Coral recovery in the central Maldives archipelago since the last major mass-bleaching, in 1998

Increasing frequency and severity of disturbances is causing global degradation of coral reef ecosystems. This study examined temporal changes in live coral cover and coral composition in the central Maldives from 1997 to 2016, encompassing two bleaching events, a tsunami, and an outbreak of Acanthaster planci. We also examined the contemporary size structure for five dominant coral taxa (tabular Acropora, Acropora muricata, Acropora humilis, Pocillopora spp, and massive Porites). Total coral cover increased throughout the study period, with marked increases following the 1998 mass-bleaching. The relative abundance of key genera has changed through time, where Acropora and Pocillopora (which are highly susceptible to bleaching) were under-represented following 1998 mass-bleaching but increased until outbreaks of A. planci in 2015. The contemporary size-structure for all coral taxa was dominated by larger colonies with peaked distributions suggesting that recent disturbances had a disproportionate impact on smaller colonies, or that recruitment is currently limited. This may suggest that coral resilience has been compromised by recent disturbances, and further bleaching (expected in 2016) could lead to highly protracted recovery times. We showed that Maldivian reefs recovered following the 1998 mass-bleaching event, but it took up to a decade, and ongoing disturbances may be eroding reef resilience

Variation in size frequency distribution of coral populations under different fishing pressures in two contrasting locations in the Indian Ocean

This study aimed to assess how the size-frequency distributions of coral genera varied between reefs under different fishing pressures in two contrasting Indian Ocean locations (the Maldives and East Africa). Using generalized linear mixed models, we were able to demonstrate that complex interactions occurred between coral genera, coral size class and fishing pressure. In both locations, we found Acropora coral species to be more abundant in non-fished compared to fished sites (a pattern which was consistent for nearly all the assessed size classes). Coral genera classified as ‘stress tolerant’ showed a contrasting pattern i.e. were higher in abundance in fished compared to non-fished sites. Site specific variations were also observed. For example, Maldivian reefs exhibited a significantly higher abundance in all size classes of ‘competitive’ corals compared to East Africa. This possibly indicates that East African reefs have already been subjected to higher levels of stress and are therefore less suitable environments for ‘competitive’ corals. This study also highlights the potential structure and composition of reefs under future degradation scenarios, for example with a loss of Acropora corals and an increase in dominance of ‘stress tolerant’ and ‘generalist’ coral genera.USAi

Variation in growth rates of branching corals along Australia's Great Barrier Reef

Coral growth is an important component of reef health and resilience. However, few studies have investigated temporal and/or spatial variation in growth of branching corals, which are important contributors to the structure and function of reef habitats. This study assessed growth (linear extension, density, and calcification) of three branching coral species (Acropora muricata, Pocillopora damicornis and Isopora palifera) at three distinct locations (Lizard Island, Davies/Trunk Reef, and Heron Island) along Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Annual growth rates of all species were highest at Lizard Island and declined with increasing latitude, corresponding with differences in temperature. Within locations, however, seasonal variation in growth did not directly correlate with temperature. Between October 2012 and October 2014, the highest growth of A. muricata was in the 2013–14 summer at Lizard Island, which was unusually cool and ~0.5 °C less than the long-term summer average temperature. At locations where temperatures reached or exceeded the long-term summer maxima, coral growth during summer periods was equal to, if not lower than, winter periods. This study shows that temperature has a significant influence on spatiotemporal patterns of branching coral growth, and high summer temperatures in the northern GBR may already be constraining coral growth and reef resilience

Mechanical, chemical, biological : Moving towards closed-loop bio-based recycling in a circular economy of sustainable textiles

The textile industry is facing increasing criticism because of its intensive use of resources –both natural and fossil derived– and the negative environmental and societal impacts associated with the manufacturing, use and disposal of clothes. This has led to a desire to move towards a circular economy for textiles that will implement recycling concepts and technologies to protect resources, the environment and people. So far, recycling processes have been focused on the chemical and mechanical reuse of textile fibres. In contrast, bio-based processes for textile production and recycling have received little attention, beyond end-of-life composting. However, the selectivity and benign processing conditions associated with bio-based technologies hold great promise for circularising the textile life cycle and reducing the environmental impacts of textile production and processing. Developing circular and sustainable systems for textile production requires a revolutionary system approach that encompasses the choice of material and finishes being designed for recycling at the end of life, and in this context bio-based processes can help provide the means to maintain materials in a closed loop. This paper reviews established methods in mechanical and chemical recycling processes in closed-loop textile recycling of all fibre types, as well as bio-based processes that demonstrate open-loop textile recycling. Fermentation and enzymatic processes have been demonstrated for the production of all types of textiles, which in combination with enzymatic deconstruction of end of life cellulosic textiles could allow them to be recycled indefinitely. Within the context of the circular economy, bio-based processes could extend mechanical and chemical textile recycling mechanisms in the technical cycle, enabling greater circularity of textiles in the biological cycle before composting takes place

MEDIATE - Molecular DockIng at homE: Turning collaborative simulations into therapeutic solutions

IntroductionCollaborative computing has attracted great interest in the possibility of joining the efforts of researchers worldwide. Its relevance has further increased during the pandemic crisis since it allows for the strengthening of scientific collaborations while avoiding physical interactions. Thus, the E4C consortium presents the MEDIATE initiative which invited researchers to contribute via their virtual screening simulations that will be combined with AI-based consensus approaches to provide robust and method-independent predictions. The best compounds will be tested, and the biological results will be shared with the scientific community.Areas coveredIn this paper, the MEDIATE initiative is described. This shares compounds' libraries and protein structures prepared to perform standardized virtual screenings. Preliminary analyses are also reported which provide encouraging results emphasizing the MEDIATE initiative's capacity to identify active compounds.Expert opinionStructure-based virtual screening is well-suited for collaborative projects provided that the participating researchers work on the same input file. Until now, such a strategy was rarely pursued and most initiatives in the field were organized as challenges. The MEDIATE platform is focused on SARS-CoV-2 targets but can be seen as a prototype which can be utilized to perform collaborative virtual screening campaigns in any therapeutic field by sharing the appropriate input files

Spatial, temporal and taxonomic variation in the incidence of partial mortality among reef-building corals

Until now, most studies of coral reef degradation have focused on catastrophic mortality associated with acute disturbances (e.g., coral bleaching and outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish), but even in the absence of major disturbances corals are consistently subject to high levels of background mortality. In particular, corals are regular subject to high levels of partial mortality (or injuries) caused by chronic or persistent disturbances, which can have critical influence on population dynamics and resilience of coral populations. Spatial, temporal and taxonomic differences in injury regimes are important for understanding vulnerability and resilience of scleractinian corals to acute disturbances and environmental change. This thesis explicitly assesses variation in rates of background mortality, and mostly partial mortality, at both small (between adjacent colonies) and large (between locations in different ocean basins) scales.\ud \ud To establish baseline levels of partial mortality among common reef-building corals, I first quantified prevalence (proportion of colonies with injuries) and severity (areal extent of injuries on individual colonies) of injuries across four common coral taxa (massive Porites, encrusting Montipora, Acropora hyacinthus and branching Pocillopora) on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. A total of 2,276 adult colonies were surveyed annually over three years across three latitudinal sectors, nine reefs and 27 sites along the Great Barrier Reef. The prevalence of injuries was very high (>83%) for all coral taxa, but especially high for Porites (91%) and Montipora (85%). Within individual taxa, there was significant temporal or spatial variation in prevalence of partial mortality in Montipora and Pocillopora. Severity of partial mortality on injured colonies ranged from 5% for A. hyacinthus up to 21% for Montipora, and varied both spatially and temporally. These findings confirm that background levels of partial mortality are high even in the absence of major disturbances, and are likely to significant influence differential vulnerability of colonies, populations and coral species to other more acute disturbances.\ud \ud Building on my initial studies on the Great Barrier Reef, I then compared rates of background mortality (including both partial and whole colony mortality) between Lhaviyani Atoll, Maldives and the northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Comparisons were made for four dominant and widespread coral taxa (Porites, Montipora, Acropora hyacinthus and Pocillopora), which were surveyed across multiple reefs and sites at each location. Prevalence of partial mortality was consistently higher on the GBR (99.4% of colonies in Porites, 66% in Acropora hyacinthus and 64% in Pocillopora) than at Lhaviyani Atoll (92.4% in Porites, 47.5% in A. hyacinthus and 44% in Pocillopora). Conversely, severity of partial mortality was higher for A. hyacinthus and Porites (9.6% and 12.2%, respectively) at Lhaviyani Atoll than on the GBR (7% in A. hyacinthus and 9.6% in Porites). However, marked differences in severity of partial mortality were most apparent at the smallest spatial scale (e.g., among colonies located on the same transect within the same habitat). This suggests that corals in different geographical locations are consistently subject to high levels of background mortality, but the specific effects are highly patchy and likely contribute to significant intercolony variation in susceptibility of corals to major disturbances (e.g., bleaching).\ud \ud After investigating spatial variation in tissue loss, I tested the specific effects of injuries on colony condition. Intraspecific variation in physiological condition was measured, based on total lipid content and zooxanthellae density, in adult colonies of two common and widespread coral species (Acropora spathulata and Pocillopora damicornis). Importantly, these corals were subject to different levels of biological and physical disturbances and marked intraspecific variation in the physiological condition of A. spathulata was clearly linked to differences in local disturbance regimes. Conversely, P. damicornis exhibited very limited intraspecific variation in physiological condition, despite marked differences in the severity of partial mortality. This study shows that the physiological condition of individual coral colonies is influenced by differences in injury regimes, at least for some coral taxa. Moreover, these differences in physiological condition are likely to have important effects on the fate and fitness of individual colonies, and especially their vulnerability to subsequent disturbances.\ud \ud Overall, my PhD research shows that the prevalence of coral injuries is consistently high (>80% of colonies have visible injuries) across different coral taxa and among reef locations spanning 10 degrees of latitude and in different ocean basins. The severity of injuries meanwhile, varies greatly among individual colonies within the same habitat and site, which may have important ramifications for susceptibility to acute disturbances and environmental change. Much more research is needed to understand the major causes of routine injuries to reef building corals, but studies on the effects of acute disturbances on coral populations and/ or communities should not discount background levels of mortality, and the extent to which this might further increase susceptibility to, and prevent recovery from, acute disturbances

Data NEP-NEC-PAR.xlsx

Hourly raw data of PAR, Net Ecosystem Production (NEP) and Net ecosystem calcification (NEC) for 2018 and 2022</p

Partial mortality

<p>Partial mortality on the GBR</p