A new study has, for the first time, recorded & measured just how fast #microplastics move through the gut passage of a key #zooplankton species, revealing #copepods may be moving 100s of plastic particles per cubic metre of seawater down through the water column every day: pml.ac.uk/news/watch-n...

Marine functional #connectivity matters—from genes to energy flows. This synthesis clarifies concepts, unifies fragmented approaches, and proposes a global framework to better link science, #SpatialPlanning, and #policy in a changing ocean. doi.org/10.1002/brv.... #MarineEcology 🌐🌍🧪🌊

🦭 Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) spotted in Pegeia, Cyprus 🇨🇾 One of the world’s endangered seals, observed resting along the coast 🌊 #MonachusMonachus #MarineConservation #Cyprus

Just published: a global synthesis of the ecological, economic, and socio-cultural impacts of #BiologicalInvasions, led by P. Haubrock. A timely framework for science, management, and policy in the Anthropocene. 👉 doi.org/10.1002/brv.... 🧪🌐🌍 #bioinvasions #InvasiveSpecies

this is a good distinction, the management is based on the ecosystems, but actions and measures are taken on human activities and pressures or to revert impacts (e.g. restoration) #MarineEcology #Research

#ebm is a dynamic and cyclical process 🔄 A key idea here is adaptive management: we don’t just act once; we learn, and adjust. It starts with assessing and mapping the environmental status and the cumulative impacts of human activities on ecosystems 🌍This tells us where and what pressures are […]

📢New paper! Introducing GLOSSA, an open-source, user-friendly tool for marine species distribution modeling using Bayesian machine learning. 🔗https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210x.70167 @icmcsic.bsky.social  @cienciagob.bsky.social  @jmestret.bsky.social

So far in this #mooc we’ have explored some core principles of #ebm (Ecosystem-Based Management) 🌊but here’s something we haven’t yet talked about: 👉 EBM isn’t a one-off process. It’s cyclical and constantly evolving. How does this make the ends meet? Stay tuned to find out…

This is the moment we realised what we were looking at. During @nemo-tools.bsky.social ROV surveys to map gorgonian & coralligenous habitats, the seafloor suddenly turned into a landscape of circular nests, each guarded by a male. We weren’t searching for spawning grounds – we dropped onto one.

🐟🪸We’ve just published the first documented nesting aggregation of black seabream (Spondyliosoma cantharus) in the Mediterranean Sea. Author link (view-only): rdcu.be/eTtif @skatsanevakis.bsky.social @thanasisnikolaou.bsky.social #NEMOTOOLS #marinebiology #ROV #spawninggrounds #conservation

The University of the Aegean invites applications for a 2-year Researcher (MSc, #MarineEcology) post under the LIFE-PINNACARE project. Focus: Pinna nobilis #conservation in Greece + field work. 📅 Apply by 6 Jan 2026. 📧 More info: euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/393307 — dive in! #Conservation #job 🌍🌐

As we can see so far in this #mooc, it is a balancing act ⚖️. #ebm seeks a sustainable balance, rather than letting one sector's goals (for instance, energy) undermine the health of the entire system (for instance, conservation goals and activities). 🌊🌊

🌍Interesting new study concluding "in the thousands of locations sampled in this meta-analysis, the mean #microplastic densities are high enough to expect fundamental biological processes, such as growth & reproduction of marine fauna to be significantly negatively impacted." doi.org/10.1007/s113...

🐢🦭🐦New @pnas.org study provides a quantitative risk assessment framework for mortality due to macroplastic ingestion in seabirds,marine mammals & sea turtles. 6 to 405 pieces of ingested #plastic (or volume of 0.044-39.89 cm3/cm length) lead to a 90% chance of mortality. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

🔊🌊 Just out in Sensors: a low-cost (~50 €) #hydrophone toolkit for robust underwater #AcousticMonitoring. Built for researchers, educators and #CitizenScientists eager to explore marine #soundscapes. Hear the ocean differently. 🐳🛥️🐬📡 www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25... #MarineEcology 🌍🌐🧪

🔊🌊 Great moments with the Scouts this week! We introduced them to our ~50 € hydrophone, handed out units, and dove into citizen-science together. Nothing better than seeing young explorers record their first marine soundscapes. 🐬✨ #OceanScience #CitizenScience 🧪

So, is #ebm just a concept on paper? Not at all. 📜 It is already shaping how we manage European seas, through global conventions, directives, regional policies, and local implementation. Stay tuned for next week’s #mooc on how EBM spans marine sectors & the related challenges🚧

But what is the environmental status of European waters? Consult the following paper for an overview: 👇 conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Same area, but now with the pressure visible: longlines, ropes and other fishing gear litter entangling gorgonians and covering the seabed. Chronic ghost fishing and structural damage that we urgently need to address. #marinelitter #ghostfishing #MPA #conservation @thanasisnikolaou.bsky.social

Clip from the Tokmakia plateau (NE Lesvos): a mesophotic coralligenous reef with dense red gorgonians and complex bioconstructions. This is the kind of “animal forest” habitat our work focuses on documenting and conserving. #coralligenous #gorgonians #oceans @skatsanevakis.bsky.social

🪸New paper out on mesophotic coralligenous reefs in the NE Aegean. We used side-scan sonar + ROV surveys to map gorgonian assemblages and quantify the impact of marine litter in a Natura 2000 site. Open access: www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13... #marinebiology #Mediterranean #Natura2000 #NEMOTools

Is #Ecosystem-Based Management just another buzzword scientists use? 🌊👩‍🔬 Or is it something society already works with? Spoiler: #ebm is not imaginary, it’s embedded in the way we manage our seas through laws, directives, & policies across all scales. ⚖️#GES4SEAS #mooc

What have we learnt this week❓❓ To summarise #EBM means understanding how much the ecosystem can endure, how much we can pull on different strings, where we need to be careful, and where we need to strengthen the web. 🕸️🕸️ Ecosystem knowledge is […] [Original post on fediscience.org]

If the #ocean is like a spider web🕸️, then our human activities are like pulling on the different strings which puts pressure on the structure as a whole. Therefore we need to understand the bigger picture to ensure ecosystems can recover and function […] [Original post on fediscience.org]

The #ocean provides for all of us, but that is not the end of the story. We are part of the ecosystem and we need to respect that. The fish 🐟 we eat, the corals 🪸 that protect our coast, with our actions we influence them, harm them and in doing so can harm ourselves.

By managing all human activities together, we can find smarter, more effective ways to protect and restore our oceans. 🌊 This ensures the sea can keep providing all the things we rely on: the food we eat, the air we breathe, and places for recreation, for […] [Original post on fediscience.org]

On #WorldScienceDay 🌊 meet Tikta, #GES4SEAS project software to assess risks and impacts from cumulative pressures and map the environmental status of sea. Name is inspired by Tiktaalik a Greenland word as it can be used for both marine and terrestrial assessments. 👉 www.ges4seas.eu #MarineEcology

When the ocean heats up, urchin love life cools down. New Hakai-linked study shows that even modest, non-lethal warming can suppress purple sea urchin reproduction — a twist that could temporarily help kelp forests recover. But both kelp and urchins feel the heat. 🔗 tinyurl.com/2s46j5v8

New paper shows functional extinction of two coral species in the Florida Keys, adding to the growing list of marine extinctions and highlighting climate change as the main threat to biodiversity.

🌊 Curious about what’s driving marine #Extinctions? Dive into this AI-created #podcast based on our recent paper! Discover global extinction hotspots, key drivers, and the species most at risk. 🎧🐠 #MarineEcology #OceanScience #ClimateChange 🧪 🌍 🌐 www.youtube.com/watch?v=cInl...

Do you want to learn about the method of choosing tools to support Ecosystem-Based Management and marine ecosystem managers? See our #GES4SEAS policy brief here: doi.org/10.5281/zeno... It contains our tool SEAS4GES that can be used by you in taking management decisions RT! #MarineEcology #Research

🔍 Has anyone come across transparent antifouling coatings for u/w camera lenses? We’re looking for something commercially available in the EU, safe for static u/w cameras that will keep lenses clear without frequent manual cleaning. Any leads, experiences, or suppliers would be very welcome! 🌊📷

💨 New study suggests a high amount of inhalable small #microplastics (as much as 68,000 per day) in indoor environments, especially in cars. This highlights the urgent need to reduce our usage of plastics, which are a source of this diffuse form of air pollution. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

New global synthesis: 1,535 established #non-native #fish across 193 countries. Aquarium trade, aquaculture & corridors dominate; competition & predation drive impacts. Calls for pathway-focused biosecurity. doi.org/10.1111/gcb.... #MarineEcology #AquaticEcology #bioinvasions #InvasiveSpecies

'Notably, 11 out of 24 state features/criteria were not assessed in over half of the ecoregions' - my PhD work is evaluating methods for estimating thresholds for good status to address gaps in state assessments e.g., for GES under the #MSFD and #UKMS

The #EU collectively failed to deliver #GoodEnvironmentalStatus in its seas. Bold, binding action across all sectors—strong #MPAs, pollution controls, fishing reform—is urgently needed to halt biodiversity loss and restore European Seas. #MarineEcology #MarineConservation #MSFD #GES4SEAS 🌐🌍🧪🌊🦈🐬🐋

Our article “What do we know about the state of European seas?” is now out in @consletters.bsky.social. In this study, we used all available #MSFD assessments to unveil the status of European Seas. @drangelborja.bsky.social @skatsanevakis.bsky.social Find the article link at the post’s end.

Summer sampling in Cyprus.

Impacts of marine heatwaves on biodiversity and ecosystem services: our new paper in Nature Reviews Biodiversity is out! doi.org/10.1038/s443.... @natrevbiodiv.nature.com @uwaoceans.bsky.social @filbeek.bsky.social @dansmale1.bsky.social

Very clear, well-explained introduction to the current situation with coral reefs globally

🏖️ Beach access is a right, not a luxury. Our new study led by @stamatiadouv.bsky.social reveals €57M lost yearly in Greece because many #wheelchair users are excluded from the coast. Time to invest in truly inclusive beaches. 🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.ma... #MarineEcology #EcosystemServices #GES4SEAS 🧪🌍🌐

"Estimated globally for the period 1851–2016, the modern extinction rate for freshwater fishes stands at 33.47 extinctions per million species-years (E/MSY), more than 100 times greater than the natural background extinction rate of 0.33 E/MSY". 🌍

2nd day of #GES4SEAS meeting, with this extraordinary team and practitioners. Thanks for the work doing #research #science #MarineEcology

Scenes from Friday’s ROV monitoring of gorgonian forests around Lesvos Island @skatsanevakis.bsky.social @jennieacp.bsky.social #MarineConservation

Fish are important benthic bioturbators too! Great new #ConvexSeascapeSurvey paper from our @exetermarine.bsky.social PhD student Mara Fischer. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Our #ROV surveys in Lesvos continue, revealing breathtaking #gorgonian forests—but not without a stark reminder of human impact. #Ghostnets and abandoned longlines haunt these vibrant ecosystems. @nemo-tools.bsky.social @jennieacp.bsky.social #MarineEcology #MarineConservation #Lesvos 🧪🌍🌐

Exciting news! The NEMO Tools ROV team of @skatsanevakis.bsky.social has begun exploring Lesvos Island, assessing gorgonians & coralligenous assemblages. Two trips down, five to go! Follow along @nemo-tools.bsky.social l 🧪🌊🐠 #MarineBiology #NEMOTools #MarineEcology #Fieldwork

🚨 New research 🚨 (and the first paper from my PhD) How do we define good vs. degraded marine ecosystems? Our study evaluated four methods for setting ecological thresholds—and not all are equally reliable. 🌊🧵 (1/4)

🌍Exciting news! Our paper is officially published! 😀 It’s been an amazing journey with a fantastic team! ✨ In this study, we explore how eDNA metabarcoding can complement underwater visual surveys to enhance the detection of non-indigenous fish species in the Mediterranean Sea. 🌊

🐟🌊 Not all marine management tools are created equal! Our latest review interrogates 19 tool groups for #EcosystemBasedManagement. Which work best? Which fall short? Find out how to build a smarter marine toolbox! Read more: www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar... #MarineScience #MSFD #GES4SEAS 🌍🌐🧪