Publications - BEM Lab | Biodiversity & Ecosystem Management Lab at KAUST

/PUBLICATIONS

Scientific Insights

Explore our latest research and findings that drive marine conservation and innovation. From groundbreaking studies to insightful reviews, our publications reflect our commitment to advancing marine science and policy.

NADES as sustainable extraction media for emerging contaminants in marine sediments

Andreia Farinha Research article Year: 2026 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scp.2026.102421

Authors: Mariana Rodrigues, Geert-Jan Witkamp, Susana Carvalho, Young Hae Choi, Robert Verpoorte

NADES
Marine sediments
CECs
Environmental monitoring
Green extraction
HPLC-Orbitrap-MS

Contrasting physiological adaptation strategies to natural environmental change in two Red Sea coral holobionts

Research article Year: 2026 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/ismeco/ycag008

Authors: Bianca M Thobor, Claudia E L Hill, Gordon F Custer, Neus Garcias-Bonet, Michael D Fox, Yusuf C El-Khaled, Eva Aylagas, Francisco Dini-Andreote, Ulrich Struck, Arjen Tilstra, Raquel Peixoto, Susana Carvalho, Christian Wild, Benjamin Mueller

Site-specific variation and non-indigenous species detection in Arabian Gulf biofouling communities using DNA metabarcoding and photographic surveys

Research article Year: 2026 ISSN:2045-2322 DOI:10.1038/s41598-026-41227-6

Authors: Sahar Chebaane, Eva Aylagas, Juan Sempere-Valverde, Abdulsalam Ardan, Angelo Poliseno, Dylan M. Cottrell, Vitaly Syomin, Imke M. Böök, Louis X. I. V. Simon, Marion Couëdel, Ronald Cadiz, Chakkiath Paul Antony, Marcos A. L. Teixeira, Carolina Bocanegra-Castano, Joao Curdia, August Santillan, Mark Dimech, Baleegh Abukaboos, Lotfi J. Rabaoui, Mohammad A. Qurban, Susana Carvalho

Biofouling
Bioinvasions
DNA metabarcoding
Metabarcoding
Marinas
Non-indigenous species
Arabian (Persian) Gulf

Description of Alpheopsis gorei sp. nov., a mesophotic alpheid shrimp from the western Atlantic (Decapoda: Caridea)

Research article Year: 2026 DOI:https://doi.org/10.11606/1807-0205/2026.66.006

Authors: Arthur Anker

Atlantic Ocean
USA
Gulf of Mexico
Florida
Crustacean
Deep-water shrimp
Alpheidae
ROV
ARMS

Environmental DNA reveals hidden eukaryotic diversity and fine-scale community patterns across seascape areas in the Northern Red Sea

Research article Year: 2026 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-47093-6

Authors: Eva Aylagas, Karla Gonzalez, Warren R. Francis, Basmah Alabdulaziz, Joao Gabriel Rosado, Gloria Gill-Ramos, Matthew David Tietbohl Talas, Morgan Bennett-Smith, Viktor N. Peinemann, Flor Torres, Ameer A. Eweida, Michael L. Berumen, Maggie D. Johnson, Susana Carvalho

coral reef monitoring
environmental DNA (eDNA)
seascape ecology
eukaryotic communities
benthic structure

Aligning observation to action: Integrated monitoring for tropical seascape conservation and restoration

Research article Year: 2026 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2026.115664

Authors: Susana Carvalho, Walter A. Rich, Yusuf C. El-Khaled, Darren J. Coker, Eva Aylagas, Morgan Bennett-Smith, Michael L. Berumen, Ronald Cadiz, Joao Curdia, Burton H. Jones, Ute Langner, John K. Pearman, Florian Roth, Rodrigo Villalobos, David J. Suggett, Raquel S. Peixoto

Observing systems
natural resource management
adaptive management
monitoring
Seagrasses
mangrove
Coral reefs

Spatial patterns in reef fish biomass and trait structure along a natural environmental gradient

Research article Year: 2025 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2025.107014

Authors: Darren J. Coker, Lucía Pombo-Ayora, Alexander Kattan, Laura Gajdzik,, Diego Lozano-Cortés, Susana Carvalho, Michael L. Berumen

Coral reefs
Ecological traits
Diversity
Productivity
Red sea
Turnover

Nitrogen eutrophication particularly promotes turf algae in coral reefs of the central Red Sea

Research article Year: 2020 DOI:https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8737

Authors: Denis B. Karcher, Florian Roth, Susana Carvalho, Yusuf C. El-Khaled, Arjen Tilstra, Benjamin Kürten, Ulrich Struck, Burton H. Jones, Christian Wild

Translational Molecular Ecology in practice: Linking DNA-based methods to actionable marine environmental management

Research article Year: 2020 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140780

Authors: Eva Aylagas, Angel Borja, Xavier Pochon, Anastasija Zaiko, Nigel Keeley, Kat Bruce, Peiying Hong, Gregory M. Ruiz, Eric D. Stein, Susanna Theroux, Nathan Geraldi, Alejandra Ortega, Laura Gajdzik, Darren J. Coker, Yasser Katan, Tyas Hikmawan, Ammar Saleem, Sultan Alamer, Burton H. Jones, Carlos M. Duarte, Susana Carvalho

Molecular methods
Marine policy
Translational molecular ecology
Metabarcoding
Marine bioassessments

High rates of carbon and dinitrogen fixation suggest a critical role of benthic pioneer communities in the energy and nutrient dynamics of coral reefs

Research article Year: 2020 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13625

Authors: Florian Roth, Denis B. Karcher, Nils Rädecker, Sönke Hohn, Susana Carvalho, Timothy Thomson, Franziska Saalmann, Christian R. Voolstra, Benjamin Kürten, Ulrich Struck, Burton H. Jones, Christian Wild

Morphological and ecological trait diversity reveal sensitivity of herbivorous fish assemblages to coral reef benthic conditions

Research article Year: 2020 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105102

Authors: Lucía Pombo-Ayora, Darren J. Coker, Susana Carvalho, George Short, Michael L. Berumen

Macroalgae
Ecological traits
Reef fish
Marine ecology
Morphological traits
Reefs
Red sea
Redundancy

The role of seagrass vegetation and local environmental conditions in shaping benthic bacterial and macroinvertebrate communities in a tropical coastal lagoon

Research article Year: 2020 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-70318-1

Authors: Z. Alsaffar, J. K. Pearman, J. Cúrdia, J. Ellis, M. Ll. Calleja, P. Ruiz-Compean, F. Roth, R. Villalobos, B. H. Jones, X. A. G. Morán, S. Carvalho

Heterotrophic bacterioplankton responses in coral- and algae-dominated Red Sea reefs show they might benefit from future regime shift

Research article Year: 2020 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141628

Authors: Luis Silva, Maria Ll. Calleja, Snjezana Ivetic, Tamara Huete-Stauffer, Florian Roth, Susana Carvalho, Xosé Anxelu G. Morán

Coral-algae shifts
DOM lability
Heterotrophic bacteria
Growth rates
Bacterial growth efficiencies
Activation energies

Composition, uniqueness and connectivity across tropical coastal lagoon habitats in the Red Sea

Research article Year: 2020 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-020-00329-z

Authors: Zahra Alsaffar, João Cúrdia, Xabier Irigoien, Susana Carvalho

Patterns, Drivers, and Ecological Implications of Upwelling in Coral Reef Habitats of the Southern Red Sea

Research article Year: 2020 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JC016493

Authors: Thomas M. DeCarlo, Susana Carvalho, Laura Gajdzik, Royale S. Hardenstine, Lyndsey K. Tanabe, Rodrigo Villalobos, Michael L. Berumen

A step towards the validation of bacteria biotic indices using DNA metabarcoding for benthic monitoring

Research article Year: 2021 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13395

Authors: Eva Aylagas, Javier Atalah, Pablo Sánchez-Jerez, John K. Pearman, Nuria Casado, Jorge Asensi, Kilian Toledo-Guedes, Susana Carvalho

A portfolio of climate-tailored approaches to advance the design of marine protected areas in the Red Sea

Research article Review Year: 2021 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15719

Authors: Laura Gajdzik, Thomas M. DeCarlo, Eva Aylagas, Darren J. Coker, Alison L. Green, John E. Majoris, Vincent F. Saderne, Susana Carvalho, Michael L. Berumen

Nutrient pollution enhances productivity and framework dissolution in algae- but not in coral-dominated reef communities

Research article Year: 2021 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112444

Authors: Florian Roth, Yusuf C. El-Khaled, Denis B. Karcher, Nils Rädecker, Susana Carvalho, Carlos M. Duarte, Luis Silva, Maria Ll. Calleja, Xosé Anxelu G. Morán, Burton H. Jones, Christian R. Voolstra, Christian Wild

Localized effects of offshore aquaculture on water quality in a tropical sea

Research article Year: 2021 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112732

Authors: Aislinn Dunne, Susana Carvalho, Xosé Anxelu G. Morán, Maria Ll. Calleja, Burton Jones

Aquaculture
Oligotrophic
Red sea
Water quality
Tropical ecosystems

Stylophora under stress: A review of research trends and impacts of stressors on a model coral species

Research article Year: 2021 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151639

Authors: Zoe Meziere, Walter A. Rich, Susana Carvalho, Francesca Benzoni, Xosé Anxelu G. Morán, Michael L. Berumen

Anthropogenic stressors
Coral reefs
Nutrients
Stylophora
Temperature

/PUBLICATIONS

Scientific Insights

Explore our latest research and findings that drive marine conservation and innovation. From groundbreaking studies to insightful reviews, our publications reflect our commitment to advancing marine science and policy.

KAUST Information

About BEM Lab