Summary Coastal milkfish ( Chanos chanos ) farming may be a source of organic matter enrichment for coral reefs in Bolinao, Republic of the Philippines. Interactions among microbial communities associated with the water column, corals and milkfish feces can provide insight into the ecosystem's response to enrichment. Samples were collected at sites along a transect that extended from suspended milkfish pens into the coral reef...

Declines in coral cover are generally associated with increases in the abundance of fleshy algae. In many cases, it remains unclear whether algae are responsible, directly or indirectly, for coral death or whether they simply settle on dead coral surfaces. Here, we show that algae can indirectly cause coral mortality by enhancing microbial activity via the release of dissolved compounds. When coral and algae were placed in cha...

Summary Cholera disease, caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae , afflicts hundreds of thousands worldwide each year. Endemic to aquatic environments, V. cholerae 's proliferation and dynamics in marine systems are not well understood. Here, we show that under a variety of coastal seawater conditions V. cholerae remained primarily in a free‐living state as opposed to attaching to particles. Growth rates of free‐living V. chol...