Seagrass beds serve as important carbon sinks, and it is thought that increasing the quantity and quality of such sinks could help to slow the rate of global climate change. Therefore, it will be important to (1) gain a better understanding of seagrass bed metabolism and (2) document how these high-productivity ecosystems are impacted by climate change-associated factors, such as ocean acidification (OA) and ocean warming (OW)...

The countervailing effects of disturbances (e.g., high mortality and enhanced recovery) on population dynamics can occur through demographic processes under rapidly increasing climatic extremes. Across an extreme‐event gradient, we mechanistically demonstrated how dramatic changes in streamflow have affected the population persistence of endangered salmon in monsoonal Taiwan over a three‐decade period. Our modeling indicated t...

The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin ( Sousa chinensis ) has been reported to prefer estuary habitats. This study explored the environmental factors affecting a critically endangered population off the coast of Yunlin, Taiwan. We measured dolphin sighting rates and estuary characteristics affected by the watershed, including seven physical factors (watershed rainfall, watershed runoff, estuarine turbidity, pH, salinity, temperatu...

Although Southeast Asia is a hotspot of global seagrass diversity, there are considerable information gaps in the distribution of seagrass beds. Broad-scale seagrass distribution has not been updated in the global seagrass database by UNEP-WCMC since 2000, although studies on seagrasses have been undertaken intensively in each region. Here we analyze the recent distribution of tropical seagrass beds, their temporal changes, ca...

The contribution of unvegetated tidal flats to global net primary production is comparable to that of some vegetated coastal habitats. However, compared to carbon flux regulating factors in vegetated habitats, those in unvegetated tidal flats are not well understood, particularly in terms of their cause-effect relationships. Maximum gross primary production (GPP m ), net primary production (NPP) and total respiration (TR) duri...

Unvegetated flats occupy a large area in the intertidal zone. However, compared to vegetated areas, the carbon sequestration of unvegetated tidal flats is rarely quantified, even though these areas are highly threatened by human development and climate change. We determined benthic maximum gross primary production (GPP m ), net primary production (NPP) and total respiration (TR) during emersion on seven tidal flats along a lat...

El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events can cause dramatic changes in marine communities. However, we know little as to how ENSO events affect tropical seagrass beds over decadal timescales. Therefore, a diverse array of seagrass ( Thalassia hemprichii ) habitat types were surveyed once every 3 months for 16 years (January 2001 to February 2017) in a tropical intertidal zone that is regularly affected by both ENSO events an...

Mangroves are recognized as one of the richest carbon storage systems. However, the factors regulating carbon sinks in mangrove ecosystems are still unclear, particularly in the subtropical mangroves. The biomass, production, litterfall, detrital export and decomposition of the dominant mangrove vegetation in subtropical ( Kandelia obovata ) and tropical ( Avicennia marina ) Taiwan were quantified from October 2011 to July 201...