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Marine Vertebrates and Invertebrates: Biology and Ecology in a Changing Environment

A Special Issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615) belonging to the section "Aquatic Animals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2026 | Viewed by 1052

Editors

Dr. Sabrina Colella

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnology (IRBIM)—National Research Council (CNR), 60125 Ancona, Italy
Interests: small pelagics and demersal species; biology and ecology; pollutants and lipids in relation to aspects of reproductive biology; marine recreational fishery resources
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Giorgia Gioacchini

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Guest Editor
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Interests: effects of pollution (chemicals and microplastics) and climate change on re-productive and developmental biology of fishes (small and large pelagic and sharks); cephalopods (cuttlefish); marine turtles and dolphins
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Giulia Chemello

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Interests: reproduction and embryonic development of marine species (teleosts and inverte-brates); effects of climate change and microplastic pollution on the health status and reproductive performance of marine species

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Detrimental impacts of climate change and direct anthropogenic activities on the health and functioning of marine ecosystems are widely recognized. Different studies have demonstrated that exposure to various stress sources can affect wildlife across multiple physiological levels. Species-specific responses vary according to intrinsic biological traits and ecological interactions, meaning that both marine vertebrates and invertebrates with differing physiological characteristics may exhibit distinct responses to the same environmental conditions.

Therefore, targeted investigations examining the specific responses of a species to environmental changes can enhance our understanding of ecosystem-level impacts.

This Special Issue will feature original research papers, case studies and review articles on the latest advances in the biology and ecology of marine vertebrate and invertebrate species. Papers devoted to marine recreational fishery resources are also welcome, in order to improve knowledge of species that are not primarily targeted by commercial fisheries.

We encourage submissions that explore how changes in environmental parameters (e.g., salinity, temperature, CO2 concentration, and nutrient availability) and exposure to different pollutants interact with physiological and behavioural processes across all life-history stages (e.g., growth, reproduction, migration, feeding).

Dr. Sabrina Colella
Prof. Dr. Giorgia Gioacchini
Dr. Giulia Chemello
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • marine vertebrates and invertebrates
  • reproduction
  • growth
  • feeding
  • ecology
  • embryonic development
  • climate change
  • pollutants
  • marine recreational resources

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 8532 KB  
Article
Study of the Population Dynamics and Habitat Suitability of Oratosquilla oratoria in the Coastal Waters of Northern Shandong Peninsula, China
by Shengfu Li, Xiaoxia Yu, Xiang Yu, Wenhui Cui, Zhaoyu Song, Min Li, Yiwen Liu, Zhenbo Lv, Liang Zheng and Zhonghua Ren
Animals 2026, 16(17), 2709; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16172709 - 1 Sep 2026
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Abstract
Fishing pressure shapes fishery-resource populations, but habitat suitability is often overlooked in spatial management. In this study, we investigated the population dynamics and habitat suitability of the mantis shrimp, Oratosquilla oratoria, in the northern Shandong Peninsula using surveys from 50 coastal stations [...] Read more.
Fishing pressure shapes fishery-resource populations, but habitat suitability is often overlooked in spatial management. In this study, we investigated the population dynamics and habitat suitability of the mantis shrimp, Oratosquilla oratoria, in the northern Shandong Peninsula using surveys from 50 coastal stations in May and August 2024, comprising 6504 individuals. The population exhibited negative allometric growth, with modeled growth accelerating around June. Fishing mortality was 1.44 a−1 and the exploitation rate was 0.53. Current F exceeded F0.1 (0.90 a−1) and was close to F20% (1.46 a−1), while the length at first capture (Lc = 6.48 cm) was substantially lower than the optimal length at first capture (Lcopt = 10.34 cm), indicating substantial fishing pressure and premature capture of small individuals. GAMs provided better in-sample fits than GLMs. Salinity and water depth were important predictors in both seasons, with nitrite nitrogen retained in spring and total phosphorus and pH retained in summer. Model-derived habitat suitability showed seasonal spatial redistribution, and high-suitability areas experienced greater fishing pressure. We therefore propose a preliminary spatially differentiated management scenario, including reduced fishing effort and candidate Lc reference values of 11.89 cm and 8.63 cm for high- and moderate-suitability areas, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Vertebrates and Invertebrates: Biology and Ecology in a Changing Environment)
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20 pages, 4849 KB  
Article
Reassessment of Growth and Exploitation of Portunus trituberculatus in Laizhou Bay: Legacy of Historical Overfishing
by Shihao Chen, Jilong Chen, Sihan Zhang, Fan Li, Xiaomin Zhang and Haixia Su
Animals 2026, 16(13), 2021; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16132021 - 2 Jul 2026
Viewed by 424
Abstract
To investigate growth trends of Portunus trituberculatus in Laizhou Bay, this study fitted the Von Bertalanffy growth model using FiSAT II based on carapace width frequency data from 2023 to 2025. Growth parameters and mortality coefficients were estimated, and natural mortality was evaluated [...] Read more.
To investigate growth trends of Portunus trituberculatus in Laizhou Bay, this study fitted the Von Bertalanffy growth model using FiSAT II based on carapace width frequency data from 2023 to 2025. Growth parameters and mortality coefficients were estimated, and natural mortality was evaluated using eight empirical formulas. A total of 2240 individuals (1117 females, 1123 males) were captured. The carapace width–weight relationships were W = 7.145 × 10−5L2.9153 (total), W = 1.208 × 10−4L2.8051 (females), and W = 3.209 × 10−5L3.0809 (males), indicating negative allometric growth in females and near-isometric growth in males. Asymptotic carapace widths (L∞) were 228.32, 227.23, and 215.25 mm; growth rates (k) were 0.43, 0.49, and 0.44; and the total mortalities (Z) were 1.41, 1.44, and 1.30 for total, female, and male, respectively. Recruitment occurred from April to August (spring–summer). Mean natural mortality (M) was 0.70, and exploitation rate (E) was 0.50. Compared with historical data, the current exploitation rate has decreased from the severely overexploited levels observed historically, approaching the commonly used MSY reference point of E = 0.50. This decline reflects the positive effects of summer fishing moratoriums and stock enhancement in reducing fishing pressure. However, this apparent stabilization in exploitation rate has not translated into biological recovery. Declining growth parameters and continued population decline indicate that the stock remains vulnerable, and current pressure may still exceed the ecosystem’s degraded carrying capacity. Future efforts should strengthen the monitoring and recovery of genetic diversity in P. trituberculatus, extend the study period of length–frequency data, and construct ecosystem models to assess the impacts of food competition and habitat changes, thereby providing a scientific basis for stock enhancement and resource assessment of P. trituberculatus in Laizhou Bay. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Vertebrates and Invertebrates: Biology and Ecology in a Changing Environment)
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