Oceans, Vol. 5, Pages 227-243: Energy Efficiency Analysis of a Deformable Wave Energy Converter Using Fully Coupled Dynamic Simulations Oceans doi: 10.3390/oceans5020014 Authors: Chen Luo Luofeng Huang Deformable wave energy converters have significant potential for application as flexible material that can mitigate structural issues, while how to design the dimensions and choose an optimal deployment location remain unclear. In this paper, fully coupled computational fluid dynamics and computational solid mechanics were used to simulate the dynamic interactions between ocean waves and a defor ..read more

Oceans, Vol. 5, Pages 196-209: Widespread Coral Bleaching and Mass Mortality of Reef-Building Corals in Southern Mexican Pacific Reefs Due to 2023 El Niño Warming Oceans doi: 10.3390/oceans5020012 Authors: Andrés López-Pérez Rebeca Granja-Fernández Eduardo Ramírez-Chávez Omar Valencia-Méndez Fabián A. Rodríguez-Zaragoza Tania González-Mendoza Armando Martínez-Castro In May 2023, oceanic and atmospheric anomalies indicated El Niño conditions in the eastern Pacific, followed by coral bleaching in coral communities and reefs of Huatulco. We conducted surveys and sampled ..read more

Oceans, Vol. 5, Pages 181-195: The Effects of Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) on the Mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis: A Multi-Biomarker Approach Oceans doi: 10.3390/oceans5020011 Authors: Sandra Copeto Sara Ganço Inês João Ferreira Marco Silva Carla Motta Mário Diniz Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is a fire-retardant containing bromine, produced in large quantities worldwide and extensively used in several industrial products. This compound was identified as a potential contaminant of the environment, causing toxicity to organisms. However, its toxicity remains poorly understood in marine bivalv ..read more

Oceans, Vol. 5, Pages 166-180: Investigation of Spatiotemporal Patterns of Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) Strandings in Swedish Waters for Improved Monitoring and Management Oceans doi: 10.3390/oceans5020010 Authors: Vigge Ulfsson Hyeyoung Kim Linnea Cervin Anna Roos Aleksija Neimanis Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) are the only cetacean residents found year-round in Swedish waters and they are exposed to numerous natural and anthropogenic threats. Since the in situ monitoring of cetaceans can be difficult, invasive and often expensive, investigation of stranding patterns and exami ..read more

Oceans, Vol. 5, Pages 127-149: Field Test of an Autonomous Observing System Prototype for Measuring Oceanographic Parameters from Ships Oceans doi: 10.3390/oceans5010008 Authors: Fernando P. Santos Teresa L. Rosa Miguel A. Hinostroza Roberto Vettor A. Miguel Piecho-Santos C. Guedes Soares A prototype of an autonomous system for the retrieval of oceanographic, wave, and meteorologic data was installed and tested in May 2021 on a Portuguese research vessel navigating on the Atlantic Ocean. The system was designed to be installed in fishing vessels that could operate as a distributed network of o ..read more

Oceans, Vol. 5, Pages 81-108: Blueprint for Blue Carbon: Lessons from Seychelles for Small Island States Oceans doi: 10.3390/oceans5010006 Authors: Michael Bennett Antaya March Jeremy Raguain Pierre Failler Blue carbon has been proposed as a nature-based solution for climate change mitigation; however, a limited number of published works and data and knowledge gaps hinder the development of small island developing states’ (SIDS) national blue carbon resources globally. This paper reviews the blue carbon ecosystems of Seychelles as a case study in the context of SIDS, comparing es ..read more

Oceans, Vol. 5, Pages 71-80: Artificial Reef Deployment Reduces Diving Pressure from Natural Reefs—The Case of Introductory Dives in Eilat, Red Sea Oceans doi: 10.3390/oceans5010005 Authors: Nadav Shashar Asa Oren Re’em Neri Omer Waizman Natalie Chernihovsky Jenny Tynyakov Artificial reefs have been suggested as alternative dive sites to mitigate human pressure on natural reefs. Despite the conceptual appeal of artificial reefs, there is a paucity of empirical evidence regarding their effectiveness in achieving this objective. Here, we report that a small artificial reef deployed adj ..read more

Oceans, Vol. 5, Pages 48-70: Baleen–Plastic Interactions Reveal High Risk to All Filter-Feeding Whales from Clogging, Ingestion, and Entanglement Oceans doi: 10.3390/oceans5010004 Authors: Alexander J. Werth Shirel R. Kahane-Rapport Jean Potvin Jeremy A. Goldbogen Matthew S. Savoca Baleen whales are ecosystem sentinels of microplastic pollution. Research indicates that they likely ingest millions of anthropogenic microparticles per day when feeding. Their immense prey consumption and filter-feeding behavior put them at risk. However, the role of baleen, the oral filtering structure o ..read more

Oceans, Vol. 5, Pages 21-37: Herbivorous Reef Fish Interaction with the Habitat and Physicochemical Variables in Coral Ecosystems in the Mexican Tropical Pacific Oceans doi: 10.3390/oceans5010002 Authors: Diana Morales-de-Anda Amílcar Leví Cupul-Magaña Consuelo María Aguilar-Betancourt Gaspar González-Sansón Fabián Alejandro Rodríguez-Zaragoza Alma Paola Rodríguez-Troncoso Herbivorous fish can mediate spatial competition between algae and corals, which is crucial for coral ecosystems. However, in areas with limited coral coverage like the Mexican tropical Pacific (MTP), this dynamic is not ful ..read more

Oceans, Vol. 5, Pages 1-20: Contribution to the Knowledge of Cetacean Strandings in Chile between 2015 and 2020 Oceans doi: 10.3390/oceans5010001 Authors: Mauricio Ulloa Miguel A. Rivero Antonio Fernández Strandings caused by anthropogenic factors are one of the most worrying threats in relation to the conservation of cetacean species, and in the case of Chile, due to its geography and large extension of the coastline, monitoring and access to these events is difficult, making their study more complex. Chile has a shortage of specialized scientific forensic research facilities for cetaceans; h ..read more