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Dealing with the effects of ocean acidification on coral reefs in the Indian Ocean and Asia

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. Shallow coral reefs provide food, income, well-being and coastal protection to countries around the Indian Ocean and Asia. These reefs are under threat due to many anthropogenic stressors including pollution, sedimentation, overfishing, sea surface warming and habitat destruction. Ocean acidification interacts with these factors to exacerbate stress on coral reefs. Effective solutions in tackling the impact of ocean acidification require a thorough understanding of the current adaptive capacity of each nation to deal with the consequences. Here, we aim to help the decision-making process for policy makers in dealing with these future challenges at the regional and national levels. We recommend that a series of evaluations be made to understand the current status of each nation in this region in dealing with ocean acidification impacts by assessing the climate policy, education, policy coherence, related research activities, adaptive capacity of reef-dependent economic sectors and local management. Indonesia and Thailand, are selected as case studies. We also highlight general recommendations on mitigation and adaptation to ocean acidification impacts on coral reefs and propose well-designed research program would be necessary for developing a more targeted policy agenda in this region

An Indo-Pacific coral spawning database.

The discovery of multi-species synchronous spawning of scleractinian corals on the Great Barrier Reef in the 1980s stimulated an extraordinary effort to document spawning times in other parts of the globe. Unfortunately, most of these data remain unpublished which limits our understanding of regional and global reproductive patterns. The Coral Spawning Database (CSD) collates much of these disparate data into a single place. The CSD includes 6178 observations (3085 of which were unpublished) of the time or day of spawning for over 300 scleractinian species in 61 genera from 101 sites in the Indo-Pacific. The goal of the CSD is to provide open access to coral spawning data to accelerate our understanding of coral reproductive biology and to provide a baseline against which to evaluate any future changes in reproductive phenology

An Indo-Pacifc coral spawning database

The discovery of multi-species synchronous spawning of scleractinian corals on the Great Barrier Reef in the 1980s stimulated an extraordinary effort to document spawning times in other parts of the globe. Unfortunately, most of these data remain unpublished which limits our understanding of regional and global reproductive patterns. The Coral Spawning Database (CSD) collates much of these disparate data into a single place. The CSD includes 6178 observations (3085 of which were unpublished) of the time or day of spawning for over 300 scleractinian species in 61 genera from 101 sites in the Indo-Pacific. The goal of the CSD is to provide open access to coral spawning data to accelerate our understanding of coral reproductive biology and to provide a baseline against which to evaluate any future changes in reproductive phenology

Priorities to inform research on marine plastic pollution in Southeast Asia

This is the final version. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record. Southeast Asia is considered to have some of the highest levels of marine plastic pollution in the world. It is therefore vitally important to increase our understanding of the impacts and risks of plastic pollution to marine ecosystems and the essential services they provide to support the development of mitigation measures in the region. An interdisciplinary, international network of experts (Australia, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam) set a research agenda for marine plastic pollution in the region, synthesizing current knowledge and highlighting areas for further research in Southeast Asia. Using an inductive method, 21 research questions emerged under five non-predefined key themes, grouping them according to which: (1) characterise marine plastic pollution in Southeast Asia; (2) explore its movement and fate across the region; (3) describe the biological and chemical modifications marine plastic pollution undergoes; (4) detail its environmental, social, and economic impacts; and, finally, (5) target regional policies and possible solutions. Questions relating to these research priority areas highlight the importance of better understanding the fate of marine plastic pollution, its degradation, and the impacts and risks it can generate across communities and different ecosystem services. Knowledge of these aspects will help support actions which currently suffer from transboundary problems, lack of responsibility, and inaction to tackle the issue from its point source in the region. Being profoundly affected by marine plastic pollution, Southeast Asian countries provide an opportunity to test the effectiveness of innovative and socially inclusive changes in marine plastic governance, as well as both high and low-tech solutions, which can offer insights and actionable models to the rest of the world.Natural Environment Research CouncilNational Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office (Singapore

Diversity of reef fish at Royal Thai Naval Base, Sattahip, Chonburi Province, Thailand

1220-1225Fish diversity and abundance were investigated at reefs around Royal Thai naval base, Sattahip area. A total of 46 species in 17 families were recorded in the area. Hin Luk Bet had the highest number of fish species (32 species) while the lowest number of fish species was found at Ko Kham (14 species). Most abundance families were Pomacentridae followed by Chaetodontidae and Labridae. The results from the Jaccard similarity index showed that the similarity index was ranged between 0.3-0.6. Highest similarity was found between at Ko Kham and Ko Tao Mo. This is the first report on the diversity and abundance of fish species in the Royal Thai naval base

Unraveling the detoxification mechanism of 2,4-dichlorophenol by marine-derived mesophotic symbiotic fungi isolated from marine invertebrates

Chlorophenols (CPs) are environmental pollutants that are produced through various anthropogenic activities and introduced in the environment. Living organisms, including humans, are exposed to these toxic xenobiotics and suffer from adverse health effects. More specifically, 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) is released in high amounts in the environment and has been listed as a priority pollutant by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Bioremediation has been proposed as a sustainable alternative to conventional remediation methods for the detoxification of phenolic compounds. In this work, we studied the potential of fungal strains isolated as symbionts of marine invertebrates from the underexplored mesophotic coral ecosystems. Hence, the unspecific metabolic pathways of these fungal strains are being explored in the present study, using the powerful analytical capabilities of a UHPLC-HRMS/MS. The newly identified 2,4-DCP metabolites add significantly to the knowledge of the transformation of such pollutants by fungi, since such reports are scarce. © 2019 by the authors