species has become invasive.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 109448"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144702282","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Zooplankton community changes in a restoring estuary","authors":"Anaëlle Bernard ,&nbsp;Frédéric Azémar ,&nbsp;Tom Maris ,&nbsp;Patrick Meire ,&nbsp;Luz Amadei Martínez ,&nbsp;Céleste Mouth ,&nbsp;Elisa Bou ,&nbsp;Michèle Tackx","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109450","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109450","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study discribes crustacean (copepods and cladocerans) and rotifer abundance, diversity and community composition in the Scheldt estuary, during 1996–2022. Besides the ongoing envionmental change, increased wastewater treatment, followed by the alteration of the main Scheldt channel, have characterized this period. A combination of clustering, correlative and decision tree analysis was used to investigate relationships between zooplankton and the major environmental parameter changes. Since 1996, both crustacean and rotifer communities showed a clear chlorinity-induced separation between the brackish (LSS) and the freshwater (USS) estuary. The effects of water de-eutrophication are visible in both crustacean and rotifer communities, particularly in the freshwater reach. Recently, marks of marinization and intensification of dredging activities, partly linked to changes in phytoplankton are detected on the zooplankton.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 109450"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144702281","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Season and seagrass: drivers of fish assemblage structure in the Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania","authors":"Nicolas Compain ,&nbsp;Antonia I.M. Mallmann ,&nbsp;Ebaye Sidina ,&nbsp;Mohammed Bourweiss ,&nbsp;Mamadou Abdoul Ba ,&nbsp;Ismaila Samba Talla ,&nbsp;Alioune Niang ,&nbsp;Karim Erzini ,&nbsp;Ester A. Serrão","doi":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109451","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109451","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Banc d’Arguin is the most ecologically significant coastal wetland of West Africa, a UNESCO Marine World Heritage area with one of the most extensive seagrass areas on Earth, used by many marine species as breeding and/or feeding habitat. However, little is known about the subtidal biodiversity supported by these extensive seagrass meadows. This study aimed to assess the influence of subtidal seagrass vegetation on fish assemblages, using beach seines to compare vegetated and unvegetated habitat. Effects of season and site were also assessed. We sampled fish communities predominantly composed of juveniles (98.7 %). Specifically, we analyzed differences in abundance, species richness, diversity, evenness, and assemblage structure across these factors. Season was the most influential driver of fish assemblage structure, even more than habitat, as expected in a nursery area where fish reproduce seasonally. Notably, four species - <em>Atherina boyeri</em>, <em>Eucinostomus melanopterus</em>, <em>Mugil capurrii</em>, and <em>Chelon dumerili</em> - accounted for 53.7 % and 49.2 % of the variation in assemblages across habitat and season, respectively. Moreover, four times as many species were found exclusively in seagrass habitats compared to unvegetated areas, underscoring the critical role of seagrass meadows in the Banc d'Arguin in supporting species that depend on such shallow sheltered habitats, enhancing regional biodiversity, and contributing to the sustainability of fisheries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50497,"journal":{"name":"Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 109451"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144766407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}