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In this review, a comprehensive overview about the antifouling compounds from marine invertebrates is described. In total, more than 198 antifouling compounds have been obtained from marine invertebrates, specifically, sponges, gorgonian and soft corals.

Inbreeding is a potent evolutionary force shaping the distribution of genetic variation within and among populations of plants and animals. Yet, our understanding of the forces shaping the expression and evolution of nonrandom mating in general, and inbreeding in particular, remains remarkably incomplete. Most research on plant mating systems focuses on self-fertilization and its consequences for automatic selection, inbreeding depression, purging, and reproductive assurance, whereas studies of animal mating systems have often assumed that inbreeding is rare, and that natural selection favors traits that promote outbreeding. Given that many sessile and sedentary marine invertebrates and marine macroalgae share key life history features with seed plants (e.g., low mobility, modular construction, and the release of gametes into the environment), their mating systems may be similar. Here, we show that published estimates of inbreeding coefficients (F IS) for sessile and sedentary marine organisms are similar and at least as high as noted in terrestrial seed plants. We also found that variation in FIS within invertebrates is related to the potential to selffertiliz, disperse, and choose mates. The similarity of F IS for these organismal groups suggests that inbreeding could play a larger role in the evolution of sessile and sedentary marine organisms than is currently recognized. Specifically, associations between traits of marine invertebrates and F IS suggest that inbreeding could drive evolutionary transitions between hermaphroditism and separate sexes, direct development and multiphasic life cycles, and external and internal fertilization.

The distribution pattern of species and habitats protected by the Habitat Directive is one of the main parameters used to assess their conservation status. According to the European guidelines, the assessment must be carried out at a biogeographical scale by implementing monitoring activities. The results of a national monitoring programme conducted on five invertebrates during the last reporting cycle (2018–2024) are presented and discussed. Monitoring activities on Patella ferruginea, Pinna nobilis, and Lithophaga lithophaga were performed using on a spatial design based on Italian administrative regions, whereas Scyllarides latus and Centrostephanus longispinus were surveyed within six marine protected areas (MPAs) representing the different Italian marine subregions. The most critical situations, due to different reasons, were observed in the distribution pattern of P. ferruginea and P. nobilis, which were confined to few areas with very small populations. Data on the distribution of L. lithophaga, collected by assessing the quality of the habitat for the species, indicate the persistence of illegal fishing activities, at least in some of the areas investigated. The use of ‘opportunistic’ methodologies, typical of citizen science, to collect semi-quantitative data on the distribution of C. longispinus and S. latus in the six MPAs, chosen to conduct this type of monitoring, confirmed the effectiveness of this approach. Some differences in the number of individuals recorded emerged among MPAs for both species, likely due to an uneven sampling effort. Overall, our results revealed significant interspecific differences linked to intrinsic and extrinsic factors, providing valuable insights into the vulnerability of the investigated species.

Coral reefs provide habitat for an array of marine invertebrates that host symbiotic microbiomes. Photosynthetic symbionts including Symbiodinium dinoflagellates and diatoms potentially influence the diversity of their host-associated microbiomes by releasing carbon-containing photosynthates and other organic compounds that fuel microbial metabolism. Here we used 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene amplicon pyrosequencing to characterise the microbiomes of 11 common Great Barrier Reef marine invertebrate species that host photosynthetic symbionts and five taxa in which they are absent. The presence of photosynthetic symbionts influenced the composition but not the species richness, evenness and phylogenetic diversity of invertebrate-associated microbiomes. Invertebrates without photosynthetic symbionts were dominated by Alphaproteobacteria, whereas those hosting photosynthetic symbionts were dominated by Gammaproteobacteria . Interestingly, many microbial species from photosymbiont-bearing invertebrates, including Oceanospirillales spp., Alteromonas spp., Pseudomonas spp., Halomonas spp., are implicated in the metabolism of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). DMSP is produced in high concentrations by photosynthetic dinoflagellates and is involved in climate regulation by facilitating cloud formation. Microbiomes correlated with host taxa and replicate individuals from most sampled species grouped in distance-based redundancy analysis of retrieved 16S rRNA gene sequences. This study highlights the complex nature of invertebrate holobionts and confirms the importance of photosynthetic symbionts in structuring marine invertebrate bacterial communities.

The study of bioactive molecules of marine origin has created an important bridge between biological knowledge and its applications in biotechnology and biomedicine. Current studies in different research fields, such as biomedicine, aim to discover marine molecules characterized by biological activities that can be used to produce potential drugs for human use. In recent decades, increasing attention has been paid to a particular group of marine invertebrates, the Ascidians, as they are a source of bioactive products. We describe omics data and computational methods relevant to identifying the mechanisms and processes of innate immunity underlying the biosynthesis of bioactive molecules, focusing on innovative computational approaches based on Artificial Intelligence. Since there is increasing attention on finding new solutions for a sustainable supply of bioactive compounds, we propose that a possible improvement in the biodiscovery pipeline might also come from the study and utilization of marine invertebrates’ innate immunity.

Long-term movements of adult marine animals predicate spatial management measures. Sea cucumbers are intensely exploited worldwide, yet few studies have assessed their long-term movement potential. Elephant trunkfish, Holothuria (Microthele) fuscopunctata, is a large coral reef holothuroid. At four sites at Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef, we photographically marked and georeferenced 36 H. fuscopunctata, ranging 1.4–5.1 kg in weight. In broader searches one year later, we recaptured 92% of the animals. Their displacements were comparable among sites and averaged 8.7 m yr−1. None of the movements could be characterised as nomadic; the maximum displacement was 21 m. Contrary to expectations, smaller animals tended to roam further than larger animals (p = 0.025). Our study shows that certain large-bodied sea cucumbers might not displace far over annual timescales. This empirical evidence of home ranging reshapes our understanding of echinoderm mobility and reveals a behaviour that would exacerbate Allee effects at low population densities.

This paper provides a comprehensive review of sessile benthic invertebrate biodiversity across three interconnected marine areas in Western Australia’s Gascoyne and southern Pilbara regions: Ningaloo Reef (a UNESCO World Heritage site), the nearby Muiron Islands to its north, and Exmouth Gulf to its east. The study aims to identify taxonomic and spatial knowledge gaps and establish a baseline biodiversity record for the broader region. We collated specimen-based records from seven Australian museums and supplemented them with data from the Atlas of Living Australia, iNaturalist, and a Web of Science literature review. In total, we report 827 verified species of sessile benthic invertebrates in shallow waters (less than 30 m depth) across the Gascoyne and southern Pilbara regions from 4578 records. Ningaloo Reef exhibits the highest diversity, hosting 587 species, including 239 scleractinian corals and 124 sponges. Exmouth Gulf is home to a diverse and unique assemblage of at least 295 species, including 165 species of putative turbid water specialists or regionally restricted species which are not found at Ningaloo Reef or the Muiron Islands. Notably, all three sea pen species identified in this review are recorded exclusively from Exmouth Gulf. The Gulf also hosts a distinctive community of filter-feeding invertebrates, including 125 sponges, 27 tunicates, and 18 anemones that are not found in neighboring regions. The Muiron Islands, although under sampled, host 22 species of sponges, 14 octocorals, and 5 tunicates that have not so far been found at Ningaloo Reef or Exmouth Gulf, highlighting the uniqueness of the islands’ marine invertebrate fauna. The southern sector of Ningaloo Reef is under sampled, and there are gaps in the state faunal collections for many groups, including anemones, corallimorphs, zoanthids, cerianthids, and hydrozoans. Further targeted taxonomic research on existing museum collections is crucial, as only 18% of specimen records have been verified, and 41% of the verified records are only identified to morphospecies. This limits our understanding of regional diversity and distribution patterns but provides ample opportunity for further taxonomic study. Expanding monitoring programs to include Exmouth Gulf and the Muiron Islands, along with unique habitats such as the King Reef artificial reef, and conducting additional biodiversity, demographic, and ecosystem health research is essential to assess the cumulative impacts of climate change and other environmental stressors on the unique and culturally significant marine ecosystems of this region.

Anoop Alex was funded by the Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia (FCT) SFRH/BPD/ 99251/2013 grant. Agostinho Antunes was supported by the MarInfo ? Integrated Platform for Marine Data Acquisition and Analysis (reference NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000031), a project supported by the North Portugal Regional Operational Program (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). We thank Emanuel Maldonado and Jo?o Paulo Machado for help with various stages of data analyses and the anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.

Aim Patterns of benthic biodiversity at the macroecological scale remain poorly characterised throughout the Chilean latitudinal gradient, in part due to the lack of integrated databases, uneven sampling effort, and the use of species richness alone to quantify biodiversity. Different diversity measures, encompassing taxonomic and functional components, may give us extra information on biodiversity relevant to conservation planning and management. Thus, evaluating the spatial complementarity of these measures is essential. Location Coast and continental shelf of Chile. Methods The latitudinal gradient of Chile was divided into five ecoregions according to the Marine Ecosystems of the World classification. Using a 55 × 55 km equal area grid, we estimated the incidence coverage‐based estimator (ICE), taxonomic distinctness (Δ+) and three measures of functional diversity: functional richness (FRic), functional evenness (FEve) and functional divergence (FDiv). For each measure, we described spatial patterns, identified hotspots, evaluated hotspot congruence and evaluated complementarity between measures. Results Diversity patterns varied between ecoregions and over the latitudinal gradient. ICE and Δ+ peaked in the Chiloense and Channels and Fjords ecoregions. Δ+ and FRic present a similar pattern at mid‐latitudes. FEve showed a contrary pattern, principally with FRic. Areas with high numbers of hotspots differed spatially according to each metric, and three latitudinal bands were observed. ICE, Δ+ and FRic were positively correlated, but the hotspot overlap at the grid cell level was more limited. Main Conclusions The complementarity between taxonomic and functional diversity measures is limited when we observe the overlap between grid cells representing hotspots. However, some regions are consistently identified as highly diverse, with the Magellanic Province (Chiloense and Channels and Fjords ecoregions) being the most important for the richness, taxonomic and functional diversity of benthos. Confirmation of the importance of this region can help prioritise conservation efforts.

Metallocarboxypeptidases are zinc-dependent peptide-hydrolysing enzymes involved in several important physiological and pathological processes. They have been a target of growing interest in the search for natural or synthetic compound binders with biomedical and drug discovery purposes, i.e., with potential as antimicrobials or antiparasitics. Given that marine resources are an extraordinary source of bioactive molecules, we screened marine invertebrates for new inhibitory compounds with such capabilities. In this work, we report the isolation and molecular and functional characterization of NpCI, a novel strong metallocarboxypeptidase inhibitor from the marine snail Nerita peloronta. NpCI was purified until homogeneity using a combination of affinity chromatography and RP-HPLC. It appeared as a 5921.557 Da protein with 53 residues and six disulphide-linked cysteines, displaying a high sequence similarity with NvCI, a carboxypeptidase inhibitor isolated from Nerita versicolor, a mollusc of the same genus. The purified inhibitor was determined to be a slow- and tight-binding inhibitor of bovine CPA (Ki = 1.1·× 10−8 mol/L) and porcine CPB (Ki = 8.15·× 10−8 mol/L) and was not able to inhibit proteases from other mechanistic classes. Importantly, this inhibitor showed antiplasmodial activity against Plasmodium falciparum in an in vitro culture (IC50 = 5.5 μmol/L), reducing parasitaemia mainly by inhibiting the later stages of the parasite’s intraerythrocytic cycle whilst having no cytotoxic effects on human fibroblasts. Interestingly, initial attempts with other related proteinaceous carboxypeptidase inhibitors also displayed similar antiplasmodial effects. Coincidentally, in recent years, a metallocarboxypeptidase named PfNna1, which is expressed in the schizont phase during the late intraerythrocytic stage of the parasite’s life cycle, has been described. Given that NpCI showed a specific parasiticidal effect on P. falciparum, eliciting pyknotic/dead parasites, our results suggest that this and related inhibitors could be promising starting agents or lead compounds for antimalarial drug discovery strategies.