Congratulations to the recipients of the Coral Reefs 2019 Best Paper Award:
Hannah R. Nelson and Andrew H. Altieri
for their paper:
Oxygen: the universal currency on coral reefs
Abstract: Coral reefs are suffering unprecedented declines worldwide. Most studies focus on stressors such as rising temperatures, nutrient pollution, overfishing, and ocean acidification as drivers of this degradation. However, recent mass mortality events associated with low oxygen on coral reefs indicate that oxygen is a critical factor that can be limiting in reef environments. Here, we present evidence that integrates across disciplines and perspectives to reveal how natural and anthropogenic factors drive variation in oxygen at multiple scales on coral reefs. This variation, in turn, limits essential processes such as productivity, respiration, and calcification on reefs and often plays a role in the outcome of interactions between corals and their competitors, pathogens, and mutualists. Moreover, the apparent effects of temperature, eutrophication, acidification, and other stressors on corals are commonly mediated by oxygen. As a consequence, the imprint of oxygen variation is evident in many patterns including reef biodiversity, coral bleaching, colony morphology, and fish behavior. We suggest that the structure and dynamics of coral reefs can be fully understood only by considering the ubiquitous role of oxygen, and we identify critical areas of future oxygen research to guide the study and management of coral reefs in a changing world.
Nelson, H.R. and Altieri, A.H. Oxygen: the universal currency on coral reefs. Coral Reefs 38, 177-198 (2019)
Honorable Mention
Congratulations also to the authors of following 2019 papers, which received multiple nominations:
Lipidome analysis of Symbiodiniaceae reveals possible mechanisms of heat stress tolerance in reef coral symbionts.
Coral Reefs 38, 1241-1253 (2019)
The relentless march of mass coral bleaching: a global perspective of changing heat stress.
Coral Reefs 38, 547–557 (2019)
Boom and bust of keystone structure on coral reefs.
Coral Reefs 38, 625–635 (2019)
The Best Paper Award is selected by members of the Coral Reefs editorial team and includes a trophy and cash prize of $1000 from Springer Nature; additional information and a list of previous recipients can be found here.
