# Topics and Trends in Most Cited Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies Papers, Class of 2026

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/coral-and-marine-ecosystems-studies/2026*

## What topics and trends defined most-cited Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies research in the Class of 2026?

The Class of 2026 in Coral and Marine Ecosystems highlights an urgent shift from documenting decline to driving active recovery. Driven by escalating climate pressures, research heavily features the Great Barrier Reef, focusing intensely on coral bleaching events while concurrently surging in post-disturbance coral recovery and reef restoration strategies.

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Field | Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies |
| Cohort label | Class of 2026 (2024 publications) |
| Papers analyzed | 4,652 |
| Papers ranked | 20 |
| Top topics in ranked papers | Coral bleaching, Marine heatwaves, Great Barrier Reef |
| Publication window | Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024 |
| Eligibility | Research articles; reviews excluded |
| Citation window | 18 months post-publication |
| 18m citation range | 35–69 |
| Data source | OpenAlex · Retrieved September 2026 |
| License | CC BY 4.0 |

## Rankings

| Rank | Title | Authors | Corresponding authors | Affiliation | Journal | 18m citations | DOI |
| ---: | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- |
| 1 | Highest ocean heat in four centuries places Great Barrier Reef in danger | Benjamin J Henley, Helen V McGregor, Andrew D King, Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Ariella K Arzey, David J Karoly, Janice M Lough, Thomas M DeCarlo, Braddock K Linsley | Benjamin J. Henley | University of Wollongong, Australia | Nature | 69 | 10.1038/s41586-024-07672-x |
| 2 | Global impacts of marine heatwaves on coastal foundation species | Kathryn E Smith, Margot Aubin, Michael T Burrows, Karen Filbee-Dexter, Alistair J Hobday, Neil J Holbrook, Nathan G King, Pippa J Moore, Alex Sen Gupta, Mads Thomsen, Thomas Wernberg, Edward Wilson, Dan A Smale | Kathryn E. Smith | Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom | Nature Communications | 62 | 10.1038/s41467-024-49307-9 |
| 3 | Ocean protection quality is lagging behind quantity: Applying a scientific framework to assess real marine protected area progress against the 30 by 30 target | Elizabeth P. Pike, Jessica MacCarthy, Sarah O. Hameed, Nikki Harasta, Kirsten Grorud‐Colvert, Jenna Sullivan‐Stack, Joachim Claudet, Bárbara Horta e Costa, Emanuel J. Gonçalves, Angelo Villagomez, Lance Morgan | Elizabeth P. Pike | Marine Conservation Institute  Seattle Washington USA, United States | Conservation Letters | 53 | 10.1111/conl.13020 |
| 4 | Baseline matters: Challenges and implications of different marine heatwave baselines | Kathryn E. Smith, Alex Sen Gupta, Dillon J. Amaya, Jessica A. Benthuysen, Michael T. Burrows, Antonietta Capotondi, Karen Filbee‐Dexter, Thomas L. Frölicher, Alistair J. Hobday, Neil J. Holbrook, Neil Malan, Pippa J. Moore, Eric C. J. Oliver, Benjamin Richaud, Julio Salcedo‐Castro, Dan A. Smale, Mads S. Thomsen, Thomas Wernberg | Kathryn E. Smith | Unknown, Unknown | Progress In Oceanography | 52 | 10.1016/j.pocean.2024.103404 |
| 5 | Cumulative risk of future bleaching for the world’s coral reefs | Camille Mellin, Stuart Brown, Neal Cantin, Eduardo Klein-Salas, David Mouillot, Scott F Heron, Damien A Fordham | Camille Mellin | University of Adelaide, Australia | Science Advances | 51 | 10.1126/sciadv.adn9660 |
| 6 | It's time to broaden what we consider a ‘blue carbon ecosystem’ | Kelly James, Peter I Macreadie, Heidi L Burdett, Ian Davies, Nicholas A Kamenos | Nicholas A. Kamenos | NatureScot, United Kingdom | Global Change Biology | 51 | 10.1111/gcb.17261 |
| 7 | Probiotics reshape the coral microbiome in situ without detectable off-target effects in the surrounding environment | Nathalia Delgadillo-Ordoñez, Neus Garcias-Bonet, Inês Raimundo, Francisca C García, Helena Villela, Eslam O Osman, Erika P Santoro, Joao Curdia, Joao G D Rosado, Pedro Cardoso, Ahmed Alsaggaf, Adam Barno, Chakkiath Paul Antony, Carolina Bocanegra, Michael L Berumen, Christian R Voolstra, Francesca Benzoni, Susana Carvalho, Raquel S Peixoto | Raquel S. Peixoto | King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia | Communications Biology | 46 | 10.1038/s42003-024-06135-3 |
| 8 | The role of local adaptive capacity in marine ecotourism scenarios | I Wayan Koko Suryawan, Vania Dian Gunawan, Chun-Hung Lee | Chun-Hung Lee | Universitas Pertamina, Indonesia | Tourism Management | 46 | 10.1016/j.tourman.2024.105039 |
| 9 | Selective breeding enhances coral heat tolerance to marine heatwaves | Adriana Humanes, Liam Lachs, Elizabeth Beauchamp, Leah Bukurou, Daisy Buzzoni, John Bythell, Jamie R K Craggs, Ruben de la Torre Cerro, Alasdair J Edwards, Yimnang Golbuu, Helios M Martinez, Pawel Palmowski, Eveline van der Steeg, Michael Sweet, Alex Ward, Alastair J Wilson, James R Guest | Adriana Humanes | Newcastle University, United Kingdom | Nature Communications | 45 | 10.1038/s41467-024-52895-1 |
| 10 | Records reveal the vast historical extent of European oyster reef ecosystems | Ruth H. Thurstan, Hannah McCormick, Joanne Preston, Elizabeth C. Ashton, Floris P. Bennema, Ana Bratoš Cetinić, Janet Brown, Tom C. Cameron, Fiz da Costa, David Donnan, Christine Ewers, Tomaso Fortibuoni, Eve Galimany, Otello Giovanardi, Romain Grancher, Daniele Grech, Maria Hayden‐Hughes, Luke Helmer, K. Thomas Jensen, José A. Juanes, Janie Latchford, Alec B. M. Moore, Dimitrios K. Moutopoulos, Pernille Nielsen, Henning von Nordheim, Bárbara Ondiviela, C. T. Peter, Bernadette Pogoda, Bo Poulsen, Stéphane Pouvreau, Callum M. Roberts, Cordula Scherer, A.C. Smaal, David Smyth, Åsa Strand, John Α. Theodorou, Philine S. E. zu Ermgassen | Ruth H. Thurstan, Philine S. E. zu Ermgassen | University of Exeter, United Kingdom | Nature Sustainability | 44 | 10.1038/s41893-024-01441-4 |
| 11 | Marine heatwaves disrupt ecosystem structure and function via altered food webs and energy flux | Dylan G E Gomes, James J Ruzicka, Lisa G Crozier, David D Huff, Richard D Brodeur, Joshua D Stewart | Dylan Gomes | Oregon State University, United States | Nature Communications | 43 | 10.1038/s41467-024-46263-2 |
| 12 | Over 80% of the European Union’s marine protected area only marginally regulates human activities | Juliette Aminian-Biquet, Sašo Gorjanc, Jennifer Sletten, Timothé Vincent, Anastasiya Laznya, Natașa Văidianu, Joachim Claudet, Juliette Young, Bárbara Horta e Costa | Juliette Aminian-Biquet | INRAE, France | One Earth | 39 | 10.1016/j.oneear.2024.07.010 |
| 13 | Increasing disturbance frequency undermines coral reef recovery | Michael J. Emslie, Murray Logan, Peran Bray, Daniela M. Ceccarelli, Alistair J. Cheal, Terry P. Hughes, Kerryn A. Johns, Michelle J. Jonker, Emma Kennedy, James T. Kerry, Camille Mellin, Ian Miller, Kate Osborne, Marji Puotinen, Tane H. Sinclair‐Taylor, Hugh Sweatman | Michael J. Emslie | Australian Institute of Marine Science, Australia | Ecological Monographs | 38 | 10.1002/ecm.1619 |
| 14 | Coral restoration can drive rapid reef carbonate budget recovery | Ines D Lange, Tries B Razak, Chris T Perry, Permas B Maulana, Mochyudho E Prasetya, Irwan, Timothy Ac Lamont | Ines D. Lange | University of Exeter, United Kingdom | Current Biology | 38 | 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.009 |
| 15 | Climate change is an important predictor of extinction risk on macroevolutionary timescales | Cooper M Malanoski, Alex Farnsworth, Daniel J Lunt, Paul J Valdes, Erin E Saupe | Cooper Malanoski, Erin E. Saupe | Oxford University, United Kingdom | Science | 37 | 10.1126/science.adj5763 |
| 16 | New global area estimates for coral reefs from high-resolution mapping | Mitchell Lyons, Nicholas Murray, Emma Kennedy, Éva Kovács, Carolina Castro‐Sanguino, Stuart Phinn, Rodney Borrego Acevedo, Alexandra Ordoñez Alvarez, Chantel Say, Paul Tudman, Kathryn Markey, Meredith Roe, Robert Canto, Helen Fox, Brianna Bambic, Zoë Lieb, Gregory P. Asner, Paulina M. Martin, David Knapp, Jiwei Li, Matthew Skone, Eldan Goldenberg, Kirk Larsen, Chris Roelfsema | Mitchell Lyons | University of Queensland, Australia | Cell Reports Sustainability | 36 | 10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100015 |
| 17 | Integrating cryptic diversity into coral evolution, symbiosis and conservation | Carsten G B Grupstra, Matías Gómez-Corrales, James E Fifer, Hannah E Aichelman, Kirstin S Meyer-Kaiser, Carlos Prada, Sarah W Davies | Carsten G. B. Grupstra, Sarah W. Davies | Boston University, United States | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 36 | 10.1038/s41559-023-02319-y |
| 18 | Global status and emerging contribution of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) towards the ‘30x30’ biodiversity Target 3 | Harry D. Jonas, Heather Bingham, Nathan Bennett, Stephen Woodley, Ryan Zlatanova, Emily Howland, Elise M. S. Belle, J. Upton, Bex Gottlieb, Vignesh Kamath, Janeth Lessmann, Giacomo Delli, Grégoire Dubois, Gabby N. Ahmadia, Joachim Claudet, Carly N. Cook, Johana Deza, Kirsten Grorud‐Colvert, Georgina G. Gurney, Christopher J. Lemieux, Lucia Ruiz | Harry D. Jonas | World Wildlife Fund, United States | Frontiers in Conservation Science | 36 | 10.3389/fcosc.2024.1447434 |
| 19 | Allee effects limit coral fertilization success | Peter J Mumby, Greta Sartori, Elizabeth Buccheri, Cinzia Alessi, Hannah Allan, Christopher Doropoulos, Geraldine Rengiil, Gerard Ricardo | Peter J. Mumby | The University of Queensland, Australia | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 35 | 10.1073/pnas.2418314121 |
| 20 | Impacts of the blue crab invasion on Manila clam aquaculture in Po Delta coastal lagoons (Northern Adriatic Sea, Italy) | Stefania Chiesa, Tommaso Petochi, Rossella Boscolo Brusà, Saša Raicevich, Federica Cacciatore, G. Franceschini, Camilla Antonini, Carola Vallini, Valentina Bernarello, Federica Oselladore, Matteo Ciani, Laura di Blasio, Maria Paola Campolunghi, Franca Baldessin, Luca Boldrin, Giovanna Marino | Stefania Chiesa | Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), Italy | Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science | 35 | 10.1016/j.ecss.2024.109037 |

## Topic trends

### What Topics Define the Class of 2026?

The Class of 2026 in coral and marine ecosystems research is defined by a strong focus on immediate climate threats and proactive mitigation strategies. The dominant topics, notably "Coral bleaching" and "Marine heatwaves", highlight the ongoing impact of rising ocean temperatures on delicate reef structures. Geographically, research heavily centers on the "Great Barrier Reef", which continues to be a primary site for assessing large-scale ecosystem changes and stress responses. Beyond documenting the decline, there is a clear shift toward actionable solutions, evidenced by the prominence of "Coral recovery" and "Coral reef restoration". These themes indicate a growing effort to develop resilience and active restoration techniques. Additionally, the focus on "Marine Protected Areas" underscores the importance of policy and conservation management in safeguarding these vulnerable marine environments. Overall, the leading publications from 2024 reflect an urgent transition from purely observational ecology to applied conservation and recovery science in the face of escalating climate pressures.

*Leading research themes*

### How Did Topics Shift from the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2026?

Comparing the most cited papers from the Class of 2025 (2023 publications) to the Class of 2026 (2024 publications), there is a distinct evolution in research priorities within marine ecosystem studies. The most dramatic shift is the surge of research focused specifically on the "Great Barrier Reef", which emerged prominently in 2024. This suggests a renewed concentration on massive, localized bleaching events or large-scale intervention trials in this critical region. Similarly, "Coral recovery" saw a significant increase, pointing to an expanding body of work dedicated to post-disturbance regeneration and resilience rather than merely documenting mortality. "Coral reef restoration" and "Marine Protected Areas" also experienced upward trends, reinforcing the field's move towards practical, management-oriented solutions. Conversely, general studies on "Marine heatwaves" saw a slight decline in relative frequency, perhaps indicating that while the phenomenon remains a core issue, recent high-impact research is pivoting more towards specific impacts like "Coral bleaching" (which continued to rise) and subsequent recovery efforts. This transition highlights a maturing field that is increasingly focused on actionable conservation frameworks.

*How topics shifted year over year*

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/coral-and-marine-ecosystems-studies/2026. Accessed 2026-10-29.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
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