Coral Reef Ecology and Diversity Conservation
A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Biodiversity Conservation".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 43
Special Issue Editors
Interests: coral reef ecology; diversity; marine invasive species; mesophotic coral ecosystems；antipatharians
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Coral reefs are among the most diverse marine ecosystems in the world, providing coastal communities with valuable ecosystem services and natural infrastructure protection. Increasingly, threats to these ecosystems are intensifying due to fishing pressure, land-based sources of sediment and pollution, invasive species, coastal development, recreational overuse, and climate change. Although these impacts are often documented and management actions are implemented at local and regional scales, the ecological and biodiversity changes associated with such threats are often less well characterized. This is despite the fact that coral reefs host many new species that are known but not yet formally described, as well as significant undiscovered biodiversity. This under-documented and often cryptic biodiversity is concentrated in poorly studied groups and poorly explored habitats, such as mesophotic coral ecosystems. This Special Issue will focus on underappreciated coral reef biodiversity and ecosystem processes imperiled by a wide range of human-mediated threats, the impacts of which are incompletely understood due to inadequate study of key taxa and habitats.
Manuscripts should address effective management and conservation needs, as well as the following topics:
- Changes to ecological processes and associated diversity;
- Functional roles of poorly studied taxa in relation to coral reef conservation;
- Conservation of species richness and diversity in mesophotic coral ecosystems;
- Diversity trends associated with coral reef stressors, including climate change;
- Emerging data needs for the management and conservation of coral reef diversity.
Dr. Anthony D. Montgomery
Dr. Dan A. Polhemus
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2100 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
- coral reefs
- mesophotic coral ecosystems
- climate change
- policy and management
- cryptic biodiversity
- unique habitats
- taxonomic impediments
- ecosystem services
- natural infrastructure
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