Biooceanography articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article |

    Trace elements and their isotopes are powerful as tracers in the modern ocean and proxies for oceans of the past, although there are limited data for elements such as copper. Here, the authors present copper isotope data from both seawater and rainwater, providing insight into marine biogeochemical cycling.

    • Shotaro Takano
    • , Masaharu Tanimizu
    •  & Yoshiki Sohrin

  • Article |

    Species richness of predators in Pacific coral reef communities is less sensitive to habitat isolation than the species richness of their prey. Here, Stier et al. develop a colonization–extinction model to show that this pattern can be explained by limitations in prey dispersal at the larval stage.

    • Adrian C. Stier
    • , Andrew M. Hein
    •  & Michel Kulbicki

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ocean circulations can strongly influence ecological dynamics in marine ecosystem over multiple spatial scales. Here, Bertrand et al.find that the majority of these interactions occur within small-scale hotspots that concentrate interactions across many trophic levels from zooplankton to seabirds.

    • Arnaud Bertrand
    • , Daniel Grados
    •  & Ronan Fablet

  • Article |

    Methane is a significant contributor to greenhouse forcing, and determining its fluxes and reservoirs is important in understanding the methane cycle. Here, the authors investigate microbial methane oxidation in carbonates of the deep sea that represent a previously unrecognized biological sink for methane.

    • Jeffrey J. Marlow
    • , Joshua A. Steele
    •  & Victoria J. Orphan

  • Article |

    Phytoplankton blooms in the northern Arabian Sea have shifted from diatoms to green dinoflagellates in the last decade. Here, the authors show that influx of oxygen deficient waters, together with the ability of dinoflagellates’ endosymbionts to fix carbon under such conditions, facilitated the bloom shift.

    • Helga do Rosário Gomes
    • , Joaquim I. Goes
    •  & Prasad Thoppil

  • Article |

    Methane levels in the oceans’ surface waters are higher than those in the atmosphere, which is puzzling. Here the authors show that marine bacteria of the ubiquitous SAR11 group can release significant amounts of methane when feeding on phosphorus-containing compounds such as methylphosphonic acid.

    • Paul Carini
    • , Angelicque E. White
    •  & Stephen J. Giovannoni

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many pelagic fishes and squids live at ocean depths below the euphotic zone but whether surface predators dive to these depths to feed on them is unclear. Here, the authors tag Chilean devil rays and demonstrate that they regularly make dives to at least 1,500 m, suggesting that the rays forage for food at these depths.

    • Simon R. Thorrold
    • , Pedro Afonso
    •  & Michael L. Berumen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanisms that determine the relationship between diversity and productivity in marine phytoplankton remain unclear. Here, Vallina et al.show that selective predation and transient competitive exclusion determine phytoplankton community composition.

    • S. M. Vallina
    • , M. J. Follows
    •  & M. Loreau

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is under threat from rising ocean temperatures, yet its response to past temperature change is poorly known. Felis et al. show that the GBR experienced a much steeper temperature gradient during the last deglaciation, suggesting it may be more resilient than previously thought.

    • Thomas Felis
    • , Helen V. McGregor
    •  & Jody M. Webster

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The effects of fishing policies that adjust selectivity are unclear. Here, Svedäng and Hornborg show that fishing practices that increase selectivity of the Eastern Baltic cod have negatively affected its productivity, suggesting that fishing policies should prioritize catch rates over yield.

    • Henrik Svedäng
    •  & Sara Hornborg

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The risks of flooding to coastal communities are increasing due to coastal development and climate change. Here, the authors use meta-analyses to quantitatively show that coral reefs can significantly reduce risks from natural hazards, and that reef defences can be enhanced cost effectively.

    • Filippo Ferrario
    • , Michael W. Beck
    •  & Laura Airoldi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Discards from fishing vessels are food for scavenging species, so ending the practice may have ecological consequences. Here, Heath et al. show that improving selectivity so that unwanted fish are not caught, achieves conservation benefits, while simply requiring that vessels land their entire catch, does not.

    • Michael R. Heath
    • , Robin M. Cook
    •  & Douglas C. Speirs

  • Article |

    The filamentous fungus Eurotium rubrum is one of the few organisms able to survive in the hypersaline Dead Sea. Here Kis-Papo et al. provide genomic and transcriptomic data that reveal potential cellular and metabolic mechanisms underlying adaptation to hypersaline stress in E. rubrum.

    • Tamar Kis-Papo
    • , Alfons R. Weig
    •  & Eviatar Nevo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    El Niño Southern Oscillation has a strong impact on current strength and ocean temperatures off the western Australian coast, but long-term variability is poorly understood. Zinke et al.show a strong link between La Niña and El Niño events and decadal Leeuwin current variability in coral records since 1795.

    • J. Zinke
    • , A. Rountrey
    •  & M.T. McCulloch

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ocean acidification is affecting the stability of coral reefs, but the exact mineralogical response is poorly understood. Diaz-Pulido et al.show that, under warming conditions, the relative abundance of dolomite increases by as much as 200% and could therefore slow the climate-induced break-up of coral reefs.

    • Guillermo Diaz-Pulido
    • , Merinda C. Nash
    •  & Ulrike Troitzsch

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mesopelagic fishes dominate the global fishes biomass, yet there exist major uncertainties regarding their global biomass. Irigoien et al.analyse acoustic data collected during a circumglobal cruise and show that biomass estimates should be raised by an order of magnitude.

    • Xabier Irigoien
    • , T. A. Klevjer
    •  & S. Kaartvedt

  • Article |

    Iron emitted from hydrothermal vents is stabilized by organic matter and dispersed into the world ocean, yet the pathways leading to iron–carbon interactions are unknown. Dick et al.propose that a new ‘microbial iron pump’ is responsible for converting hydrothermal iron into bioavailable forms.

    • Meng Li
    • , Brandy M. Toner
    •  & Gregory J. Dick

  • Article |

    Acorn worms, or enteropneusts, are a group of hemichordates whose modern representatives are thought to be tubeless. Here Halaynch et al. provide evidence for modern tube-forming acorn worms found in Antarctic benthic communities.

    • Kenneth M. Halanych
    • , Johanna T. Cannon
    •  & Craig R. Smith

  • Article |

    Human activities affect marine predators in complex ways, yet we lack spatial understanding of cumulative impacts across key habitats. Here the authors analyse distribution and movements of eight marine predators, and find that species and human impacts vary across space and overlap within marine sanctuaries.

    • Sara M. Maxwell
    • , Elliott L. Hazen
    •  & Daniel P. Costa

  • Article |

    Potential fishery benefits of Marine Protected Areas are widely acknowledged, yet their impact on fishery dynamics remains poorly understood. Here the authors provide evidence that Marine Protected Areas can rapidly increase catch rates in adjacent areas, without measurable disadvantages for fishers.

    • Sven E. Kerwath
    • , Henning Winker
    •  & Colin G. Attwood

  • Article |

    Patchiness in the distribution of phytoplankton promotes many of the ecological interactions that underpin the marine food web. This study shows that turbulence, ubiquitous in the ocean, counter-intuitively ‘unmixes’ a population of motile phytoplankton, generating intense, small-scale patchiness in its distribution.

    • William M. Durham
    • , Eric Climent
    •  & Roman Stocker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Forest cover up-river influences the sediments reaching coral reefs, but how this relationship is affected by future climate change is not clear. In a study of the Malagasy coral reefs, Maina et al.find that regional land-use management is more important than mediating climate change for reducing reef sedimentation.

    • Joseph Maina
    • , Hans de Moel
    •  & Jan E. Vermaat

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Coral reef health is declining globally and is projected to lead to net loss of reef structure. This study shows that ecological change across the Caribbean has reduced reef growth rates to levels lower than those measured over the last ~8,000 years, threatening the ability of reefs to keep pace with future sea-level rise.

    • Chris T. Perry
    • , Gary N. Murphy
    •  & Peter J. Mumby

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Whether humans are the only animals with cultural behaviour remains an open question in behavioural research. Here, a network analysis of the social preferences among bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia finds that tool-using dolphins prefer others like themselves, suggesting the presence of cultural behaviour.

    • Janet Mann
    • , Margaret A. Stanton
    •  & Lisa O. Singh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Catch certificates and eco-labels are used to control illegal fishing worldwide, however, independent control methods are needed. Here, gene-associated SNPs are used to assign individual marine fish back to their population of origin with high precision, with potential application for illegal fishing control.

    • Einar E. Nielsen
    • , Alessia Cariani
    •  & Gary R. Carvalho

  • Article |

    A record of the daily light cycle in tropical regions is difficult to extract from biogenic marine carbonates such as shells. Here, the precise analysis of Sr/Ca ratios is shown in a cultivated giant clam shell, revealing variations that reflect the daily light cycle and the potential for future development of a proxy.

    • Yuji Sano
    • , Sayumi Kobayashi
    •  & Kenji Iwai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Mid-Cayman Spreading Centre is an ultraslow-spreading mid-ocean ridge in the Caribbean. This study reveals two hydrothermal vent fields on the ridge, including high-temperature vents on an off-axis oceanic core complex where, similar to Mid-Atlantic vents, an alvinocaridid shrimp is common at both vent fields.

    • Douglas P. Connelly
    • , Jonathan T. Copley
    •  & Sally Wilcox

  • Article |

    Many organisms are responding to a warming climate by shifts in spatial distribution. The poleward movement of silver hake,Merluccius bilinearis, over the last forty years is related to the position of the Gulf Stream and Atlantic meridional overturning circulation through changes in local bottom water temperature.

    • Janet A. Nye
    • , Terrence M. Joyce
    •  & Jason S. Link

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Global darkness from an asteroid impact 65.5 million years ago led to massive extinction of oceanic phytoplankton, but coastal groups survived. Ribeiroet al.revive coastal dinoflagellates after a century of dormancy, suggesting phytoplankton survived the extinction and helped restore photosynthesis in the ocean.

    • Sofia Ribeiro
    • , Terje Berge
    •  & Marianne Ellegaard

  • Article |

    Ocean acidification due to increasing carbon dioxide levels can affect the growth and viability of corals. In this study, the authors measured extension, calcification and density in Florida corals collected in 1996, and show that recent climate change did not cause a decline in their extension or calcification.

    • Kevin P. Helmle
    • , Richard E. Dodge
    •  & C. Mark Eakin

  • Article |

    Proteorhodopsin is used by prokaryotes to generate energy from light. In this study, the authors describe a prokaryote-to-eukaryote horizontal gene transfer of a bacterial proteorhodopsin gene to dinoflagellates, suggesting that these eukaryotes can also use proteorhodopsin to obtain light and produce energy.

    • Claudio H. Slamovits
    • , Noriko Okamoto
    •  & Patrick J. Keeling

  • Article |

    Continental export of silicon to the coast is linked to ocean carbon sinks, but terrestrial silicon fluxes have not been quantified. Here, human deforestation and cultivation of the landscape are shown to be the most important factors in silicon mobilization in temperate European watersheds.

    • Eric Struyf
    • , Adriaan Smis
    •  & Patrick Meire

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge spreads extremely slowly and hydrothermal vent fields have not been reported in its vicinity. Pedersenet al. describe a black smoker vent field with large hydrothermal deposits and novel fauna distinct from those found in similar environments in the Atlantic.

    • Rolf B. Pedersen
    • , Hans Tore Rapp
    •  & Steffen L. Jorgensen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Recent developments in sequencing technologies have provided the opportunity to investigate the biodiversity of ecosystems. Such a metagenomic approach, combined with taxon clustering, is used here to demonstrate that the species richness of a marine community in Scotland is much greater than anticipated.

    • Vera G. Fonseca
    • , Gary R. Carvalho
    •  & Simon Creer

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