Recently, there have been an increasing number of reports on the shutdown of coastal nuclear power plants because of outbreaks of marine organisms, such as jellyfish and fish. These organisms clog the pipes during an outbreak or when they accumulate near nuclear power plants in coastal regions. The safety of nuclear power plants is threatened by Acetes blooms. Thus, based on the physiology and ecology of Acetes, including the biology, auxology, feeding ecology, population dynamics, environmental suitability and effects of nuclear power plant thermal effluents, three hypotheses were proposed by previous studies to explain the ecological mechanisms of an Acetes bloom: (1) the wintering ground hypothesis, (2) the population dynamics hypothesis and (3) the ecosystem dynamics hypothesis. The main content and prevention measures used in previous studies were introduced and reviewed. Ecological protection combined with relevant environmental protection policies and laws in coastal areas are the long-term goals for the management of Acetes blooms.

The Arabian Sea (AS) hosts the world's thickest and most intense oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), and previous studies have documented a dramatic decline of dissolved oxygen (DO) in the northeastern AS in recent decades. In this study, using the recently released data from Biogeochemical‐Argo floats, we found a surprising trend of recovery in deoxygenation within the core region of the OMZ in the AS (ASOMZ) since 2013. The average DO concentration increased by approximately threefold, from ∼0.63 μM in 2013 to ∼1.68 μM in 2022, and the thickness of the ASOMZ decreased by 13%. We find that the weakening of Oman upwelling resulting from the weakening of the summer monsoon is the main driver of oxygenation in the ASOMZ. In addition, the reduction of primary production linked to warming‐driven stratification reinforces deoxygenation recovery at depth.

Barrier islands are dynamic environments due to their position at the land-sea interface. Storms, waves, tides, currents, and relative sea-level rise are powerful forces that shape barrier island geomorphology and habitats (for example, beach, dune, marsh, and forest). Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in 2010 are two major events that have affected habitats and natural resources on Dauphin Island, Alabama. The latter event prompted a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the State of Alabama funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to investigate viable, sustainable restoration options that protect and restore the natural resources of Dauphin Island, Alabama.In order to understand the feasibility and sustainability of various restoration scenarios, it is important to understand current conditions on Dauphin Island. To further this understanding, a detailed 19-class habitat map for Dauphin Island was produced from 1-foot aerial infrared photography collected on December 4, 2015, and lidar data collected in January 2015. We also conducted a ground survey of habitat types, vegetation community structure, and elevations in November and December 2015. These products provide baseline data regarding the ecological and general geomorphological attributes of the area, which can be compared with observations from other dates for tracking changes over time.

Marine fish populations have suffered the consequences of overfishing for a long time, leading to a loss in biodiversity. Traditional methods have been historically used to survey fish diversity but are limited to commercial species, particularly on the high seas. Environmental DNA (eDNA) has been successfully used to monitor biodiversity in aquatic environments. In this study, we monitored fish diversity in the Clarion–Clipperton Zone (CCZ) of the Eastern Pacific Ocean using eDNA metabarcoding. Our results identified 2 classes, 35 orders, 64 families, and 87 genera. The genera Mugil, Scomberomorus, and Scomber had high relative abundance in the mesopelagic and demersal zone. Fish diversity varied with sampling sites, and the greatest number of species was found at a depth of 2500 m. Environmental changes drove fish aggregation, and our results indicated that Chla was negatively correlated with fish communities, while DO was positively correlated with fish communities. This study released the fish diversity pattern and the effects of the environment in the CCZ, which would provide useful information for biodiversity management and an environmental baseline for the International Seabed Authority.

In this paper, simulation experiments were conducted to study the response of phytoplankton biomass and community composition to the influence of polymetallic nodules and sediment at four stations in the western Pacific in 2021. Chlorophyll a, pico-phytoplankton cell abundance, and metal concentration were measured before and after 24 h of deck incubation. The results show that there were three different patterns of response, namely, restrained, stimulated, and unaffected patterns. The restrained pattern appeared in the filtered treatments at station Incub.01, and the stimulated pattern appeared in the unfiltered treatments at station Incub.02. The response of the phytoplankton was not detectable at stations Incub.03 and 04. Regardless, positive and negative responses were found in the dominant pico-phytoplankton group—Prochlorococcus—and with slight variation in Synechococcus. The concentration of manganese varied among the treatments compared to that of iron and other metals. The factors affecting the growth of the phytoplankton in this study were metal concentrations and turbidity. The phytoplankton biomass baseline may also have played an important role: the lower the biomass, the higher the growth rate. This study proved that deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining will have a specific impact on surface phytoplankton biomass, but turbidity and particle retention time could be important factors in mitigating the extent of the impact.