Benthic ecosystems are ecological systems associated with the bottom substrates of aquatic environments, including marine, estuarine, and freshwater habitats, where organisms inhabit or interact with sediments, hardgrounds, or biogenic structures. They encompass diverse communities such as infauna, epifauna, demersal fishes, microphytobenthos, and benthic microbial assemblages that mediate key biogeochemical processes, including organic matter remineralization, nutrient regeneration, and sediment–water fluxes. Benthic ecosystems are structured by gradients in depth, hydrodynamics, sedimentology, oxygen availability, and resource inputs, and they play critical roles in carbon cycling, secondary production, habitat provision, and the coupling of pelagic and sedimentary processes within broader aquatic food webs and ecosystem functioning.
A new international review has shed light on how offshore energy structures—from oil and gas platforms to wind turbines—shape marine ecosystems and the benefits they provide to society. The paper, "Understanding the role ...
Ecology
May 25, 2026
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Researchers using cutting-edge environmental DNA (eDNA) technology have uncovered far greater biodiversity in eastern Ontario waterways than traditional monitoring methods detected over more than a decade, demonstrating the ...
Ecology
May 25, 2026
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In the crushing darkness of the hadal zone—deep ocean trenches plunging 6,000 m to nearly 11,000 m—scientists have uncovered a hidden community. A study published in Science on May 14 reports the discovery of a protist-dominated ...
Plants & Animals
May 22, 2026
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Researchers from the University of Rhode Island are contributing to an international effort to document life on Indonesia's remote tropical seamounts—underwater mountains rising from the ocean floor that can host diverse ...
Ecology
May 22, 2026
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In many underwater ecosystems, seagrass meadows act as a food source, a safe haven, and an ecological lynchpin. But until now, very little was known about how these plants reproduce—critical information for conserving the ...
Plants & Animals
May 22, 2026
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From butterflies to blue whales, corals and worms, Earth is home to an incredible diversity of animals. How all of these animals evolved from earlier, simpler ancestors is one of the most exciting stories in the history book ...
Evolution
May 21, 2026
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Researchers have uncovered a remarkable fossil site in a remote part of Canada's Northwest Territories, offering unprecedented insight into the earliest evolution of complex animal life on Earth. Findings from the site represent ...
Evolution
May 20, 2026
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Bottom trawlers extract one-quarter of the world's fisheries catches by weight and raise significant ecological, economic and social concerns. Given that, you'd think there would be an answer to basic questions in fisheries: ...
Ecology
May 13, 2026
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On the western side of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia, sits Myuna Bay, a quiet bay with meadows of seagrass waving beneath the water. The most common marine plant species you find there is Zostera muelleri. ...
Environment
May 10, 2026
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Arctic glacial fjords are hotspots of marine life, yet their seafloor environments remain some of the least explored regions on Earth. Their extreme remoteness and the technical challenges of deep-water observation have led ...
Plants & Animals
May 6, 2026
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