Sofie Vranken

Ghent University | UGhent

Extreme events are increasing globally with devastating ecological consequences, but the impacts on underlying genetic diversity and structure are often cryptic and poorly understood, hindering assessment of adaptive capacity and ecosystem vulnerability to future change. Using very rare “before” data we empirically demonstrate that an extreme marin...

Here we report for the first time the presence of Dictyota cyanoloma in southern California. Dictyota cyanoloma is conspicuous in harbors and bays by its distinctive bright blue‐iridescent margins. This species was originally described from Europe but subsequent studies have revealed that it represented an introduction from Australia. The current d...

Climate change is increasingly impacting ecosystems globally. Understanding adaptive genetic diversity and whether it will keep pace with projected climatic change is necessary to assess species' vulnerability and design efficient mitigation strategies such as assisted adaptation. Kelp forests are the foundations of temperate reefs globally but are...

Marine heatwaves (MHWs) have caused declines in many kelp forests globally. Although the ecological effects of these climatic extremes have been well examined, studies on the role of genotypic variation in underpinning population responses under pressures are lacking. Understanding how kelps respond to different warming profiles and, in particular,...

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Effective monitoring of non-indigenous seaweeds and combatting their effects relies on a solid confirmation of the non-indigenous status of the respective species. We critically analysed the status of presumed non-indigenous seaweed species reported from the Mediterranean Sea, the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and Macaronesia, resulting in a list of 140...

The analysis of biological and ecological traits has a long history in evolutionary and ecological research. However, trait data are often scattered and standardised terminology that transcends taxonomic and biogeographical context are generally missing. As part of the development of a global trait database of marine species, we collated trait info...

A fundamental question in holobiont biology is the extent to which microbiomes are determined by host characteristics regulated by their genotype. Studies on the interactions of host genotype and microbiomes are emerging but disentangling the role that host genotype has in shaping microbiomes remains challenging in natural settings. Host genotypes...

Effective monitoring and combatting the effect of non-indigenous seaweeds relies on a solid confirmation of the non-indigenous status of the species. We critically analysed the status of presumed non-indigenous seaweed species reported from the Mediterranean Sea, the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and Macaronesia, resulting in a list of 140 species whose...

Genetic diversity can influence resilience and adaptative capacity of organisms to environmental change. Genetic diversity within populations is largely structured by reproduction, with the prevalence of asexual versus sexual reproduction often underpinning important diversity metrics that determine selection efficacy. Asexual or clonal reproductio...

The analysis of biological and ecological traits has a long history in evolutionary and ecological research. However, trait data are often scattered and standardised terminology that transcends taxonomic and biogeographical context are generally missing. As part of the development of a global trait database of marine species, we collated trait info...

Kelp forests are experiencing substantial declines due to climate change, particularly ocean warming and marine heatwaves, and active interventions are necessary to halt this decline. A new restoration approach termed “green gravel” has shown promise as a tool to combat kelp forest loss. In this approach, substrata (i.e. small gravel) are seeded wi...

Abstract Temperate reefs are increasingly affected by the direct and indirect effects of climate change. At many of their warm range edges, cool‐water kelps are decreasing, while seaweeds with warm‐water affinities are increasing. These habitat‐forming species provide different ecological functions, and shifts to warm‐affinity seaweeds are expected...

Aquaculture and maritime traffic have been identified as the main vectors for introductions of alien marine species. Except for one notorious case of Caulerpa taxifolia, the role of aquarium trade towards the introduction of alien seaweeds has been largely unassessed. Here, we address the risk of accidental release of seaweed species from the aquar...

The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2017. WoRMS is a unique database: there is no comparable global database for marine species, which is driven by a large, global expert community, is supported by a Data Management Team and can rely on a permanent host institute, dedicated to keeping WoRMS online. Over t...

The World Register of Marine species (WoRMS) has been established for a decade. The early history of the database involved compilation of existing global and regional species registers. This aggregation, combined with changes to data types and the changing needs of WoRMS users, has resulted in an evolution of data-entry consistency over time. With...

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The importance of describing species patterns and the underlying processes explaining these patterns is essential to assess the status and future evolution of marine ecosystems. This requires biological information on functional and structural species traits such as feeding ecology, body size, reproduction, life history, etc. To accommodate this ne...

Ideally, datasets for species distribution modelling contain data covering the entire distribution of the species, with evenly sampled records, confirmed absences and auxiliary data (e.g. physiological experiments) allowing informed decisions on predictor selection. Unfortunately, these criteria are only rarely met in real world datasets. This is e...

To increase the accuracy of pollen capture and transfer by pollinators some plant species have developed secondary pollen presentation structures. Because the presence of secondary pollen presentation structures at the pistil may reduce the spatial separation between the sexual functions and increase the risk of self-interference and selfing, tempo...