Open research questions in Marine and coastal plant biology

What the literature leaves open

• There is a lack of knowledge about the impact of rising ocean temperatures and increased frequency and intensity of storm events on kelp forests. The study aims to fill this gap by investigating the physiological condition and ultrastructure of rafting kelp.

  Rafting kelp from California – is it alive? Physiological condition, ultrastructure and reaction to high UV treatment · 2026 · DOI

• Lack of understanding of the spatial and temporal variability in biomass of canopy-forming macroalgae. Limited knowledge of the environmental conditions that govern the phenology of macroalgal forests.

  Dynamic Phenology of Canopy-Forming Macroalgal Forests within a Tropical Seascape · 2026 · DOI

• The magnitude and variability of ecosystem services provided by seagrass meadows are not well understood. There is a lack of studies that examine the role of seagrass meadows in carbon sequestration, pollution mitigation, and biodiversity enhancement across different contexts.

  Global Meta-Analysis Reveals Variability in Seagrass Carbon Storage, Pollution Mitigation and Benthic Biodiversity Enhancement Provisioning · 2026 · DOI

• The need to consider the ecological function and potential impacts of Sargassum. The challenge of developing a framework that can be applied in different jurisdictions and contexts.

  Forecastable Sargassum blooms are not automatic carbon removal: a policy triage framework for habitat, coastal risk and biomass use · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of a framework for making decisions about Sargassum management. The need for a policy triage approach that considers the ecological function and potential impacts of Sargassum. The gap in understanding how to use predictability for practical decisions about biomass management.

  Forecastable Sargassum blooms are not automatic carbon removal: a policy triage framework for habitat, coastal risk and biomass use · 2026 · DOI

• No research has been undertaken in South Africa to examine the macroinvertebrate community assemblage patterns within the Ecklonia radiata holdfast. The mechanisms driving the observed distribution patterns are unknown.

  Macrofaunal Communities Associated with Ecklonia radiata Holdfast Along the Southeast Coast of South Africa · 2025 · DOI

• The research also notes the challenge of dealing with taxonomic errors and the need for robust methods like the coefficient Γ+ of taxonomic dissimilarity.

  Latitudinal Patterns and Macroalgal Diversity in Marine Protected Areas Along the Southwest Atlantic · 2025 · DOI

• It highlights the need to assess macroalgal diversity loss and changing species composition and abundance in these areas.

  Latitudinal Patterns and Macroalgal Diversity in Marine Protected Areas Along the Southwest Atlantic · 2025 · DOI

• There is a lack of understanding of the species morphology and taxonomy of Montipora in Jeju waters. The study highlights the need for further research on the growth rates and densities of hard coral species in response to environmental changes.

  Peculiar Morphology of Montipora millepora Reveals Interspecific Competition for Space Among Two Other Major Foundation Species in Jeju Waters, South Korea · 2025 · DOI

• The paper highlights the need for further investigation into the underlying mechanisms driving the fluctuations in green tide blooms. The paper notes that the role of nutrient supply in sustaining eastward-drifting algae is unclear.

  The Yellow Sea Green Tides: Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Long-Distance Transport and Influencing Factors · 2025 · DOI

• The study highlights the need for further research on the ecological conditions of the lagoon and the conservation of native species. The authors note that the datasets for many years are incomplete, and often there are gaps in days or months, making it challenging to detect long-term changes.

  Climatic Changes Shift Macroalgal Assemblages from Cold- to Warm-Adapted Species: The Venice Lagoon as a Study Case · 2025 · DOI

• The paper identifies a gap in traditional species richness estimators, which assume spatial homogeneity and can lead to underestimation of biodiversity. The paper also identifies a gap in nonparametric estimators and asymptotic models, which can be affected by changes in species-abundance distributions and spatial heterogeneity.

  Improved Total–Species Accumulation Curve for Reliable Estimation of Regional Species Richness: An Application to Macroalgae Diversity on Bioconstructions from the Northern Adriatic Sea (Mediterranean Sea) · 2025 · DOI

• The lack of publication of natural history field notes. The need for more peer-reviewed, open-access natural history observations.

  Fifteen Years of Marine Biodiversity in the Journal Diversity and the Importance of Publishing Natural History Field Notes · 2025 · DOI

• Main Conclusions Using macroalgal communities in beach wrack, we illustrate that species associations can serve as alternative predictors for communities where biotic and abiotic data are scarce or hard to access.

  Leveraging Species Associations Patterns of Macroalgae in Wrack to Predict Their Spatial Distribution · 2026 · DOI

• This approach appears promising for monitoring communities where biodiversity and environmental data are sparse or limited.

  Leveraging Species Associations Patterns of Macroalgae in Wrack to Predict Their Spatial Distribution · 2026 · DOI

• Little is known about how these environmental factors affect the microbiome of N.

  Warming Seawater Temperature and Nutrient Depletion Alters Microbial Community Composition on a Foundational Canopy Kelp Species · 2025 · DOI

• Such information is lacking for the seagrass Zostera marina, an important foundation species across cold‐temperate coastal areas of the Northern Hemisphere.

  A 2,000‐Year Record of Eelgrass ( Zostera marina L.) Colonization Shows Substantial Gains in Blue Carbon Storage and Nutrient Retention · 2024 · DOI

• The scope and interpretation of this synthesis are constrained by its narrative design, - Targeted searches and thematic selection do not ensure exhaustive coverage, - The evidence discussed is dominated by temperate eelgrass systems and macrofauna, with more limited representation of tropical seagrasses…

  Benthic Biodiversity and the Assessment of Ecosystem Recovery in Seagrass Meadows: A Critical Narrative Review · 2026 · DOI

• Long-term monitoring of restored meadows, - Studies on tropical seagrasses and meiofauna, - Research on the effects of environmental context, spatial scale, and reference habitat on benthic…

  Benthic Biodiversity and the Assessment of Ecosystem Recovery in Seagrass Meadows: A Critical Narrative Review · 2026 · DOI

• Limited sampling points, - Limited depth range (45-90 m), - Limited geographic range…

  Diversity of Brown Macroalgae (Phaeophyceae) Emerging from Deepwater Rhodoliths Collected in the Gulf of Mexico · 2025 · DOI

• Further study of the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, - Investigation of other potential reservoirs of cryptic brown algal diversity, - Examination of the effects of different environmental factors on macroalgal…

  Diversity of Brown Macroalgae (Phaeophyceae) Emerging from Deepwater Rhodoliths Collected in the Gulf of Mexico · 2025 · DOI

• Further studies should be conducted to fully understand the biodiversity of Inútil Bay, - Research should focus on the impacts of human activities on the bay's ecosystem, - Studies should investigate the effectiveness of conservation…

  Marine Biodiversity in Inútil Bay (Tierra del Fuego): Patterns of Zooplanktonic and Benthic Assemblages · 2025 · DOI

• Obtaining high-quality DNA sequences from herbarium specimens. Resolving the unclear taxonomic relationships between the European and Korean C. fulvescens. Analyzing the complex phylogenetic relationships between C. fulvescens and other species of Ulotrichales and Ulvales.

  Genetic Diversity of the Traditional Economic Green Alga Capsosiphon fulvescens in Republic of Korea · 2025 · DOI

• Further study on the effects of climate change on macroalgal assemblages, - Investigation of the impacts of nutrient reduction on species dominance, - Research on the introduction and spread of non-indigenous…

  Climatic Changes Shift Macroalgal Assemblages from Cold- to Warm-Adapted Species: The Venice Lagoon as a Study Case · 2025 · DOI

• Methodological differences may arise from differences in the indices used, - Limited nutrient levels in the middle Yellow Sea lead to reduced growth and increased sinking, - The drivers of eastward migration in years without typhoon activity remain poorly understood, - Studies estimating biomass remain relatively limited, - The mixed pixel effect may affect the accuracy of algae coverage…

  The Yellow Sea Green Tides: Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Long-Distance Transport and Influencing Factors · 2025 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Marine and coastal plant biology

• A Global Crisis for Seagrass Ecosystems · BioScience · 2006 · 2,485 citations
• Long‐term declines and recovery of meadow area across the world’s seagrass bioregions · Global Change Biology · 2021 · 500 citations
• Threats and knowledge gaps for ecosystem services provided by kelp forests: a northeast Atlantic perspective · Ecology and Evolution · 2013 · 483 citations
• The global distribution of seagrass meadows · Environmental Research Letters · 2020 · 388 citations
• A seaweed aquaculture imperative to meet global sustainability targets · Nature Sustainability · 2021 · 358 citations
• Restoration of seagrass habitat leads to rapid recovery of coastal ecosystem services · Science Advances · 2020 · 333 citations
• Global challenges for seagrass conservation · AMBIO · 2018 · 322 citations
• The Central Role of Dispersal in the Maintenance and Persistence of Seagrass Populations · BioScience · 2012 · 299 citations
• Too hot to handle: Unprecedented seagrass death driven by marine heatwave in a World Heritage Area · Global Change Biology · 2020 · 267 citations
• The value of ecosystem services in global marine kelp forests · Nature Communications · 2023 · 265 citations

Most recent work

• A New Fissiparous Brittle Star, Ophiacantha scissionis sp. nov. (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea, Ophiacanthida), from Jeju Island, Korea · PubMed · 2026
• DNA sequencing of Linnaeus's Ulva compressa , U. intestinalis , and U. linza (Ulvaceae, Chlorophyta) and other Ulva type specimens · Journal of Phycology · 2026
• Extreme marine heatwaves drive divergent kelp forest trajectories and alternative stable states · Frontiers in Marine Science · 2026
• Warm Edge Kelp Populations Show Elevated Volatility to Marine Heatwaves · Ecology Letters · 2026
• Blue carbon sequestration dominated by dissolved organic carbon pathways for kelp forests and eelgrass meadows in Nova Scotia, Canada · Communications Earth & Environment · 2026
• An updated classification of growth forms in non‐geniculate coralline algae (Corallinophycidae, Rhodophyta) · Journal of Phycology · 2026
• Blending PlanetScope and Sentinel-2 imagery to assess subtidal seagrass changes in turbid waters · Marine Pollution Bulletin · 2026
• A catastrophic marine mortality event caused by a complex algal bloom including the brevetoxin producer Karenia cristata · Nature Ecology & Evolution · 2026
• Temporal shifts in kelp forest structure and distribution largely reflect recent ocean warming trends · Ecography · 2026
• A remote sensing framework unveiling the life-cycle dynamics and environmental drivers of Ulva prolifera green tides in the South Yellow Sea · Marine Environmental Research · 2026

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