Coastal ecosystems are multidisciplinary research topics encompassing the structure, function, and dynamics of biological communities and physical environments at the land–sea interface, including salt marshes, mangroves, seagrass meadows, tidal flats, estuaries, rocky shores, and coastal dunes. Scientific study focuses on biogeochemical cycles, primary productivity, trophic interactions, sediment transport, and hydrodynamic forcing (tides, waves, currents) that shape habitat distribution and resilience. Research also examines nutrient loading, contaminant fate, habitat fragmentation, and climate-driven stressors such as sea-level rise, ocean acidification, and warming, often integrating remote sensing, numerical modeling, and long-term ecological monitoring to quantify ecosystem services and assess vulnerability to anthropogenic impacts.
A research team from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has developed an innovative model to accurately assess the carbon sequestration capacity of global salt marshes, addressing a long-standing ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 7, 2026
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24
The growth form of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) is composed of shoots known as stipes instead of branches. From one parent holding fast to the hard bottom might come as many as 150 stipes. Typically, the tips of the ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 5, 2026
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30
A global study of mangroves has found that a modest boost in conserved areas could significantly increase their ability to adapt to the changing climate, including rising sea levels. University of Queensland Ph.D. candidate ...
Environment
Mar 4, 2026
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22
A tool originally designed to monitor the erosion of Scotland's coast has proven its worth on a tropical island the other side of the world. The open-source tool, called VedgeSat, was developed by researchers from the University ...
Environment
Mar 4, 2026
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14
A prolonged drought in southeastern Connecticut reduced the stability of microorganisms responsible for a critical step in the nitrogen cycle in a coastal salt marsh, according to research led by a Connecticut College scientist ...
Ecology
Mar 3, 2026
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13
The Florida Everglades is a complicated climate actor. The 1.5-million-acre wetland system remains a carbon sink, removing an average of 13.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year, but the system ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 2, 2026
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19
A key characteristic of modern human society is rapid urbanization, a process that can reshape natural environments and disrupt the habitats of many organisms. One widespread byproduct of urbanization is artificial light ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 24, 2026
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31
More than 350,000 chemicals are used worldwide, and many find their way into the ocean through plastic pollution. As plastics accumulate in coastal waters, they continuously leach bioactive additives that can interfere with ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 24, 2026
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17
The decline of California's kelp forests since the marine heat wave of 2013–17 has seen only minor recovery despite heroic efforts at restoration carried out by scientists, fishermen, coastal tribes, volunteer divers and ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 24, 2026
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55
As the Atlantic warms, many fish along the east coast of North America have moved northward to keep within their preferred temperature range. Black sea bass, for instance, have shifted hundreds of miles up the coast.
Ecology
Feb 21, 2026
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44
