Aim Understanding how body size and geographic range size influence species abundance is central to macroecology. Here, we characterized these relationships for reef fishes, the world's most diverse vertebrate group, across global and regional scales. Location Global tropical and subtropical reefs. Time Period Current. Major Taxa Studied Reef‐associated fishes. Methods We compiled a comprehensive dataset on abundance, body siz...

The South Mid Atlantic Ridge comprises three main oceanic islands in the equatorial and tropical portions of the Atlantic Ocean. These islands are isolated from each other and equidistant from both the continental margins of South America and Africa, sharing common patterns but with different types of human use and pressures. Moreover, the areas beyond national jurisdiction between those islands are visited and exploited by di...

The TimeFISH database provides the first public time‐series dataset on reef fish assemblages in the southwestern Atlantic (SWA), comprising 15 years of data (2007–2022) based on standardized Underwater Visual Censuses (UVCs). The rocky reefs covered by our dataset are influenced by pronounced seasonal cycles of ocean temperatures with warm tropical waters from the Brazil Current in the summer (~27°C) and colder waters from the...

Aim The Amazon‐Orinoco plume is the major biogeographical barrier between the Great Caribbean and the Brazilian Province. No study has so far addressed the influence of this barrier in a broad chrono‐phylogenetic context. Here, we evaluate the effects of the Amazon‐Orinoco plume barrier on the patterns of diversification of Western Atlantic reef fishes through time. Location Tropical Western Atlantic. Taxon Reef Fishes (Percom...

Aim Understanding the variation in community composition and species abundances (i.e., β‐diversity) is at the heart of community ecology. A common approach to examine β‐diversity is to evaluate directional variation in community composition by measuring the decay in the similarity among pairs of communities along spatial or environmental distance. We provide the first global synthesis of taxonomic and functional distance decay...

Brazilian endemic batoid elasmobranch populations have declined dramatically in the past 40 years due to anthropic activities ( e.g ., overfishing). The Brazilian guitarfish, Pseudobatos horkelii , included in the IUCN red list of endangered species [Critically Endangered (CR)], has been captured as by‐catch by trawling fishing boats to the edge of extinction. Despite governmental conservation initiatives, the species is still...

Aim To investigate biotic and abiotic correlates of reef‐fish species richness across multiple spatial scales. Location Tropical reefs around the globe, including 485 sites in 109 sub‐provinces spread across 14 biogeographic provinces. Time period Present. Major taxa studied 2,523 species of reef fish. Methods We compiled a database encompassing 13,050 visual transects. We used hierarchical linear Bayesian models to investigat...

Aim Rafting with natural flotsam is an important mechanism of long‐distance oceanic dispersal for many near‐shore marine organisms. Identifying the species‐level traits associated with this behaviour would aid in understanding and predicting a species' capacity for dispersal between isolated areas of benthic habitat. Location The tropical and subtropical Atlantic. Methods We assessed the relationships between species‐level tra...

In this study, the topic of sexual growth dimorphism in whiting Merlangius merlangus is examined. To understand the magnitude and underlying mechanisms, North Sea International Bottom Trawl Survey (IBTS) data and two additional datasets from the third quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2012 were analysed. Merlangius merlangus displays distinct differences in growth parameters between males and females, with females reach...

Fishes contribute substantially to energy and nutrient fluxes in reef ecosystems, but quantifying these roles is challenging. Here, we do so by synthesising a large compilation of fish metabolic‐rate data with a comprehensive database on reef‐fish community abundance and biomass. Individual‐level analyses support predictions of Metabolic Theory after accounting for significant family‐level variation, and indicate that some tro...

The understanding of spatio‐temporal dynamics of marine ecosystems is crucial for ecosystem‐based fisheries management and climate change impact assessments. We quantified temporal changes in the distribution of 0‐group cod ( Gadus morhua ) and grey gurnard ( Eutriglia gurnardus ), a primary predator of 0‐group cod, with the help of regression kriging and assessed the temporal dynamics of the related spatial predator–prey over...

The management of Baltic sprat is challenged by highly variable recruitment success and hence large stock fluctuations. Recent studies have identified the larval and early juvenile life stages to be critical for the survival rate of a sprat year class. Although prey abundance was found to be linked to larval survival success, an analysis identifying the functional relationship and relative importance of other environmental fac...

Aim To understand why and when areas of endemism (provinces) of the tropical Atlantic Ocean were formed, how they relate to each other, and what processes have contributed to faunal enrichment. Location Atlantic Ocean. Methods The distributions of 2605 species of reef fishes were compiled for 25 areas of the Atlantic and southern Africa. Maximum‐parsimony and distance analyses were employed to investigate biogeographical relat...