The distribution and demographic patterns of marine organisms in the north Atlantic were largely shaped by climatic changes during the Pleistocene, when recurrent glacial maxima forced them to move south or to survive in northern peri-glacial refugia. These patterns were also influenced by biological and ecological factors intrinsic to each species, namely their dispersion ability. The ballan w...

The loss of Arctic sea ice is predicted to open up the Northwest Passage, shortening shipping routes and facilitating the exchange of marine organisms between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. Here, we present the first observations of distribution overlap of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) from the two oceans in the Northwest Passage, demonstrating this route is already connecting whale...

Mangrove Ecology, Leibniz-Zentrum für Marine Tropenökologie GmbH, Bremen, Germany, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, United States, Geography Department, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore, 4 Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, Yerseke, Netherlands, Climate Sciences, Alfred Wegener Institute Helm...

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide is causing a wholesale shift in surface seawater chemistry, potentially threatening many marine organisms that form shells and skeletons from calcium carbonate. Recent papers suggest that the biological consequences of ocean acidification already may be underway and may be more complex, nuanced and widespread than previously thought.

The equilibrium concentration ratio is typically the parameter used to estimate organism activity concentrations within wildlife dose assessment tools. Whilst this is assumed to be fit for purpose, there are scenarios such as accidental or irregular, fluctuating, releases from licensed facilities when this might not be the case. In such circumstances, the concentration ratio approach may under-...

The advent of molecular detection assays has provided a set of very sensitive tools for the detection of pathogens in marine organisms, but it has also raised problems of how to interpret positive signals that are not accompanied by visual confirmation. PCR-positive results have recently been reported for Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX), a pathogen of the oyster Crassostrea virginica in 31 of 40 o...

The North Sea has warmed in recent years and there is an ongoing debate into how this is affecting the distribution of fishes and other marine organisms. Of particular interest is the commercially important Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.), which has declined sharply in abundance in the North Sea over the past 20 years. Observations of the temperature experienced by 129 individual cod throughout ...

We describe a forward-time haploid reproduction model with a constant population size that includes life history characteristics common to many marine organisms. We develop coalescent approximations for sample gene genealogies under this model and use these to predict patterns of genetic variation. Depending on the behavior of the underlying parameters of the model, the approximations are coale...

We investigated species diversity and distribution patterns of the marine red alga Portieria in the Philippine archipelago. Species boundaries were tested based on mitochondrial, plastid and nuclear encoded loci, using a general mixed Yule-coalescent (GMYC) model-based approach and a bayesian multilocus species delimitation method. The outcome of the GMYC analysis of the mitochondrial encoded c...

Recently, there has been a concerted research effort by marine scientists to quantify the sensitivity of marine organisms to ocean acidification (OA). Empirical data generated by this research have been used to predict changes to marine ecosystem health, biodiversity and productivity that will be caused by continued acidification. These studies have also found that the effects of OA on marine o...