Cetacean skin microbiome samples are traditionally collected by swabbing the skin of captured animals or using skin tissue from remote biopsies. The effects of different sampling methods are not well understood, and factors such as swab type and storage methods may affect the microbiome. The objective of this study was to determine if samples collected by swabbing biopsied skin from bottlenose dolphins yield sufficient microbi...

Anthropogenic pressure is increasing the variety and frequency of environmental disturbance events, limiting recovery and leading to long‐term declines in wild plant and animal populations. Coral reefs and associated fish assemblages are inherently dynamic due to their susceptibility to a host of disturbances, but regional‐scale nuances in the drivers of long‐term change frequently remain poorly resolved. Here, we examine the...

Environmental temperature is an important determinant of physiological processes and life histories in ectotherms. Over latitudinal scales, variation in temperature has been linked to changes in life‐history traits and demographic rates, with growth and mortality rates generally being greatest at low latitudes, and longevity and maximum length being greater at higher latitudes. Using the two‐spined angelfish, Centropyge bispin...

Understanding the spatial and environmental variation in demographic processes of fisheries target species, such as coral grouper (Genus: Plectropomus ), is important for establishing effective management and conservation strategies. Herein we compare the demography of Plectropomus leopardus and P. laevis between Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP), which has been subject to sustained and extensive fishing press...

Accurate ground‐based estimation of the carbon stored in terrestrial ecosystems is critical to quantifying the global carbon budget. Allometric models provide cost‐effective methods for biomass prediction. But do such models vary with ecoregion or plant functional type? We compiled 15 054 measurements of individual tree or shrub biomass from across Australia to examine the generality of allometric models for above‐ground bioma...

Aim The Red Sea is characterised by a unique fauna and historical periods of desiccation, hypersalinity and intermittent isolation. The origin and contemporary composition of reef‐associated taxa in this region can illuminate biogeographical principles about vicariance and the establishment (or local extirpation) of existing species. Here we aim to: (1) outline the distribution of shallow water fauna between the Red Sea and ad...

Aim Tropical forests store 25% of global carbon and harbour 96% of the world's tree species, but it is not clear whether this high biodiversity matters for carbon storage. Few studies have teased apart the relative importance of forest attributes and environmental drivers for ecosystem functioning, and no such study exists for the tropics. Location Neotropics. Methods We relate aboveground biomass ( AGB ) to forest attributes...

Aim Suture zones are areas where closely related species from different biogeographical regions come into contact and interbreed. This concept originated from the study of terrestrial ecosystems but it remains unclear whether a similar phenomenon occurs in the marine environment. Here we investigate a potential suture zone from a previously unknown hybrid hotspot at the Socotra Archipelago (Yemen), located in the Arabian Sea,...