More than half of the fish biomass coastal rocky reefs depends on zooplankton; however, trophic basis estuarine assemblages remains unknown. We quantified (i.e. basal energy sources) community inhabiting three habitat types (seagrass, natural reef and artificial reef) in two estuaries, compared with sites. Fish were surveyed Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUVs) species abundance, richness cla...

Marine seafloor ecosystems, and efforts to restore them, depend critically on the influx and settlement of larvae following their pelagic dispersal period. Larval dispersal and settlement patterns are driven by a combination of physical oceanography and behavioral responses of larvae to a suite of sensory cues both in the water column and at settlement sites. There is growing evidence that the ...

We have designed and implemented a comprehensive study of a major, land-estuarine system in the Acadian biogeographic province in eastern New England (Fig 1). Our goal is to develop a predictive understanding of the long-term response of watershed and estuarine ecosystems at the land-sea interface to changes in climate, land use and sea level and to apply this knowledge to the wise management a...

The filamentous green alga Percursaria percursa (Ulvaceae, Ulvales) was recorded for the first time on the North Island of New Zealand at Ōmokoroa Estuary, Tauranga Harbour. This species is previously known within New Zealand from only two records, both from the South Island. In Tauranga Harbour, this species was restricted to anoxic estuarine sediments where mangrove forests had been mulched, ...

Atrazine is a common agricultural herbicide that is readily transported into estuaries through surface water runoff. In this study, we determined the short-term (24-48 h) sublethal effects of atrazine on estuarine phytoplankton biomass and community composition. Phytoplankton group-specific responses to atrazine exposure (25 microgh(-1)) were measured using natural water samples collected from ...

Understanding the mechanisms that maintain biodiversity is a fundamental problem in ecology. Competition is thought to reduce diversity, but hundreds of microbial aquatic primary producers species coexist and compete for a few essential resources (e.g., nutrients and light). Here, we show that resource competition is a plausible mechanism for explaining clumpy distribution on individual species...

Coastal ecosystems provide numerous important ecological services, including maintenance of biodiversity and nursery grounds for many fish species of ecological and economic importance. However, human population growth has led to increased pollution, ocean warming, hypoxia, and habitat alteration that threaten ecosystem services. In this study, we used long-term datasets of fish abundance, wate...