Ecology and Dynamics of Marine Plankton

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue features high-quality research papers focusing on marine plankton in coastal oceans. We aim to highlight the vital roles these tiny organisms play in maintaining ocean health and ecosystem balance. Each study included in this issue will enhance our understanding of how marine plankton contribute to nutrient cycles, support food webs, and adapt to environmental challenges such as eutrophication, pollution, acidification, and climate change. Together, these insights will be crucial for the future of coastal ocean ecosystems.

We invite contributions on a broad spectrum of relevant topics, including but not limited to the following: (1) the spatial organization of phytoplankton populations and their relationships with environmental factors; (2) how biotic interactions (e.g., competition, predation) influence plankton community composition and structure over time; (3) the dynamics of zooplankton populations, focusing on gene flow, larval dispersal, and their roles in community resilience and adaptation; (4) evolutionary adaptations of plankton species to environmental changes (e.g., climate change, nutrient availability, ocean acidification) and their impacts on biogeographical distributions; (5) plankton’s role in coastal biogeochemical cycles, particularly in carbon fixation and nutrient regeneration; and (6) integrative studies using models to explore the mechanisms underlying plankton community diversity, stability, and functionality.

Prof. Dr. Qian Li
Dr. Vittoria Roncalli
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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 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 2600 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.