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Motivation: The availability of user-friendly, high-resolution global environmental datasets is crucial for bioclimatic modelling. For terrestrial environments, WorldClim has served this purpose since 2005, but equivalent marine data only became available in 2012, with pioneer initiatives like Bio-ORACLE providing data layers for several ecologically relevant variables. Currently, the available marine data packages have not yet been updated to the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predictions nor to present times, and are mostly restricted to the top surface layer of the oceans, precluding the modelling of a large fraction of the benthic diversity that inhabits deeper habitats. To address this gap, we present a significant update of Bio-ORACLE for new future climate scenarios, present-day conditions and benthic layers (near sea bottom). The reliability of data layers was assessed using a cross-validation framework against in situ quality-controlled data. This test showed a generally good agreement between our data layers and the global climatic patterns. We also provide a package of functions in the R software environment (sdmpredictors) to facilitate listing, extraction and management of data layers and allow easy integration with the available pipelines for bioclimatic modelling. Main types of variable contained: Surface and benthic layers for water temperature, salinity, nutrients, chlorophyll, sea ice, current velocity, phytoplankton, primary productivity, iron and light at bottom. Spatial location and grain: Global at 5 arcmin (c. 0.08° or 9.2 km at the equator). Time period and grain: Present (2000–2014) and future (2040–2050 and 2090–2100) environmental conditions based on monthly averages. Major taxa and level of measurement: Marine biodiversity associated with sea surface and epibenthic habitats. Software format: ASCII and TIFF grid formats for geographical information systems and a package of functions developed for R software.

Aim: The oceans harbour a great diversity of organisms whose distribution and ecological preferences are often poorly understood. Species distribution modelling (SDM) could improve our knowledge and inform marine ecosystem management and conservation. Although marine environmental data are available from various sources, there are currently no user-friendly, high-resolution global datasets designed for SDM applications. This study aims to fill this gap by assembling a comprehensive, uniform, high-resolution and readily usable package of global environmental rasters. Location: Global, marine. Methods: We compiled global coverage data, e.g. satellite-based and in situ measured data, representing various aspects of the marine environment relevant for species distributions. Rasters were assembled at a resolution of 5 arcmin (c. 9.2 km) and a uniform landmask was applied. The utility of the dataset was evaluated by maximum entropy SDM of the invasive seaweed Codium fragile ssp. fragile. Results: We present Bio-ORACLE (ocean rasters for analysis of climate and environment), a global dataset consisting of 23 geophysical, biotic and climate rasters. This user-friendly data package for marine species distribution modelling is available for download at http://www.bio-oracle.ugent.be. The high predictive power of the distribution model of C. fragile ssp. fragile clearly illustrates the potential of the data package for SDM of shallow-water marine organisms. Main conclusions: The availability of this global environmental data package has the potential to stimulate marine SDM. The high predictive success of the presenceonly model of a notorious invasive seaweed shows that the information contained in Bio-ORACLE can be informative about marine distributions and permits building highly accurate species distribution models.

Understanding the drivers of algal endosymbiont communities hosted by reef corals is a requisite for predicting coral resilience. For the biodiverse reefs of Southeast Asia, few studies have characterised the spatial variability of Symbiodiniaceae communities amongst reefs and investigated species and environmental effects on community structure and diversity. To profile the endosymbionts associated with reef corals inhabiting Southeast Asia, three common species, Pachyseris speciosa, Pocillopora acuta and Diploastrea heliopora, were sampled from 10 reef sites along the coasts of the Malay Peninsula. The nuclear internal transcribed spacer 2 region of Symbiodiniaceae was targeted for high-throughput sequencing, and the SymPortal framework was used to establish the identities of endosymbiont genera and types. Effects of environmental variables on endosymbiont community structure and diversity were then tested. Analyses revealed that Symbiodiniaceae diversity in this region is higher than previously known. Endosymbiont communities are structured significantly by host species and are relatively invariant in D. heliopora, with P. speciosa associating strongly with both Cladocopium and Durusdinium while P. acuta and D. heliopora are dominated by Durusdinium. Environmental parameters influence Symbiodiniaceae communities and diversity distinctly between host species. In particular, higher sea surface temperature (SST) affects endosymbiont diversity positively for P. acuta while higher SST range affects diversity negatively for P. speciosa and D. heliopora. Overall, this study has uncovered the hidden diversity of Symbiodiniaceae types previously unrecorded in the region and established a baseline for future comparative studies on how Southeast Asian reef corals acclimatise and adapt to changing environments through the natural variation of endosymbiont communities.

Fin (Balaenoptera physalus, Linnaeus 1758) and humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae, Borowski 1781) whales feed during the austral summer in Antarctic waters. Despite the spatial (two-dimensional) sympatry of both species, they exhibit trophic segregation (three-dimensional). We used multitemporal presence-only data of fin and humpback whales and Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba, Dana 1852) combined with environmental variables to produce species distribution models (SDMs). We aimed to (1) determine the environmental suitability in the Southern Ocean for fin and humpback whales and krill, with field validation in a region of interest, (2) calculate the areas of spatial overlap between the two whale species and between the whales and krill and (3) quantify the presence of the target species within the protected areas from the world database on protected areas (WDPA). All the SDMs had high performances, with AUC and TSS values higher than 0.8. On a circum-Antarctic scale, fin whales had northern distributions, whilst humpbacks had southern distributions. There was a spatial overlap of 47% between whales and 16% between them and krill. Nearly 92% of fin whale sightings overlapped spatially with their binary predictions, this value was 91% for humpback whales. For fin whales, 2% of their environmental suitability was projected in some WDPA areas, and this value was 4% for humpback whales and 15% for krill. Despite international efforts, the environmental niches of target species are partially protected by the WDPA, mainly where the spatial overlap between species was greatest. The anthropic and climatic pressures that Antarctica is experiencing challenge us to propose new responsible scientific responses to environmental dynamics and biodiversity.

The orange cup coral Tubastraea coccinea was the first scleractinean to invade the western Atlantic. The species occurs throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea and has now established itself in the southwest Atlantic along the Brazilian coast. T. coccinea modifies native benthic communities, competes with an endemic coral species and demonstrates widespread invasive potential. We used species distribution modeling (SDM) to predict climatically suitable habitats for T. coccinea along the coastline of the southwestern Atlantic and identify the extent of the putative effects of this species on the native coral Mussismilia hispida by estimating areas of potential overlap between these species. The resulting SDMs predicted a large area of climatically suitable habitat available for invasion by T. coccinea and also predicted widespread occurrence of the endemic M. hispida along the Brazilian coast. The prediction of the T. coccinea distribution model suggests that suitable environmental conditions for the species occur throughout most of the littoral zone, including most of Brazil’s marine protected areas. The overlap of the SDMs of M. hispida and T. coccinea revealed a large area with high habitat suitability for both species. Considering the invasive potential of T. coccinea and its ecological consequences, we concluded that this alien species could change the benthic communities of most of the shallow Brazilian coast and, as the invasive and native coral species have been shown to be antagonistic, T. coccinea represents a serious threat to M. hispida throughout most of its potential geographical distribution.