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Combining Field Observations and Satellite Remote Sensing to Monitor Marine...
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Combining Field Observations and Satellite Remote Sensing to Monitor Marine Ecosystem Dynamics

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Ecology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2026) | Viewed by 5094

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Martina Orlando-Bonaca

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Marine Biology Station Piran, National Institute of Biology, Piran, Slovenia
Interests: marine biology and ecology; benthic habitat types; macroalgae and seagrasses; brown algal forests; restoration; coastal fish assemblages; non-indigenous species; evaluation of the ecological status
Dr. Danijel Ivajnsic

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
Interests: landscape ecology and geography; remote sensing and spatial analytics in biology and ecology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue highlights recent advances in integrating field methods, remote sensing, and spatial modelling for marine ecosystem monitoring. This multidisciplinary approach is applicable across diverse habitats—such as coral reefs, coastal lagoons, algal beds, and intertidal zones—where consistent long-term monitoring is limited by environmental and logistical challenges. By combining field data with satellite-based observations and modelling, this framework enables scalable, repeatable ecosystem assessments that support biodiversity conservation, habitat restoration, and dynamic spatial decision-support systems. These tools are essential for guiding sustainable management and policy actions across various types of marine protected areas. We welcome contributions presenting innovative methodologies and approaches, as well as concise reviews or opinion pieces that shed light on the application of remote sensing in monitoring marine ecosystems at both local and global scales.

Dr. Martina Orlando-Bonaca
Dr. Danijel Ivajnsic
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 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 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.

Keywords

  • field-based methods
  • remote sensing technologies
  • satellite-based observations
  • environmental change predictions
  • spatial modelling
  • ecosystem assessment
  • biodiversity conservation
  • habitat restoration
  • sustainable management and policy actions

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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30 pages, 3444 KB  
Article
Coral Species Strategies in the Gulf of Eilat (Aqaba)
by Alina Raphael and David Iluz
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(10), 955; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14100955 - 21 May 2026
Viewed by 142
Abstract
Coral reefs in the Gulf of Eilat maintain a high diversity of ~100 stony coral species. Despite intense competition for a limited substrate, this raises fundamental questions about spatial organization and mechanisms of coexistence. This study combines deep learning species classification with spatial [...] Read more.
Coral reefs in the Gulf of Eilat maintain a high diversity of ~100 stony coral species. Despite intense competition for a limited substrate, this raises fundamental questions about spatial organization and mechanisms of coexistence. This study combines deep learning species classification with spatial point-pattern analysis to quantify the frequency of intragenus versus intergenus competitive contacts among four dominant coral genera, Acropora, Favia, Platygyra, and Stylophora, across 12 standardized transects at four reef sites. The ResNet-50 convolutional neural network achieved 92.3% test accuracy for genus-level identification in field imagery of 1100 test images, enabling automated detection of 487 coral–coral competitive pairs exhibiting direct physical contact. Intragenus pairs comprised only 18.3% (89/487) of contacts, significantly below the 50% expected under spatial randomness (z = −14.0, p < 0.0001) with pair correlation functions g(r) > 1 at sub-meter scales indicating conspecific clustering. Genus-specific pair frequencies correlated strongly with relative abundance and spatial coverage (r = 1), with ecological traits explaining dominance patterns: fast-growing, competitive Acropora generated high contact rates, while stress-tolerant Favia and Platygyra prevailed through longevity and defensive competition. These findings demonstrate that intergeneric competition dominates despite local congeneric aggregation, maintaining diversity through niche partitioning rather than intransitive networks, even as coral cover declines amid rising temperatures above 0.05 °C yr−1 and historical eutrophication. The deep learning workflow provides a scalable baseline for monitoring anthropogenic impacts on coral competition dynamics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Combining Field Observations and Satellite Remote Sensing to Monitor Marine Ecosystem Dynamics)
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22 pages, 7217 KB  
Article
Climate-Driven Habitat Shifts in Brown Algal Forests: Insights from the Adriatic Sea
by Daša Donša, Danijel Ivajnšič, Lovrenc Lipej, Domen Trkov, Borut Mavrič, Valentina Pitacco, Ana Fortič, Ana Lokovšek, Milijan Šiško and Martina Orlando-Bonaca
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(2), 196; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14020196 - 17 Jan 2026
Viewed by 820
Abstract
Brown algal forests (Cystoseira sensu lato) are key habitat-forming components of temperate rocky coasts but have experienced widespread decline across the Mediterranean Sea. This study investigates the current distribution and potential future shifts in brown algal forests across the Adriatic Sea under [...] Read more.
Brown algal forests (Cystoseira sensu lato) are key habitat-forming components of temperate rocky coasts but have experienced widespread decline across the Mediterranean Sea. This study investigates the current distribution and potential future shifts in brown algal forests across the Adriatic Sea under ongoing climate change. We combined non-destructive field-based mapping along the Slovenian coastline with remote-sensing products and spatial environmental predictors to model basin-wide habitat suitability. A multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) framework was applied to account for spatial non-stationarity and to explicitly capture the fact that environmental drivers of habitat suitability operate at different spatial scales—an assumption that global models such as GAM or standard GWR cannot adequately address. Habitat suitability maps were generated for present-day conditions and projected under mid- and late-century climate scenarios. The results reveal pronounced latitudinal gradients, identify areas of ongoing canopy decline in the northern Adriatic, and highlight parts of the southern Adriatic as potential climate refugia. Overall, the study demonstrates a likely north–south contraction of suitable habitat for brown algal forests and underscores the value of multiscale spatial modelling for informing marine spatial planning, conservation prioritization, and climate-adaptive restoration under European policy frameworks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Combining Field Observations and Satellite Remote Sensing to Monitor Marine Ecosystem Dynamics)
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15 pages, 5429 KB  
Article
Seasonal Variation in Pacific Sleeper Shark (Somniosus pacificus) Habitat Use in Prince William Sound, Alaska
by Amanda M. Bishop, Julie K. Nielsen and Markus Horning
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(2), 175; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14020175 - 14 Jan 2026
Viewed by 925
Abstract
The Pacific sleeper shark (Somniosus pacificus) is a long-lived, deep-water, sub-polar species that exhibits flexible foraging strategies, likely combining scavenging with active predation on a broad range of prey, yet their role in marine food webs and impact on commercial species [...] Read more.
The Pacific sleeper shark (Somniosus pacificus) is a long-lived, deep-water, sub-polar species that exhibits flexible foraging strategies, likely combining scavenging with active predation on a broad range of prey, yet their role in marine food webs and impact on commercial species remain undetermined. Tracking the location of Pacific sleeper sharks in Alaskan coastal waters is extremely challenging given the predominantly aphotic depths that these sharks occupy, often in spatially constrained and critically under-sampled regions: deep, steep-flanked, convoluted fjords of Prince William Sound (PWS). From the first ever, year-long depth and temperature records recovered from archiving pop-up satellite-linked transmitters (n = 7), we characterized the residence distributions, depth, and thermal habitat for sharks within the PWS fjords and identified seasonal and temporal variation in habitat use. Depths recorded from the seven sharks ranged from 3 to 572 m, and pop-up tag locations suggested a high degree intra-annual residency within western PWS. Ambient water temperatures ranged from 2.65 to 11.1 °C, with little deviation from the median of 5.9 °C. Seasonal patterns emerged within and across individuals relative to the variation in vertical movements, ambient temperatures, and horizontal movements that could reflect resource-oriented strategies. The high degree of residency combined with extensive use of the water column facilitates the use of physically recoverable, high-resolution behavioral and environmental samplers on Pacific sleeper sharks. This adaptive sampling using Pacific sleeper sharks as platforms of opportunity may in turn enable the use of Pacific sleeper sharks as climate and ecosystem sentinels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Combining Field Observations and Satellite Remote Sensing to Monitor Marine Ecosystem Dynamics)
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24 pages, 4262 KB  
Article
Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) Migration in the Strait of Gibraltar: Evaluating Maritime Traffic Threats and Conservation Measures
by Rocío Espada, Liliana Olaya-Ponzone, Estefania Martín-Moreno, Paco Gil-Vera, Iris Anfruns Fernández, Daniel Patón Domínguez and José Carlos García-Gómez
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2025, 13(11), 2156; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13112156 - 14 Nov 2025
Viewed by 1852
Abstract
The Strait of Gibraltar (SG) is a key biogeographic and ecological corridor connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, enabling the seasonal migrations of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus). The objective of this study was to characterize, for the first time, [...] Read more.
The Strait of Gibraltar (SG) is a key biogeographic and ecological corridor connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, enabling the seasonal migrations of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus). The objective of this study was to characterize, for the first time, the spatial and temporal exposure of the species to maritime traffic during its migration through the SG, quantifying movement patterns, individual composition, and collision risk to identify critical areas for conservation. Validated observations collected between April 2016 and October 2024, with additional records in January and March 2025, were integrated with EMODnet vessel density layers to assess monthly distributions of sightings, individuals, calves, migration patterns, and behavior. A total of 347 sightings comprising 692 individuals were recorded, revealing predominantly westward movements between June and August. Spatial overlap analyses indicated that the highest exposure occurred both near the Bay of Algeciras/Gibraltar and in the northern half of the Central SG, where cargo ship and tanker traffic coincides with dense migration routes and where injuries have been documented in the field. These findings delineate high-risk areas for fin whales throughout the SG and provide an empirical basis for spatial management measures, including speed reduction zones, adaptive route planning, and the possible designation of the area as a cetacean migration corridor. The proposed measures aim to mitigate collision risk and ensure long-term ecological connectivity between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Combining Field Observations and Satellite Remote Sensing to Monitor Marine Ecosystem Dynamics)
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Review

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14 pages, 977 KB  
Review
Phototrophic Carbon Capture in Marine Algae: Comparative Efficiencies, Sequestration Dynamics, and Climate Implications
by Leonel Pereira
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(5), 518; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14050518 - 9 Mar 2026
Viewed by 733
Abstract
Algae-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR) systems are increasingly recognized as versatile climate solutions that combine rapid biological uptake with multiple pathways for durable sequestration. Macroalgae and microalgae offer comparative efficiencies that exceed many terrestrial options, while simultaneously contributing to food security, bioeconomic innovation, [...] Read more.
Algae-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR) systems are increasingly recognized as versatile climate solutions that combine rapid biological uptake with multiple pathways for durable sequestration. Macroalgae and microalgae offer comparative efficiencies that exceed many terrestrial options, while simultaneously contributing to food security, bioeconomic innovation, and ocean stewardship. Yet significant challenges remain in ensuring permanence, developing robust remote monitoring, reporting, and verification (RMRV) frameworks, and integrating algae into carbon markets and policy regimes. Societal acceptance and ethical considerations, including equity, cultural heritage, and governance transparency, will be critical to legitimacy and scale. Future research must advance biological and technological innovation, refine sequestration pathways, and embed social sciences into deployment strategies. Taken together, algae-based systems represent a promising but complex component of the global portfolio of climate mitigation, requiring interdisciplinary collaboration to unlock their full potential and ensure that climate benefits are coupled with broader societal gains. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Combining Field Observations and Satellite Remote Sensing to Monitor Marine Ecosystem Dynamics)
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