Marine Biodiversity and Geographic Distributions Are Independent on Large Scales

About 95% of earth living space lies deep below the ocean’s surface and it harbors extraordinary diversity of marine organisms. Marine biodiversity is an exceptional reservoir of natural products, bioactive compounds, nutraceuticals and other potential compounds of commercial value. Timeline for the development of the drug from a plant, synthetic and other alternative sources is too lengthy. Exploration of the marine environment for potential bioactive compounds has gained focus and huge opportunity lies ahead for the exploration of such vast resources in the ocean. Further, the evolution of superbugs with increasing resistance to the currently available drugs is alarming and it needs coordinated efforts to resolve them. World Health Organization recommends the need and necessity to develop effective bioactive compounds to combat problems associated with antimicrobial resistance. Based on these factors, it is imperative to shift the focus towards the marine environment for potential bioactive compounds that could be utilized to tackle antimicrobial resistance. Current research trends also indicate the huge strides in research involving marine environment for drug discovery. The objective of this review article is to provide an overview of marine resources, recently reported research from marine resources, challenges, future research prospects in the marine environment.

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REGIONAL RESPONSE OF MARINE BIODIVERSITY TO CLIMATE-DRIVEN SEA-LEVEL CHANGES: AN EXAMPLE FROM THE ADRIATIC SEA

10.1130/abs/2016am-286621 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Michal Kowalewski ◽

◽

Kristopher M. Kusnerik ◽

Daniele Scarponi ◽

Fabio Trincardi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

Adriatic Sea ◽

Marine Biodiversity ◽

Sea Level Changes

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Biogeography of acoustic biodiversity of NW Mediterranean coralligenous reefs

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-96378-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Lucia Di Iorio ◽

Manon Audax ◽

Julie Deter ◽

Florian Holon ◽

Julie Lossent ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Western Mediterranean ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Marine Biodiversity ◽

Predator Species ◽

The North ◽

Mediterranean Habitats ◽

Geographical Regions ◽

Nw Mediterranean

AbstractMonitoring the biodiversity of key habitats and understanding the drivers across spatial scales is essential for preserving ecosystem functions and associated services. Coralligenous reefs are threatened marine biodiversity hotspots that are challenging to monitor. As fish sounds reflect biodiversity in other habitats, we unveiled the biogeography of coralligenous reef sounds across the north-western Mediterranean using data from 27 sites covering 2000 km and 3 regions over a 3-year period. We assessed how acoustic biodiversity is related to habitat parameters and environmental status. We identified 28 putative fish sound types, which is up to four times as many as recorded in other Mediterranean habitats. 40% of these sounds are not found in other coastal habitats, thus strongly related to coralligenous reefs. Acoustic diversity differed between geographical regions. Ubiquitous sound types were identified, including sounds from top-predator species and others that were more specifically related to the presence of ecosystem engineers (red coral, gorgonians), which are key players in maintaining habitat function. The main determinants of acoustic community composition were depth and percentage coverage of coralligenous outcrops, suggesting that fish-related acoustic communities exhibit bathymetric stratification and are related to benthic reef assemblages. Multivariate analysis also revealed that acoustic communities can reflect different environmental states. This study presents the first large-scale map of acoustic fish biodiversity providing insights into the ichthyofauna that is otherwise difficult to assess because of reduced diving times. It also highlights the potential of passive acoustics in providing new aspects of the correlates of biogeographical patterns of this emblematic habitat relevant for monitoring and conservation.

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