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233 results for “marine biodiversity”
Higher thermal resistance of corals in the global marine biodiversity center
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Marine biodiversity patterns in coastal Australian waters revealed by a three-year environmental DNA survey
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Biodiversity, biogeography, and connectivity of polychaetes in the world's largest marine minerals exploration frontier
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Data from: environmental DNA reveals temporal variation in mesophotic reefs of the Humboldt upwelling ecosystems of central Chile: towards a baseline for biodiversity monitoring of unexplored marine habitats
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Environmental DNA metabarcoding reveals and unpacks a biodiversity conservation paradox in Mediterranean marine reserves
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Data from: Anthropogenic nutrient inputs affect productivity-biodiversity relationships in marine tintinnid assemblages
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Nearshore marine biodiversity of Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
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DNA metabarcoding marker choice skews perception of marine eukaryotic biodiversity
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Data from: Surrogate taxa and fossils as reliable proxies of spatial biodiversity patterns in marine benthic communities
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A large scale temporal and spatial environmental DNA biodiversity survey of marine vertebrates in Brazil following the Fundão tailings dam failure
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BioMar-ACG: A successful partnership to inventory and promulgate marine biodiversity
Initiated in 2015, the marine inventory of Área de Conservación Guanacaste (BioMar-ACG) is rapidly advancing knowledge of biodiversity. Key aspects include: synergizing with parataxonomists, barcoding specimens and making information available. After 85 years, 594 species were reported. Now, after four years, BioMar-ACG documented 1,123 species, for a total of 1,479.
A blueprint for securing Brazil's marine biodiversity and supporting the achievement of global conservation goals
<p><strong>Aim: </strong>As a step towards providing support for an ecological approach to strengthening marine protected areas (MPAs) and meeting international commitments, this study combines cumulative impact assessment and conservation planning approach to undertake a large-scale spatial prioritisation.</p> <p><strong>Location: </strong>Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Brazil, Southwest Atlantic Ocean</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> We developed a prioritisation approach to protecting different habitat types, threatened species ranges, and ecological connectivity, while also mitigating the impacts of multiple threats on biodiversity. When identifying priorities for conservation, we accounted for the co-occurrence of 24 human threats and the distribution of 161 marine habitats and 143 threatened species, as well as their associated vulnerabilities. Additionally, we compared our conservation priorities with MPAs proposed by local stakeholders.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> We show that impacts to habitats and species are widespread and identify hotspots of cumulative impacts on inshore and offshore areas. Industrial fisheries, climate change, and land-based activities were the most severe threats to biodiversity. The highest priorities were mostly found towards the coast due to the high cumulative impacts found in nearshore areas. As expected, our systematic approach showed a better performance on selecting priority sites when compared to the MPAs proposed by local stakeholders without a typical conservation planning exercise, increasing the existing coverage of MPAs by only 7.9%. However, we found that proposed MPAs still provide some opportunities to protect areas facing high levels of threats.</p> <p><strong>Main conclusions: </strong>The study presents a blueprint of how to embrace a comprehensive ecological approach when identifying strategic priorities for conservation. We advocate protecting these crucial areas from degradation in emerging conservation efforts is key to maintain their biodiversity value.</p>
Data from: Mediterranean marine protected areas have higher biodiversity via increased evenness, not abundance
<p>1. Protected areas are central to biodiversity conservation. For marine fish, marine protected areas (MPAs) often harbour more individuals, especially of species targeted by fisheries. But precise pathways of biodiversity change remain unclear. For example, how local-scale responses combine to affect regional biodiversity, important for managing spatial networks of MPAs, is not well known. Protection potentially influences three components of fish assemblages that determine how species accumulate with sampling effort and spatial scale: the total number of individuals, the relative abundance of species, and within species aggregation. Here, we examined the contributions of each component to species richness changes inside MPAs as a function of spatial scale.</p> <p>2. Using standardised underwater visual survey data, we measured the abundance and species richness of reef fishes in 43 protected and 41 fished sites in the Mediterranean Sea.</p> <p>3. At both local and regional scales, increased species evenness caused by added common species in MPAs compared to fished sites was the most important proximate driver of higher diversity.</p> <p>4. Site-to-site variation in the composition (i.e., ß-diversity) of common species was also higher among protected sites, and depended on sensitivity to exploitation. There were more abundant exploited species at regional scales than at local scales, reflecting a tendency for different protected sites to harbour different exploited species. In contrast, fewer abundant unexploited species were found at the regional scale than at the local scale, meaning that relative abundances at the regional scale were less even than at the local scale.</p> <p>5. <em>Synthesis and applications.</em> Although marine protected areas (MPAs) are known to strongly influence fish community abundance and biomass, we found that changes to the relative abundance of species (i.e., increased evenness) dominated the biodiversity response to protection. MPAs had more relatively common species, which in turn led to higher diversity for a given sampling effort. Moreover, higher ß-diversity of common species meant that local scale responses were magnified at the regional scale due to site-to-site variation inside protected areas for exploited species. Regional conservation efforts can be strengthened by examining how multiple components of biodiversity respond to protection across spatial scales.</p>
Data from: Marine communities on oil platforms in Gabon, West Africa: high biodiversity oases in a low biodiversity environment
The marine biodiversity of Gabon, West Africa has not been well studied and is largely unknown. Our examination of marine communities associated with oil platforms in Gabon is the first scientific investigation of these structures and highlights the unique ecosystems associated with them. A number of species previously unknown to Gabonese waters were recorded during our surveys on these platforms. Clear distinctions in benthic communities were observed between older, larger platforms in the north and newer platforms to the south or closer to shore. The former were dominated by a solitary cup coral, Tubastraea sp., whereas the latter were dominated by the barnacle Megabalanus tintinnabulum, but with more diverse benthic assemblages compared to the northerly platforms. Previous work documented the presence of limited zooxanthellated scleractinian corals on natural rocky substrate in Gabon but none were recorded on platforms. Total estimated fish biomass on these platforms exceeded one ton at some locations and was dominated by barracuda (Sphyraena spp.), jacks (Carangids), and rainbow runner (Elagatis bipinnulata). Thirty-four percent of fish species observed on these platforms are new records for Gabon and 6% are new to tropical West Africa. Fish assemblages closely associated with platforms had distinct amphi-Atlantic affinities and platforms likely extend the distribution of these species into coastal West Africa. At least one potential invasive species, the snowflake coral (Carijoa riisei), was observed on the platforms. Oil platforms may act as stepping stones, increasing regional biodiversity and production but they may also be vectors for invasive species. Gabon is a world leader in terrestrial conservation with a network of protected areas covering >10% of the country. Oil exploration and biodiversity conservation currently co-exist in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems in Gabon. Efforts to increase marine protection in Gabon may benefit by including oil platforms in the marine protected area design process.
Data from: Identifying patterns and drivers of coral diversity in the Central Indo-Pacific marine biodiversity hotspot
Biodiversity hotspots are increasingly recognized as areas of high taxonomic and functional diversity. These hotspots are dynamic and shift geographically over time in response to environmental change. To identify drivers of the origin, evolution, and persistence of diversity hotspots, we investigated the diversity patterns of reef-building corals (Scleractinia) in the Central Indo-Pacific, a marine biodiversity hotspot for the last 25 Myr. We used the scleractinian fossil record (based on literature and a newly acquired fossil collection) to examine the taxonomic and functional diversity of corals from the Eocene to Pliocene. Our data identify potential drivers of coral diversity through time (and space) in the Central Indo-Pacific by constraining the timing of taxonomic turnover events and correlating them with known environmental changes. Increases in taxonomic diversity, high origination rates, and changes in abundance of functional character states indicate that the origin of the Central Indo-Pacific hotspot occurred during the Oligocene, initially through proliferation of pre-existing taxa and then by origination of new taxa. In contrast to taxonomic diversity, overall functional diversity of Central Indo-Pacific reef-building corals remained constant from the Eocene to the Pliocene. Our results identify global sea level as a main driver of diversity increase that, together with local tectonics, regulates availability of suitable habitats. Moreover, marine biodiversity hotspots develop from both the accumulation of taxa from older biodiversity hotspots and origination of new taxa. Our study demonstrates the utility of a combined literature-based and new collection approach for gaining new insights into the timing, drivers, and development of tropical biodiversity hotspots.
Data from: The origin and evolution of coral species richness in a marine biodiversity hotspot
The Coral Triangle region of the Indo-Pacific realm harbors an extraordinary number of species, with richness decreasing away from this biodiversity hotspot. Despite multiple competing hypotheses, the dynamics underlying this regional diversity pattern remain poorly understood. Here we use a time-calibrated evolutionary tree of living reef coral species, their current geographic ranges, and model-based estimates of regional rates of speciation, extinction, and geographic range shifts to show that origination rates within the Coral Triangle are lower than in surrounding regions, a result inconsistent with the long-standing center of origin hypothesis. Furthermore, endemism of coral species in the Coral Triangle is low, and the Coral Triangle endemics are older than relatives found outside this region. Overall, our model results suggest that the high diversity of reef corals in the Coral Triangle is largely due to range expansions into this region of species that evolved elsewhere. These findings strongly support the notion that geographic range shifts play a critical role in generating species diversity gradients. They also show that preserving the processes that gave rise to the striking diversity of corals in the Coral Triangle requires protecting not just reefs within the hotspot, but also those in the surrounding areas.
Data from: A meta-analysis reveals global patterns of sediment effects on marine biodiversity
Sediment disturbances are important threats affecting marine biodiversity, but the variety of biological responses have not yet been synthesized. Here, we collate all available information to compare the extent of impacts across different taxonomic groups, habitat types, and pathways of impact (light attenuation, suspended sediment and sedimentation). Global 1979-2017 Coral, fish, seagrass, sponge, macroalgae, ascidian, bryozoan, crustacean, echinoderm, mollusc, polychaeta We used meta-analyses to evaluate the effects of sediments across 842 observations found in 110 publications. We also evaluated some of the biological and methodological factors that could explain the variable effects observed in different studies. We found a significant negative effect of sediments on behavioural responses, reproduction and recruitment, organism's morphology, physiology, community abundance and diversity, and species interactions. In contrast, the overall effect on abundance of individual species was statistically non-significant and there was a strong positive effect on abundance for sponge and polychaete species. Many individual studies described physiological effects on coral reefs, but effects on diversity of soft-bottom and coral reef communities were particularly detrimental. Phototrophic species were generally more negatively impacted by sediments than heterotrophs, driven by strong physiological responses in crustose coralline algae and seagrass. Additionally, species with limited mobility were more vulnerable to sediment disturbances than highly mobile species. Sedimentation alone triggered more consistently negative effects on most biological responses than light depletion and suspended sediments. We found evidence for increased impacts on community diversity when more than one pathway of impact was present, indicating that these disturbances can disrupt whole ecosystems. Our meta-analysis for the first time provided strong quantitative support of negative effects of sediments on marine biodiversity. Taxonomic groups, habitat types, and life history characteristics were most influential in determining biological responses to sediment disturbances, highlighting the importance of an ecosystem-based approach when fully accounting for the impacts of sediment
Data from: Biodiversity inventories and conservation of the marine fishes of Bootless Bay, Papua New Guinea
BACKGROUND: The effective management and conservation of biodiversity is predicated on clearly defined conservation targets. Species number is frequently used as a metric for conservation prioritization and monitoring changes in ecosystem health. We conducted a series of synoptic surveys focusing on the fishes of the Bootless Bay region of Papua New Guinea to generate a checklist of fishes of the region. Bootless Bay lies directly south of Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, and experiences the highest human population density of any marine area in the country. Our checklist will set a baseline against which future environmental changes can be tracked RESULTS: We generated a checklist of 488 fish species in 72 families found in Bootless Bay during a two-week sampling effort. Using incident-based methods of species estimation, we extrapolate there to be approximately 940 fish species in Bootless Bay, one of the lowest reported numbers in Papua New Guinea. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the Bootless Bay ecosystem of Papua New Guinea, while diverse in absolute terms, has lower fish biodiversity compared to other shallow marine areas within the country. These differences in faunal diversity, are most likely a combination of unequal sampling effort as well as biophysical factors within Bootless Bay compounded by historical and/or contemporary anthropogenic disturbances.
Data from: The role of a dominant predator in shaping biodiversity over space and time in a marine ecosystem
1. Exploitation of living marine resources has resulted in major changes to populations of targeted species and functional groups of large-bodied species in the ocean. However, the effects of overfishing and collapse of large top predators on the broad-scale biodiversity of oceanic ecosystems remain largely unexplored. 2. Populations of the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) were overfished and several collapsed in the early 1990s across Atlantic Canada, providing a unique opportunity to study potential ecosystem-level effects of the reduction of a dominant predator on fish biodiversity, and to identify how such effects might interact with other environmental factors, such as changes in climate, over time. 3. We combined causal modelling with model selection and multimodel inference to analyse 41 years of fishery-independent survey data (1970–2010) and quantify ecosystem-level effects of overfishing and climate variation on the biodiversity of fishes across a broad area (172 000 km2) of the Scotian Shelf. 4. We found that alpha and beta diversity increased with decreases in cod occurrence; fish communities were less homogeneous and more variable in systems where cod no longer dominated. These effects were most pronounced in the colder north-eastern parts of the Scotian Shelf. 5. Our results provide strong evidence that intensive harvesting (and collapse) of marine apex predators can have large impacts on biodiversity, with far-reaching consequences for ecological stability across an entire ecosystem.
Data from: Marine life in a greenhouse world: cephalopod biodiversity and biogeography during the early Late Cretaceous
Two end-member models are proposed to explain marine biotic responses to greenhouse conditions. Global warming and increasing sea level may: (1) promote dispersal of marine species, leading to larger geographic ranges and decreased speciation and biodiversity, or (2) form isolated epicontinental basins that host endemic radiations, leading to smaller geographic ranges and increased speciation and biodiversity. The Cenomanian–Turonian (C–T) interval, marked by greenhouse warming, sea level rise, ocean anoxia, and biotic turnover, presents an opportunity to test these two end-member models. In particular, how cephalopods responded to these global changes has not been clear. A global database of 7,262 cephalopod occurrences was used to evaluate biodiversity changes through the C–T interval. Both species- and genus-level diversity peaked in the Late Cenomanian. The global diversity drop across the C/T boundary was modest; rather, diversity was low during the Middle Cenomanian and Middle Turonian, times of brief cooling. Regional variations in diversity responses may reflect the degree and timing of environmental perturbations within different oceanographic settings. Surprisingly, cephalopod faunas in the European Platform, Western Interior, and South Atlantic all shifted equatorward across the C/T boundary, whereas other regions saw no change in latitudinal distributions. Global generic geographic ranges did not change through the C–T interval, but the percentage of cosmopolitan genera did increase significantly across the C/T, both globally and within the Western Interior and Europe, whereas cosmopolitans dropped in the Pacific and South Atlantic. Neither end-member model for biodiversity change in a greenhouse world is supported for C–T cephalopods, as diversity increased without an associated increase in geographic range. It may be that sea level rise and global warming led to both endemic radiations in epicontinental basins and an increase in cosmopolitan taxa in some regions, demonstrating the importance of combining global and regional scale analyses.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.