Formanifera (or “forams”) are tiny protists commonly found in coral reefs. Many foram species are sensitive to changes in water and sediment quality making them excellent bioindicators for assessing overall reef health. The species composition of these small organisms can indicate whether or not an environment is suffering from pollutants - finding more stress tolerant species in the population is an indication of contaminants in an ecosystem.

In Malaysia, Researchers collected sediment samples to compare foram species distribution between shallow reef communities and mesophotic reef communities. The analysis of these samples will provide researchers with useful information on potential stressors for these environments and identify how reefs may be adapting to their changing environment.

Plankton form the base of marine ecosystems and are composed of tiny drifting animals, fungi, algae and the larval life-stages of much larger animals. The species composition of this minute community informs researchers on the health and trophic interactions of the wider marine ecosystem. At each study site in Pahang, researchers assessed the spatial distribution and abundance of plankton communities to compare how plankton adapt to their environment from nearshore to offshore waters.

Back on the ship and under a microscope, samples of collected plankton are delicately placed onto petri dishes and sorted. After preserving and Identifying each sample, researchers discovered that the community composition changed dramatically between nearshore and offshore sites indicating distinct ecological interactions with changing environmental conditions. These findings provide one of the first baseline plankton community analysis for this locale, and will provide researchers with a firmer understanding of the species that support the base of the food web in coastal and open water ecosystems.

Post-hoc analysis using OceanX nanopore sequencers also revealed associations between distinct plankton and bacterial communities within each water sample offering a glimpse into the wider ecosystem interactions within this tiny universe.

Scuba dives used underwater visual assessments to comprehensively assess benthic invertebrate communities in the submerged nearshore reefs of Pahang. Systematic surveys and quantitative methods were applied to assess species composition, abundance, and spatial distribution. The findings will reveal a rich assemblage of benthic invertebrates, which play crucial roles in the reef ecosystem. These results, which contribute valuable insights into the submerged nearshore reef’s ecological health and functional dynamics, will establish a baseline for future conservation and management efforts, underscoring the importance of protecting submerged reef habitats to maintain marine biodiversity, ecosystem function and fisheries resources for the benefits of coastal communities.

There are few long term monitoring sites in Malaysia, especially in Pahang. Most available datasets focus on 1-5 years of monitoring and have only emerged very recently. Having multi-decadal information is especially important because it captures nuances in changing species composition and morphotypes as well as any stressors that contribute to changes within the reef.

Led by researchers from the John A. Burt lab at NYU Abu Dhabi, Malaysia researchers conducted transect and photoquadrat surveys on shallow and mesohotic coral reefs. The collected images are upload to Reefcloud and become incorporated into the open access reef cloud database.

Tioman Island is a marine park and popular destination for scuba divers and snorkelers. The stunning diversity of fringing reefs supports a biodiverse community of marine life including blacktip reef sharks and hawksbill sea turtles. Although various surveys have assessed the coral conditions of the shallow coral reefs, very little is known about the deeper mesophotic reef zone below 30m. Although understudied, mesophotic reefs tend to harbor a variety of sponge and coral species that provide habitat for larger commercially valuable fish. OceanX deployed the ROV Chimaera to conduct the first mesophotic biodiversity visual assessments and biologicals samples in Pahang.

Although out of sight, mesophotic reefs are susceptible to anthropogenic impacts. While conducting ROV surveys, fishing gear, anchors, and plastic waste were filmed on some of the mesophotic reefs showing the extent of human pollution in the deep.