Disconnect between settlement and fishery recruitment driven by decadal changes in nearshore habitats.

Submerged vegetation is critical to marine ecosystems and can function as recruitment habitats for commercially targeted species, such as the highly valuable Western Rock Lobster Panulirus cygnus. The development of vegetation indices for marine remote sensing has made tracking the extent and change of submerged vegetation in space and time possible. Vegetation changes may directly or indirectly affect the recruitment and population dynamics of animals that depend on these habitats.

Can juvenile supply predict future abundance of large-bodied reef fishes?

The extent to which juvenile abundance can predict future populations of lethrinids at Ningaloo Reef was assessed using size frequency data collected over 13 consecutive years. Annual abundance of juvenile lethrinids (<5 cm TL) was highest in northern Ningaloo during La Niña years, when seawater is warmer and oceanic currents stronger. Juvenile lethrinid abundance explained 35% of the variance in 1-2 year-old Lethrinus nebulosus abundance the following year, a steeper relationship in the north suggesting greater survival of juveniles.

Predicting suitable habitats for foraging and migration in Eastern Indian Ocean pygmy blue whales from satellite tracking data.

Background: Accurate predictions of animal occurrence in time and space are crucial for informing and implementing science-based management strategies for threatened species.

Methods: We compiled known, available satellite tracking data for pygmy blue whales in the Eastern Indian Ocean (n = 38), applied movement models to define low (foraging and reproduction) and high (migratory) move persistence underlying location estimates and matched these with environmental data. We then used machine learning models to identify the relationship between whale occurrence and environment, and predict foraging and migration habitat suitability in Australia and Southeast Asia.

Mesophotic benthic communities associated with a submerged palaeoshoreline in Western Australia.

Key ecological features (KEFs) are elements of Australia's Commonwealth marine environment considered to be important for biodiversity or ecosystem function, yet many KEFs are poorly researched, which can impede effective decision-making about future development and conservation. This study investigates a KEF positioned over the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) shoreline on the northwest shelf of Australia (known as the 'Ancient Coastline at ~125m depth contour'; AC125). Seafloor bathymetry, sedimentology and benthic habitats were characterised within five study areas using multibeam sonar, sediment samples and towed video imagery.

The use of singlebeam echo-sounder depth data to produce demersal fish distribution models that are comparable to models produced using multibeam echo-sounder depth.

Seafloor characteristics can help in the prediction of fish distribution, which is required for fisheries and conservation management. Despite this, only 5%-10% of the world's seafloor has been mapped at high resolution, as it is a time-consuming and expensive process. Multibeam echo-sounders (MBES) can produce high-resolution bathymetry and a broad swath coverage of the seafloor, but require greater financial and technical resources for operation and data analysis than singlebeam echo-sounders (SBES).

Increased connectivity and depth improve the effectiveness of marine reserves.

Marine reserves are a key tool for the conservation of marine biodiversity, yet only ~2.5% of the world's oceans are protected. The integration of marine reserves into connected networks representing all habitats has been encouraged by international agreements, yet the benefits of this design has not been tested empirically.

A quantitative comparison of towed-camera and diver-camera transects for monitoring coral reefs.

Novel tools and methods for monitoring marine environments can improve efficiency but must not compromise long-term data records. Quantitative comparisons between new and existing methods are therefore required to assess their compatibility for monitoring. Monitoring of shallow water coral reefs is typically conducted using diver-based collection of benthic images along transects.

Comment on 'Lack of evidence for associative learning in pea plants'.

In 2016 we reported evidence for associative learning in plants (Gagliano et al., 2016). In view of the far-reaching implications of this finding we welcome the attempt made by Markel to replicate our study (Markel, 2020).

Towards modelling the future risk of cyclone wave damage to the world's coral reefs.

Tropical cyclones generate extreme waves that can damage coral reef communities. Recovery typically requires up to a decade, driving the trajectory of coral community structure. Coral reefs have evolved over millennia with cyclones.

No evidence of damage to the soft tissue or skeletal integrity of mesophotic corals exposed to a 3D marine seismic survey.

Scleractinian corals, primarily plate corals in families Agaricidae and Acroporidae, were monitored in situ before, during and after a 3D marine seismic survey. An initial four day seismic run, resulting in a maximum 24 h received sound exposure level (SEL) of 204 dB re 1 μPa·s and received 0-to-peak pressure (PK Pressure) of 226 dB re 1 μPa, had no detectable effect on soft tissues or skeletal integrity. Subsequently, a full marine seismic survey (Maxima 3D MSS), proceeded over two months and included seismic acquisition lines at 240 m spacing over the broader reef lagoon (South Scott Reef), generating maximum received SEL of 197 dB re 1 μPa·s and received PK Pressure of 220 dB re 1 μPa at the coral monitoring sites.

Climatic forcing and larval dispersal capabilities shape the replenishment of fishes and their habitat-forming biota on a tropical coral reef.

Fluctuations in marine populations often relate to the supply of recruits by oceanic currents. Variation in these currents is typically driven by large-scale changes in climate, in particular ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation). The dependence on large-scale climatic changes may, however, be modified by early life history traits of marine taxa.

Comparing two remote video survey methods for spatial predictions of the distribution and environmental niche suitability of demersal fishes.

Information on habitat associations from survey data, combined with spatial modelling, allow the development of more refined species distribution modelling which may identify areas of high conservation/fisheries value and consequentially improve conservation efforts. Generalised additive models were used to model the probability of occurrence of six focal species after surveys that utilised two remote underwater video sampling methods (i.e.

Characterizing ontogenetic habitat shifts in marine fishes: advancing nascent methods for marine spatial management.

Niche requirements and habitat resource partitioning by conspecific fishes of different sizes are significant knowledge gaps in the species distribution modelling domain. Management actions and operations are typically concentrated on static habitats, or specific areas of interest, without considering movement patterns of species associated with ontogenetic shifts in habitat usage. Generalized additive models were used to model the body-length-habitat relationships of six fish species.

Improving spatial prioritisation for remote marine regions: optimising biodiversity conservation and sustainable development trade-offs.

Creating large conservation zones in remote areas, with less intense stakeholder overlap and limited environmental information, requires periodic review to ensure zonation mitigates primary threats and fill gaps in representation, while achieving conservation targets. Follow-up reviews can utilise improved methods and data, potentially identifying new planning options yielding a desirable balance between stakeholder interests. This research explored a marine zoning system in north-west Australia-a biodiverse area with poorly documented biota.

Influence of nursery microhabitats on the future abundance of a coral reef fish.

Species habitat associations are often complex, making it difficult to assess their influence on populations. Among coral reef fishes, habitat requirements vary among species and with ontogeny, but the relative importance of nursery and adult-preferred habitats on future abundances remain unclear. Moreover, adult populations may be influenced by recruitment of juveniles and assessments of habitat importance should consider relative effects of juvenile abundance.

Integrating Climate Change Resilience Features into the Incremental Refinement of an Existing Marine Park.

Marine protected area (MPA) designs are likely to require iterative refinement as new knowledge is gained. In particular, there is an increasing need to consider the effects of climate change, especially the ability of ecosystems to resist and/or recover from climate-related disturbances, within the MPA planning process. However, there has been limited research addressing the incorporation of climate change resilience into MPA design.

Climate-driven regime shift of a temperate marine ecosystem.

Ecosystem reconfigurations arising from climate-driven changes in species distributions are expected to have profound ecological, social, and economic implications. Here we reveal a rapid climate-driven regime shift of Australian temperate reef communities, which lost their defining kelp forests and became dominated by persistent seaweed turfs. After decades of ocean warming, extreme marine heat waves forced a 100-kilometer range contraction of extensive kelp forests and saw temperate species replaced by seaweeds, invertebrates, corals, and fishes characteristic of subtropical and tropical waters.

Models of Marine Fish Biodiversity: Assessing Predictors from Three Habitat Classification Schemes.

Prioritising biodiversity conservation requires knowledge of where biodiversity occurs. Such knowledge, however, is often lacking. New technologies for collecting biological and physical data coupled with advances in modelling techniques could help address these gaps and facilitate improved management outcomes.

A robust operational model for predicting where tropical cyclone waves damage coral reefs.

Tropical cyclone (TC) waves can severely damage coral reefs. Models that predict where to find such damage (the 'damage zone') enable reef managers to: 1) target management responses after major TCs in near-real time to promote recovery at severely damaged sites; and 2) identify spatial patterns in historic TC exposure to explain habitat condition trajectories. For damage models to meet these needs, they must be valid for TCs of varying intensity, circulation size and duration.

Species traits and climate velocity explain geographic range shifts in an ocean-warming hotspot.

Species' ranges are shifting globally in response to climate warming, with substantial variability among taxa, even within regions. Relationships between range dynamics and intrinsic species traits may be particularly apparent in the ocean, where temperature more directly shapes species' distributions. Here, we test for a role of species traits and climate velocity in driving range extensions in the ocean-warming hotspot of southeast Australia.

Unprecedented mass bleaching and loss of coral across 12° of latitude in Western Australia in 2010-11.

Background: Globally, coral bleaching has been responsible for a significant decline in both coral cover and diversity over the past two decades. During the summer of 2010-11, anomalous large-scale ocean warming induced unprecedented levels of coral bleaching accompanied by substantial storminess across more than 12° of latitude and 1200 kilometers of coastline in Western Australia (WA).

Methodology/principal Findings: Extreme La-Niña conditions caused extensive warming of waters and drove considerable storminess and cyclonic activity across WA from October 2010 to May 2011.

Environmental factors controlling the distribution of symbiodinium harboured by the coral Acropora millepora on the Great Barrier Reef.

Background: The Symbiodinium community associated with scleractinian corals is widely considered to be shaped by seawater temperature, as the coral's upper temperature tolerance is largely contingent on the Symbiodinium types harboured. Few studies have challenged this paradigm as knowledge of other environmental drivers on the distribution of Symbiodinium is limited. Here, we examine the influence of a range of environmental variables on the distribution of Symbiodinium associated with Acropora millepora collected from 47 coral reefs spanning 1,400 km on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia.