Marine Biodiversity - Topical Collections
1.
Biodiversity and Ecology of the Wadden Sea under changing environments
Guest Editors: Christian Buschbaum, Stefan Garthe, Helmut Hillebrand, Ulrike Schückel, Ursula Siebert
Climate change is one of the most significant risks to the Wadden Sea. One of the current key challenges of the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation is to identify how the effects of climate change, including sea level rise, will affect the structure, functions and characteristic biodiversity of the Wadden Sea. As an outcome of the 15th International Scientific Wadden Sea Symposium, the Topical collection “Biodiversity and Ecology of the Wadden Sea under changing environments” aims at improving knowledge of the current state of the Wadden Sea biodiversity and ecology. The collection shall include contributions on climate effects on biota, methodological and modelling studies, integrative approaches and future strategies and will examine both biological (birds, marine mammals, fish, alien species, sublittoral habitats) and socio-economic aspects to support stakeholders in management and implementation issues.
Closed to submissions.
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2.
Biodiversity in Abyssal Polymetallic Nodule Areas
Guest-Editors: Stefanie Kaiser, Nuria Sánchez, Tammy Horton
Polymetallic Nodule Areas located at abyssal depths globally are characterized by the presence of ‘manganese nodules’ on the sediment surface. The nodules contain metals such as cobalt, nickel and copper and are therefore important as a future potential source to supply the demand for these metals at a global scale. However, little is known about the actual species composition, the distribution ranges or the genetic connectivity of abyssal populations. In addition, a very high proportion of the species present in nodule areas are new to science. The present topical collection “Biodiversity in Abyssal Polymetallic Nodule Areas” aims at improving knowledge of abyssal biodiversity from these regions at a time, when deep-sea mining has not yet started and thus the abyssal habitats are largely undisturbed. This topical collection will accept contributions on taxonomic revisions and species descriptions using an integrative approach (morphology & barcoding), genetic connectivity, distribution and biogeography of abyssal polymetallic nodule communities. Contributions on potential mining effects on the biota and their recovery potential after mining as well as methodological studies for ecological surveying in the frame of mining impact are also welcomed. Authors are encouraged to include identification keys to taxa from the region to aid in identification as part of exploratory surveys and monitoring.
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3.
Systematics and Biodiversity of Indian Ocean Sharks, Rays, and Chimaeras (Chondrichthyes)
Guest Editors: David A. Ebert, Peter Kyne, Simon Weigmann
The Indian Ocean, especially the Western Indian Ocean, is a biodiversity “hotspot” holding one of the most diverse Chondrichthyan fauna’s globally with >400 species, of which 22 new species have been described since 2016; this represents ~34% of all new species named during this period. The region also has a high degree of endemism, with 60+ species, many of which have very restricted geographic ranges. The number of new Indian Ocean species being discovered does not appear to show any signs of slowing, with additional new species currently under investigation, especially deep-sea species. This topical collection issue focuses on the rich biodiversity of Indian Ocean sharks, rays, and chimaeras, with the aim of clarifying the taxonomic status and descriptions of new shark, ray, and chimaera species.
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4.
Interstitial and Cave Diversity in Atlantic Oceanic Islands
Guest Editor: Alejandro Martínez
The goal of this topical collection is to mainly promote research on marine biodiversity in cave and interstitial ecosystems in Atlantic oceanic at three levels: (1) description of new species; (2) ecological studies that might help to infer local and regional distribution patterns and its correlates; (3) inference of processes producing the observed patterns, using phylogenetic tools. The overall goal is to fill our gap on knowledge in these habitats, but also to improve our understanding of colonization processes of partially isolated habitats, including the role of Atlantic Oceanic islands in trans-Atlantic dispersal of marine species. Contributions focusing on Atlantic Oceanic islands along with other archipelagos or continental zones, are also accepted within this topical collection.
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5.
Biodiversity of Icelandic Waters
Guest Editors: Karin Meißner, Saskia Brix, Ken M. Halanych and Anna Jazdzewska
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6.
Seamounts and oceanic archipelagos and their role for the biodiversity, biogeography, and dispersal of marine organisms
Guest Editors: Hartmut Arndt, Kai Horst George, Manfred Kaufmann, Achim Wehrmann
In the past decades, seamounts and oceanic archipelagos have become increasingly of interest for biogeographic and biodiversity research of marine organisms. As submerged or emerged volcanic islands they provide numerous sporadic shallow-water habitats within the abyssal blue deserts of the world’s oceans, which is considered of eminent significance for several biological aspects. Seamounts and oceanic archipelagos may constitute highly productive “hot spots” of biodiversity for many benthic and pelagic communities; they may enhance dispersal possibilities even of the shallow-water benthos, acting as “stepping stones”; contrariwise they may – due to their isolated topography combined with special hydrographical conditions – form downright “trapping stones” for organisms inhabiting their summits, which on its part may lead to an increased endemism due to the evolution of exclusive species. A further aspect deals with the role of seamounts/oceanic archipelagos as so-called “staging posts”, as they may retain a continuous gene flow between distant marine areas, establishing and maintaining large meta populations of species. Furthermore, the formation of biogenic sediments on seamounts and the shores of oceanic archipelagos are closely linked with biological activity of the persisting communities, reflecting both the pelagic and the benthic signal depending on their interaction between topography and physical features. Many processes and theories are, however, not yet fully understood. Thus, the focus of this topical collection “Seamounts and oceanic archipelagos and their role for the biodiversity, biogeography, and dispersal of marine organisms” is the advanced understanding on some seamount and island hypotheses (e.g., endemism, island theory, island mass effect, stepping stones, regional/local refugia).
Submissions on any topic related to seamount and archipelago biodiversity (including biogenic sedimentology, biological oceanography, occurrence and species interactions of any marine organism, modelling, conservation and policy) are welcome.
Please submit your manuscript to https://www.editorialmanager.com/marb (this opens in a new tab)
Submission deadline: April 1, 2024
7.
Discovering the water column: integrated taxonomic approaches for measuring marine pelagic biodiversity
Guest Editors: Elaine Fileman, Jasmin Renz, Agata Weydmann-Zwolicka
There is a strong evidence that the abundance of many species is declining, and that species distributions have already been substantially altered due to habitat conversion, pollution, overexploitation of natural resources and, more recently, climate change. Consequently, losses in biodiversity are predicted for future scenarios worldwide, posing one of the major threats to marine ecosystems. Mitigation measures and management strategies require solid knowledge on ecosystem biodiversity causing a crucial need for assessment tools that provide comprehensive baselines of species richness and allow reliable monitoring of species communities. Morphological identification of many marine taxa is time-consuming, demands comprehensive taxonomic knowledge, and has been shown to often underestimate true diversity due to occurrence of numerous cryptic species. While taxonomic expertise remains the keystone for community monitoring, rapid advances in molecular and optical techniques have provided unprecedented opportunities to conduct taxonomic research more comprehensively and efficiently. They will therefore vastly enhance and accelerate the assessments of all groups of pelagic organisms, from genetic variability of individuals, through species, populations, and communities, to the whole ecosystems, and will foster understanding of interactions and functions on all levels, including changes related to natural and anthropogenic environmental pressures.
This topical collection will accept contributions on integrated approaches for understanding species diversity, distribution, biogeography, monitoring and functioning of marine pelagic ecosystems, including the wide-spectrum of ecological groups: from bacterioplankton through phytoplankton and zooplankton to fish and mammals, with a specific focus on the use of morphological, molecular and optical techniques.
Please submit your manuscript to https://www.editorialmanager.com/marb (this opens in a new tab)
Submission Deadline: July 1, 2024