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To support and encourage more outstanding international students and scholars to study at our university, East China Normal University offers scholarship opportunities for international students. The available types of scholarships include the Chinese Government Scholarship, Shanghai Municipal Government Scholarship, International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship , and East China Normal University Scholarship. We welcome you to explore our website and discover the scholarship that suits you, allowing you to embark on an exciting international study journey!

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More information here.

This month's Editor Picks share 10 studies with our readers. From the identification of a deep-sea nudibranch to the statistical patterns in whale song that resemble aspects of human language, these studies provide insights into various aspects of marine ecosystems. Researchers examine the potential ecological effects of expanding seaweed cultivation within seagrass meadows, while a new machine learning tool, RapidBenthos, offers an approach to coral reef monitoring. The Argo program, a key component of ocean observing, marks 25 years of data collection, and an extreme tidal system in the Sea of Okhotsk contributes to the understanding of coastal carbonate dynamics. Other topics include the structural properties of mantis shrimp exoskeletons, copper cycling in mangrove ecosystems, and global assessments related to ocean sustainability, reflecting the diverse scope of contemporary marine research.

Risks of habitat loss from seaweed cultivation within seagrass

Authors: B. L. H. Jones, J. S. Eklöf, R. K. F. Unsworth, L. Coals, M. J. A. Christianen, J. Clifton, L. C. Cullen-Unsworth, M. de la Torre-Castro, N.Esteban, M. Huxham, N. S. Jiddawi, L. J. McKenzie, M. Nakaoka, L. M. Nordlund, J. L. S. Ooi, and A. Prathep

Journal: PNAS

Seagrass meadows are thought to reduce water column marine bacterial pathogens, with new data from Fiorenza et al. suggesting that this function extends to reducing disease in seaweed cultivation by 75%. As a result, Fiorenza et al. advocate scaling seaweed production within seagrass meadows globally, highlighting benefits to local livelihoods. We argue that this is premature and dangerous for marine biodiversity and wider ecosystem functioning across the ~20.7 million km² of suitable area. Fiorenza et al. do not consider the holistic nature of the problem that they aim to provide solutions for nor the potential for complex unintended consequences .

Water quality issues are globally prevalent. Understanding the role of seagrass in reducing pathogens, and how this facilitates and influences other ecological functions and services, is indeed highly important. However, suggestions made by Fiorenza et al. are built on three flawed assumptions: first, that seaweed cultivation and seagrass can co-exist sustainably, two, that the results of their study are ubiquitous to the region, and, finally, that seaweed cultivation positively correlates with sustainable development.

First, despite historic and globally widespread seaweed cultivation, limited studies investigate effects on seagrass. In the few locations where studies exist, effects have been negative for seagrass structure and function and for associated biodiversity. We can only hypothesize the effects (e.g., displacement, entanglement) to seagrass-associated migratory species and megaherbivores that are also culturally significant for Indigenous people. Despite a potentially positive role of seagrass for seaweed production, the ecosystem services provided by seagrass, which are driven by structure, function, and biodiversity, likely suffer under cultivation scenarios.

Click to read the full paper

The Carbonate System of Penzhina Bay and the Shelikhov Gulf

in the Sea of Okhotsk during Extreme Tides in Summer

Authors: P. Semkin, K. Baigubekov, Y. Barabanshchikov, S. Gorin, A. Koltunov, S. Sagalaev, O. Ulanova, P. Tishchenko, M. Shvetsova, E. Shkirnikova, P. Tishchenko and J. Zhang

Journal: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

Understanding the factors that control carbonate systems is an important goal due to the complex interactions between the hydrophysical and chemical–biological conditions in coastal basins. The results of this paper present the state of the carbonate system in Penzhina Bay and its adjacent waters—the Shelikhov Gulf—in July 2023, during spring tides with 13 m height. The area we studied included the length of the largest river in the region, the Penzhina River, from the peak of its summer flood to its boundary with the Shelikhov Gulf (the Sea of Okhotsk). This unique dynamic basin, with a length of about 800 km, was studied over 17 days. During this period, the entire water column of Penzhina Bay, down to a depth of about 60 m, and the surface water layer of the Shelikhov Gulf were undersaturated in terms of CO₂, with low levels relative to those of the atmosphere. To explain this observation, the dissolved oxygen, nutrients in mineral and organic forms, humic substances, chlorophyll a, and photic zone thickness are presented for the entire basin under study, together with its hydrological data. The results of daily observations of the carbonate system at fixed anchorage stations characterize two contrasting regions of Penzhina Bay: one that was more exposed to continental runoff, which had salinity levels in the range of 8.0–21.3 psu during one tidal cycle; the second had smaller variations in salinity in the range of 31.6–32.9 psu during one tidal cycle. This study emphasizes the importance of biological processes and continental runoff on the variability of the carbonate system parameters and CO₂ fluxes at a water/atmosphere boundary with extreme tidal conditions in this ecosystem that is barely affected by human activities.

Click to read the full paper

Fig. 1: The dependence of the pCO₂ on AOU and the concentration of Chl a, HSs, and photic zone thickness on salinity. HTW—high turbidity water.



Copper speciation in a tropical mangrove forest of Southeast Asia

Authors: Y. P. Lee, K. H. Wong, H. Obata, M. Z. Kamsah and M. H. Rasidi

Journal: Marine Chemistry

Mangrove forests are vital ecosystems that protect coastlines, sequester carbon, and support diverse food webs. Elucidation of the behaviors of nutrients, trace elements, and organic matters in these regions is crucial to understand the impact of human activities and the potential effects of climate change. In this study, we revealed the distributions and bioavailability of a trace metal, copper (Cu), and conducted the first study of Cu speciation in a mangrove region in Southeast Asia. Dissolved Cu (dCu) concentrations ranged from 0.3 to 2.3 nmol L−1 in the study region, which are relatively low compared to most other coastal regions globally. Two classes of Cu-binding organic ligands with average conditional stability constants, log K, of 15.5 and 13.2, respectively, were detected in mangrove waters. Complexing capacities of the ligands generally decrease in low salinity waters with low dCu concentrations. Concentrations of the stronger-binding class of organic ligand (L1) were higher than those of dCu, reducing the bioavailable Cu2+ concentration to less than femtomolar levels, potentially inducing Cu-limitation to microorganism growth. To further understand the biogeochemical processes of trace metals in mangrove regions, future studies should prioritize obtaining baseline data using standardized sampling and analytical techniques to ensure consistent and reliable results.

Click to read the full paper

RapidBenthos: Automated segmentation and multi-view classification of coral reef communities from photogrammetric reconstruction

Authors: T. Remmers, N. Boutros, M. Wyatt, S. Gordon, M. Toor, C. Roelfsema, K. Fabricius, A. Grech, M. Lechene, and R. Ferrari

Journal: Methods in Ecology and Evolution

1. Underwater photogrammetry is routinely used to monitor large areas of complex and heterogeneous ecosystems, such as coral reefs. However, deriving data on benthic components (i.e. sand, rubble, coral and algae) from photogrammetry products has remained challenging due to the highly time-consuming process of manual data extraction.
2. We developed a machine learning approach to quantify benthic community composition in coral reefs from orthomosaics, which requires no manual delineation of benthic components for training or implementation. The current study presents RapidBenthos, an automated workflow that segments and classifies large-area images. Our pipeline (1) uses a pre-trained segmentation model, eliminating the need for manually generated fine-scale segmented training data, and (2) classifies the resulting segments from multiple views using the underlying survey images, allowing for classification to fine taxonomic levels.
3. Within a test photomosaic built from a coral reef area of 40 m−2, the model automatically detected 43 different benthic classes. Validation resulted in an overall classification accuracy of 0.96 and a segmentation accuracy of 0.87, when compared to a manually digitised replica. The RapidBenthos workflow was 195 times faster than manual segmentation and classification. Additional validation of 524 Acropora coral colonies from 11 additional test plots resulted in a segmentation accuracy of 0.92 and classification accuracy of 0.88 to the coarser ‘Acropora’ group.
4. RapidBenthos has the capability to extract an unprecedented level of data from photomosaics of coral reefs or other complex environments, allowing to sustainably scale photogrammetric monitoring technique both in replicate and survey extent, which consequently can lead to new research questions and more informed ecosystem management.

Click to read the full paper



Fig. 3: Study location and site imaging techniques. (a) Lizard Island showing the primary validation site on the wave-exposed eastern side (green dot); (b) SCUBA diver with DSLR photogrammetry camera rig; and (c) photogrammetry imaging pattern showing camera location (blue and yellow dots), images used for analyses (yellow dots) and data analysis extent (red line).

Argo, the 'crown jewel' of ocean observing systems, turns 25

Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Somewhere in the middle of the ocean, a merchant mariner lowers a cylindrical robotic ocean observing instrument from a ship into the sea to record ocean temperature and salinity. Another instrument is deployed from a plane into the eye of a hurricane to take the pulse of the ocean during the storm. In Antarctic waters, a rounder float is released that will sink far deeper than the others, down to 3.7 miles (6,000 meters) below the sea surface. These three robotic floats are part of a fleet of nearly 4,000 that make up what is known as the global Argo “array.” 

This month marks 25 years since Argo floats began drifting with currents and diving for data. The array has helped scientists to better understand changes in the ocean, improve climate and weather forecasts and ultimately help society prepare for environmental change.

Click to read the full paper

Fig. 4: Graphic showing an Argo float's 10 day mission cycle. (Image credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Whale song shows language-like statistical structure

Authors: I. Arnon, S. Kirby, J. A. Allen, C. Garrigue, E. L. Carroll, and E.C. Garland

Journal: Science

Humpback whale song is a culturally transmitted behavior. Human language, which is also culturally transmitted, has statistically coherent parts whose frequency distribution follows a power law. These properties facilitate learning and may therefore arise because of their contribution to the faithful transmission of language over multiple cultural generations. If so, we would expect to find them in other culturally transmitted systems. In this study, we applied methods based on infant speech segmentation to 8 years of humpback recordings, uncovering in whale song the same statistical structure that is a hallmark of human language. This commonality, in two evolutionarily distant species, points to the role of learning and cultural transmission in the emergence of properties thought to be unique to human language.

Click to read the full paper



Strengthening the seascape of global environmental assessments to support ocean sustainability

Authors: J. Jacquemont, T. B. Rudolph, L. C. Gerhardinger, J. Claudet, H. O. Pörtner and F. Gaill 

Source: npj ocean sustainability

Ambitious evidence-based policies are urgently needed to redirect mankind’s trajectory towards ocean sustainability. While global environmental assessments (GEAs) synthesizing ocean knowledge are multiplying, we must ensure that their processes and outputs are conducive to social legitimacy, scientific credibility, and meet decision-makers’ needs. Here, we identify best practices for GEAs to achieve legitimacy, credibility, and salience and develop a framework to evaluate their levels of implementation. We apply this framework to review the processes and outputs of 12 influential reports at the ocean science-policy interface. Credibility best practices were well implemented in GEAs but significant opportunities remain to strengthen legitimacy and salience best practices, notably by increasing stakeholder engagement, diversifying knowledge systems represented, and featuring actionable knowledge for decision-makers. We formulate four recommendations to strengthen the GEA seascape: elevating co-production practices, bridging scales through multi-level approaches, increasing transparency in knowledge choices and gaps, and coordinating assessment processes.

Click to read the full paper



Fig. 5: Profiles of global environmental assessments reviewed. Proportion of content (% pages) dedicated to ocean knowledge and total length (in pages) of assessments (left panel), periodicity of assessments’ publication (central panel), and year of their latest publication (right panel). Wave icons denote ocean-focused assessments, while earth icons denote Earth-system assessments. Assessment acronyms stand for the following: Global Environmental Outlook (GEO), Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO), World Ocean Assessment (WOA), Assessment Report (AR), Special Report on Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC), State of the Ocean Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA), State of the Ocean Report (StOR), Global Coastal Resources (GCR), the State of the Global Climate (StGC), Global Resource Outlook (GRO), Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services global (IPBES GA) and IPBES-IPCC co-sponsored workshop report on Biodiversity and Climate Change (IPBES-IPCC).



Tour de Coasts:

Final Report Unveils Global Insights on Coastal Sustainability

Source: Future Earth Coasts

Future Earth Coasts (FEC), in collaboration with researchers from the University of South Carolina, has officially released the final report of the Tour de Coasts initiative. Launched in March, 2024, the global survey engaged a diverse and international audience, including researchers, policymakers, and community representatives to identify critical gaps, challenges, and solutions in coastal sustainability. The report offers a comprehensive overview of coastal sustainability from a global perspective, providing valuable insights to guide future research and policy action.

Click to read the full paper

Events, Webinars and Conferences

Information shared by our contacts:

• 2025 APN Proposal Development Training Workshop in the Temperate East Asian Region, 2-6 June 2025, Jeju, Republic of Korea. Apply before 6 April 2025 (midnight JST).

• Pan-CLIVAR Meeting 2025 & CLIVAR Symposium: Bridging Science and Society in Southeast Asia and Beyond. Deadline to submit an abstract: 11 April 2025, 23h59 CEST.

• Baltic Sea Science Congress 2025, 26-30 May 2025, Sopot, Poland. Registration Deadline: 14 April 2025.

• International Workshop on Mid-latitude Atmosphere-Ocean-Ecosystem Interactions: Processes, Predictability, and Habitability, 16-18 July 2025, Japan.

• 13th WIOMSA Symposium, 28 September - 3 October 2025, Mombasa, Kenya.

• 2025 Future Earth Science and Applications Conference, 23-24 April 2025, Jingdezhen, China. Submit abstracts by 15 April 2025.

• Southern Ocean Bio-optics Workshop, 10-14 November 2025, Hobart, Australia. Registration is now open.

• Applications open: Training Course on Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement - Assessing the Impacts on Marine Organisms - Ocean Acidification, 7-11 April 2025, Monaco. If you have already applied, please mark your calendar and don’t miss the event.

• The Ecological Dissertations in Aquatic Sciences (Eco-DAS) Symposium for early career aquatic scientists returns to Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, 3-7 April 2025. If you have already applied, please mark your calendar and don’t miss the event.

• EGU General Assembly 2025, 27 April - 2 May 2025, Vienna, Austria & Online. Registration is still open.

• PAGES' 7th Open Science Meeting, 21-24 May 2025, Shanghai, China & Online. Late registration by 20 April 2025.

• One Ocean Science Congress 2025, 4-6 June 2025, Nice, France. Early registration by 15 April 2025.

• 14th International Temperate Reefs Symposium 2025, 1-4 July 2025, Brest, France. Registration by 1 June 2025.

• The 58th European Marine Biology Symposium (EMBS), 6-9 July 2025, Bodø, Norway. Early registration by 14 April 2025.

• Marine Protected Areas in Marine Spatial Planning Conference, 9-12 July 2025, Bodø, Norway. Early registration by 3 April 2025.

• Busan IAMAS-IACS-IAPSO Joint Assembly 2025, 20-25 July 2025, Busan, Republic of Korea. Early registration by 30 April 2025.

• 27th Conference on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography, 18-22 August 2025, San Diego, CA and Online. Submit abstracts by 15 April 2025.

• ICES Annual Science Conference 2025, 15-18 September 2025, Klaipeda, Lithuania. Submit abstracts by 17 March 2025.

Jobs and Opportunities

Information shared by our contacts:

• Postdoc Opportunity - IRD, Brest (France). Research Focus: Governance and societal dimensions of marine Carbon Dioxide Removal options. Apply by 15 April 2025. More information here.

• Scientific Project Manager (m/f/d) - GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. Apply by 20 April 2025. More information here.

• Lecturer in Marine Science, School of Environmental Sciences, The University of East Anglia. Apply by 2 May 2025. More information here.

• PhD Project Opportunity - ISMER-UQAR & VLIZ. Apply by 5 May 2025. More information here.

• Research Associate in Oceanic Blue Carbon
• This post is funded by UKRI and is part of a large Horizon Europe consortia, SeaQUESTER, which aims to better understand marine carbon cycling and storage in polar ecosystems, and how climate change may produce new or novel blue carbon ecosystems as sea-ice melts. Looking for an enthusiastic Research Associate to join the team, and develop computational approaches to assess blue carbon transit and stocks. More information here.

• Postdoctoral Fellowship: Climate Change Impacts on Northwest Atlantic Marine Ecosystems & Fisheries, Memorial University, St. John’s, Canada.
• Position will remain open until filled.

• Postdoctoral Fellowship: Transforming Climate Action - Uncertain Seas, Memorial University, St. John’s, Canada. Open until filled. 

• Anthropocene Coasts Recruiting Position: Associate Editors
• Applications will continue until the position is filled.
• Anthropocene Coasts is a Golden Open Access journal hosted by East China Normal University, and published by Springer. The journal publishes multidisciplinary research addressing the interaction of human activities with our estuaries and coasts. To help build on the success of Anthropocene Coasts and to expand the opportunities for international collaboration and contributions to the work of the journal, the journal is seeking more international Associate Editors.

• Apply for funds to run a training school or conference series in 2026
• The EGU Topical Events programme is dedicated to the pursuit of progress in all areas of the Earth, planetary and space sciences through the co-sponsoring of a number meetings, conferences and training events. EGU provide a range f funded options to engage with these more specialised events, paying special attention to the needs of early career researchers, and aim to help organisers achieve financial stability, visibility, and/or access to a larger target community with our support. All Topical Events funding for 2026 is now open for application by 16 May 2025.

Capturing IMBeR: Share Your Photos and Memories

We invite all IMBeR participants - past and present - to contribute photos that capture the spirit of IMBeR’s activities over the years. Whether from fieldwork, meetings, workshops, summer schools, or community engagement events, your photos will help illustrate IMBeR’s impact and legacy.

Please send high-resolution images, along with a brief description and credit information, to imber@ecnu.edu.cn.

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