The great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758), is a well-known predatory species that inhabits a wide geographic range, including the Adriatic Sea. A marked decline in the abundance of its Mediterranean population has been documented over recent decades, making research on this species in its natural environment increasingly difficult. This study documents two contemporary records of young-of-the-year individuals recorded in 2018 and 2025 off the coasts of Croatia and Montenegro, respectively. Both records were sourced from local fisheries and were subsequently reported to scientists through citizen science. The individual reported from Montenegro was photographed and released unharmed while still in the water. This study further highlights the importance of citizen science in documenting occurrences of elusive elasmobranchs such as the great white shark and in educating fishers through a bottom-up approach. Together with the recently recorded young-of-the-year specimen in this area, these observations suggest that the Eastern Adriatic Sea may represent a contemporary nursery area for the great white shark, although this hypothesis remains to be verified.
Understanding population structure and connectivity is essential for sustainable fisheries management. This study examines the spatial distribution of genetic diversity at two mitochondrial DNA markers (cytochrome b, cytb, and control region, CR) in the migratory Atlantic chub mackerel (Scomber colias) across the Northeast Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and an outgroup in the Northwest Atlantic (Argentina). High haplotype diversity and low nucleotide diversity were found at both mitochondrial markers, with 65
Reducing dependence on fishmeal and fish oil in carnivorous marine fish feeds is a key challenge for sustainable aquaculture. This study evaluated the effects of five isoproteic (45%) and isolipidic (20%) experimental diets on the growth performance, fillet composition, intestinal histomorphology, brush border membrane enzyme activity and gene expression, and gut microbiota of juvenile European seabass ( Dicentrarchus labrax ) over a 17-week feeding trial. The diets included a plant-based control, two plant-based diets with 10% crude protein from partially defatted Hermetia illucens pupae meal or this combined with 30% poultry by-product meal, a fishmeal-based control and a fishmeal-based diet supplemented with H. illucens meal. Fish-based diets consistently supported superior growth performance, feed conversion, and fillet n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid deposition compared to plant-based alternatives. Although no significant inflammatory changes were observed in the gut across treatments, plant-based diets induced subtle mucosal alterations, including enterocyte vacuolisation and epithelial lamina detachment, which were partially mitigated by the inclusion of insect meal and poultry by-products. Brush border membrane enzyme activities and gene expression patterns in juveniles contrasted markedly with those previously reported in subadult seabass fed identical diets, indicating developmental stage-specific responses. Gut microbiota composition was not significantly affected by diet in juveniles. These findings demonstrate that nutritional strategies validated in subadult European seabass cannot be directly extrapolated to juveniles, highlighting the need for age-specific feed optimisation to support the transition toward sustainable aquafeeds.
Marine crustaceans are ecologically and socio-economically important components of coastal and marine ecosystems; however, in Mauritius, knowledge of their biodiversity, functional roles, and responses to climate change remains limited and fragmented. This narrative review synthesizes available information on Mauritian marine crustaceans, with particular emphasis on the class Malacostraca, while identifying key knowledge gaps and research priorities relevant to their ecological importance and climate-change vulnerability at both local and global scales. Although existing records document 61 crustacean families in Mauritius, these data are sparse, outdated, and largely based on historical surveys, highlighting the urgent need for updated inventories and long-term monitoring. Globally, marine crustaceans act as trophic intermediaries, ecosystem engineers, and scavengers, contributing to nutrient cycling, sediment dynamics, and habitat stability. They support fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, and cultural practices, and provide valuable bioresources such as chitin, chitosan, and other bioactive compounds with applications in regeneratiom engineering, medicine, agriculture, environmental remediation, and biotechnology. Trade patterns further emphasize their economic importance, revealing export-oriented dynamics in Mauritius, instead of local consumption, that result in a net reliance on imports. Climate change poses an escalating threat through ocean warming, acidification, and increasing environmental variability, affecting DNA repair, protein synthesis, haemolymph, metabolic performance, calcification, reproduction, immunity, behavior, and species interactions. These stressors are further compounded by habitat degradation, altered symbiotic interactions and food-web disruption. The scarcity of empirical studies from Mauritius underscores the need for integrative, multi-stressor, and long-term research to support effective conservation, fisheries management, and climate resilience.
This study presents a comprehensive regional analysis of nonseismic sea-level oscillations at tsunami timescales (NSLOTTs) along the Australian coastlines. High-resolution (1-min) sea level records from 13 tide gauges, each with at least 15 years of data, were analysed to quantify the intensity and variability of NSLOTTs. NSLOTT ranges were estimated to surpass 0.6 m in extreme cases at several stations along the western coastline, exceeding the tidal range at these stations, suggesting their significant contribution to associated coastal hazards in these areas. Spectral analysis revealed similar energy distribution among neighbouring stations and stronger event-to-background amplification than globally. The spatial variability in synoptic settings connected to the intense NSLOTT events was observed, with pronounced jet streams, thermal fronts and pressure gradients at mid-latitude stations and absence of large-scale systems at tropical and subtropical stations. An intense NSLOTT event in May 2020 was observed across the northern station, two consecutive NSLOTT events in December 2023 hit the southern stations, while the event related to the Tropical Cyclone Seroja was recorded across the western coastline in April 2021. Wavelet analysis has shown west-to-east propagation for the former events, while the latter exhibited a NW-SE track. A few days before Seroja landfall, an atmospheric river taking the moisture from the tropical cyclone also generated intense NSLOTTs along the southwestern coastline. Satellite imagery confirmed the presence of intense convective systems during all NSLOTT events, yet sometimes being lagged or travelling remotely, indicating either generation of edge waves travelling alongshore, reflection of long ocean waves along the shelf edge or infragravity waves reaching and being amplified at the shelf. These findings emphasize the diverse atmospheric and oceanic mechanisms driving NSLOTTs across different climatic zones of Australia and underscore their potential impact on coastal environments, particularly in regions where they are close to exceed tidal signals.
