# Topics and Trends in Most Cited Marine and coastal plant biology Papers, Class of 2026

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/marine-and-coastal-plant-biology/2026*

## What topics and trends defined most-cited Marine and coastal plant biology research in the Class of 2026?

Marine and coastal plant biology in the Class of 2026 is anchored by blue carbon ecosystems and algal bioprospecting. Comparative genomics, invasive macroalgae dynamics, and standardized antioxidant extraction methods showed significant growth, while research on static carbon stocks and acute marine heatwaves declined markedly.

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Field | Marine and coastal plant biology |
| Cohort label | Class of 2026 (2024 publications) |
| Papers analyzed | 4,390 |
| Papers ranked | 20 |
| Top topics in ranked papers | Blue carbon, seagrass meadows, fucoidan, antioxidant capacity, kelp forests |
| Publication window | Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024 |
| Eligibility | Research articles; reviews excluded |
| Citation window | 18 months post-publication |
| 18m citation range | 20–68 |
| Data source | OpenAlex · Retrieved Jul 2026 |
| License | CC BY 4.0 |

## Rankings

| Rank | Title | Authors | Corresponding authors | Affiliation | Journal | 18m citations | DOI |
| ---: | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- |
| 1 | Evolutionary genomics of the emergence of brown algae as key components of coastal ecosystems | France Denoeud, Olivier Godfroy, Corinne Cruaud, Svenja Heesch, Zofia Nehr, Nachida Tadrent, Arnaud Couloux, Loraine Brillet-Guéguen, Ludovic Delage, Dean Mckeown, Taizo Motomura, Duncan Sussfeld, Xiao Fan, Lisa Mazéas, Nicolas Terrapon, Josué Barrera-Redondo, Romy Petroll, Lauric Reynes, Seok-Wan Choi, Jihoon Jo, Kavitha Uthanumallian, Kenny Bogaert, Céline Duc, Pélagie Ratchinski, Agnieszka Lipinska, Benjamin Noel, Eleanor A Murphy, Martin Lohr, Ananya Khatei, Pauline Hamon-Giraud, Christophe Vieira, Komlan Avia, Svea Sanja Akerfors, Shingo Akita, Yacine Badis, Tristan Barbeyron, Arnaud Belcour, Wahiba Berrabah, Samuel Blanquart, Ahlem Bouguerba-Collin, Trevor Bringloe, Rose Ann Cattolico, Alexandre Cormier, Helena Cruz de Carvalho, Romain Dallet, Olivier De Clerck, Ahmed Debit, Erwan Denis, Christophe Destombe, Erica Dinatale, Simon Dittami, Elodie Drula, Sylvain Faugeron, Jeanne Got, Louis Graf, Agnès Groisillier, Marie-Laure Guillemin, Lars Harms, William John Hatchett, Bernard Henrissat, Galice Hoarau, Chloé Jollivet, Alexander Jueterbock, Ehsan Kayal, Andrew H Knoll, Kazuhiro Kogame, Arthur Le Bars, Catherine Leblanc, Line Le Gall, Ronja Ley, Xi Liu, Steven T LoDuca, Pascal Jean Lopez, Philippe Lopez, Eric Manirakiza, Karine Massau, Stéphane Mauger, Laetitia Mest, Gurvan Michel, Catia Monteiro, Chikako Nagasato, Delphine Nègre, Eric Pelletier, Naomi Phillips, Philippe Potin, Stefan A Rensing, Ellyn Rousselot, Sylvie Rousvoal, Declan Schroeder, Delphine Scornet, Anne Siegel, Leila Tirichine, Thierry Tonon, Klaus Valentin, Heroen Verbruggen, Florian Weinberger, Glen Wheeler, Hiroshi Kawai, Akira F Peters, Hwan Su Yoon, Cécile Hervé, Naihao Ye, Eric Bapteste, Myriam Valero, Gabriel V Markov, Erwan Corre, Susana M Coelho, Patrick Wincker, Jean-Marc Aury, J Mark Cock | Hiroshi Kawai, Akira F. Peters, Hwan Su Yoon | Genoscope, France | Cell | 68 | 10.1016/j.cell.2024.10.049 |
| 2 | Carbon export from seaweed forests to deep ocean sinks | Karen Filbee‐Dexter, Albert Pessarrodona, Morten Foldager Pedersen, Thomas Wernberg, Carlos M. Duarte, Jorge Assis, Trine Bekkby, Michael T. Burrows, Daniel F. Carlson, Jean‐Pierre Gattuso, Hege Gundersen, Kasper Hancke, Kira A. Krumhansl, Tomohiro Kuwae, Jack J. Middelburg, Pippa J. Moore, Ana M. Queirós, Dan A. Smale, Isabel Sousa‐Pinto, Nobuhiro Suzuki, Dorte Krause‐Jensen | Karen Filbee‐Dexter | Institute of Marine Research, Norway | Nature Geoscience | 64 | 10.1038/s41561-024-01449-7 |
| 3 | 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 |
| 4 | It's time to broaden what we consider a ‘blue carbon ecosystem’ | Kelly James, Peter I. Macreadie, Heidi L. Burdett, Ian D. Davies, Nicholas A. Kamenos | Nicholas A. Kamenos | NatureScot  Perth UK, United States | Global Change Biology | 51 | 10.1111/gcb.17261 |
| 5 | Photosynthetic light requirement near the theoretical minimum detected in Arctic microalgae | Clara J M Hoppe, Niels Fuchs, Dirk Notz, Philip Anderson, Philipp Assmy, Jørgen Berge, Gunnar Bratbak, Gaël Guillou, Alexandra Kraberg, Aud Larsen, Benoit Lebreton, Eva Leu, Magnus Lucassen, Oliver Müller, Laurent Oziel, Björn Rost, Bernhard Schartmüller, Anders Torstensson, Jonas Wloka | Clara J. M. Hoppe | Alfred-Wegener-Institut-Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Germany | Nature Communications | 36 | 10.1038/s41467-024-51636-8 |
| 6 | Advanced Extraction Techniques and Physicochemical Properties of Carrageenan from a Novel Kappaphycus alvarezii Cultivar | Madalena Mendes, João Cotas, Irene B Gutiérrez, Ana M M Gonçalves, Alan T Critchley, Lourie Ann R Hinaloc, Michael Y Roleda, Leonel Pereira | Leonel Pereira | University of Coimbra, Portugal | Marine Drugs | 35 | 10.3390/md22110491 |
| 7 | Projected loss of brown macroalgae and seagrasses with global environmental change | Federica Manca, Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi, Corey J A Bradshaw, Mar Cabeza, Camilla Gustafsson, Alf M Norkko, Tomas V Roslin, David N Thomas, Lydia White, Giovanni Strona | Federica Manca, Giovanni Strona | University of Helsinki, Finland | Nature Communications | 31 | 10.1038/s41467-024-48273-6 |
| 8 | Seagrass genomes reveal ancient polyploidy and adaptations to the marine environment | Xiao Ma, Steffen Vanneste, Jiyang Chang, Luca Ambrosino, Kerrie Barry, Till Bayer, Alexander A Bobrov, LoriBeth Boston, Justin E Campbell, Hengchi Chen, Maria Luisa Chiusano, Emanuela Dattolo, Jane Grimwood, Guifen He, Jerry Jenkins, Marina Khachaturyan, Lázaro Marín-Guirao, Attila Mesterházy, Danish-Daniel Muhd, Jessica Pazzaglia, Chris Plott, Shanmugam Rajasekar, Stephane Rombauts, Miriam Ruocco, Alison Scott, Min Pau Tan, Jozefien Van de Velde, Bartel Vanholme, Jenell Webber, Li Lian Wong, Mi Yan, Yeong Yik Sung, Polina Novikova, Jeremy Schmutz, Thorsten B H Reusch, Gabriele Procaccini, Jeanine L Olsen, Yves Van de Peer | Jozefien Van de Velde, Thorsten B. H. Reusch, Gabriele Procaccini, Jørn Olsen, Yves Van de Peer | Ghent University, Belgium | Nature Plants | 28 | 10.1038/s41477-023-01608-5 |
| 9 | Ultrasound-Assisted Multi-Enzyme Extraction for Highly Efficient Extraction of Polysaccharides from Ulva lactuca | Wenqian Wang, Jinbi Li, Fuping Lu, Fufeng Liu | Fufeng Liu | Tianjin University of Science and Technology, China | Foods | 28 | 10.3390/foods13060891 |
| 10 | Long-term sediment organic carbon remineralization in different seagrass and macroalgae habitats: implication for blue carbon storage | Alba Yamuza‐Magdaleno, Rocío Jiménez‐Ramos, Isabel Casal‐Porras, Fernando G. Brun, Luis G. Egea | Rocío Jiménez‐Ramos | Universidad de Cádiz, Spain | Frontiers in Marine Science | 25 | 10.3389/fmars.2024.1370768 |
| 11 | Cryogenian Origins of Multicellularity in Archaeplastida | Alexander M C Bowles, Christopher J Williamson, Tom A Williams, Philip C J Donoghue | Alexander M C Bowles | University of Bristol, United Kingdom | Genome Biology and Evolution | 25 | 10.1093/gbe/evae026 |
| 12 | “Pink power”—the importance of coralline algal beds in the oceanic carbon cycle | Nadine Schubert, Fernando Tuya, Viviana Peña, Paulo A Horta, Vinícius W Salazar, Pedro Neves, Cláudia Ribeiro, Francisco Otero-Ferrer, Fernando Espino, Kathryn Schoenrock, Federica Ragazzola, Irene Olivé, Thalassia Giaccone, Matteo Nannini, M Cristina Mangano, Gianluca Sará, Francesco Paolo Mancuso, Mario Francesco Tantillo, Mar Bosch-Belmar, Sophie Martin, Line Le Gall, Rui Santos, João Silva | Nadine Schubert | Universidade do Algarve, Portugal | Nature Communications | 25 | 10.1038/s41467-024-52697-5 |
| 13 | Optimizing the fucoidan extraction using Box-Behnken Design and its potential bioactivity | Mostafa El-Sheekh, Eman A Alwaleed, Wafaa M A Kassem, Hani Saber | Mostafa M. El‐Sheekh | Tanta University, Egypt | International Journal of Biological Macromolecules | 24 | 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.134490 |
| 14 | Mechanisms of recalcitrant fucoidan breakdown in marine Planctomycetota | Carla Pérez-Cruz, Alicia Moraleda-Montoya, Raquel Liébana, Oihana Terrones, Uxue Arrizabalaga, Mikel García-Alija, Maier Lorizate, Ana Martínez Gascueña, Isabel García-Álvarez, Jon Ander Nieto-Garai, June Olazar-Intxausti, Bárbara Rodríguez-Colinas, Enrique Mann, José Luis Chiara, Francesc-Xabier Contreras, Marcelo E Guerin, Beatriz Trastoy, Laura Alonso-Sáez | F.‐Xabier Contreras, Marcelo E. Guerin, Beatriz Trastoy, Laura Alonso‐Sáez | AZTI, Spain | Nature Communications | 24 | 10.1038/s41467-024-55268-w |
| 15 | Consequences of kelp forest ecosystem shifts and predictors of persistence through multiple stressors | Joshua G Smith, Daniel Malone, Mark H Carr | Joshua G. Smith | Monterey Bay Aquarium, United States | Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences | 23 | 10.1098/rspb.2023.2749 |
| 16 | Marine Protected Areas That Preserve Trophic Cascades Promote Resilience of Kelp Forests to Marine Heatwaves | Joy A Kumagai, Maurice C Goodman, Juan Carlos Villaseñor-Derbez, David S Schoeman, Kyle C Cavanuagh, Tom W Bell, Fiorenza Micheli, Giulio De Leo, Nur Arafeh-Dalmau | Joy A. Kumagai | Stanford University, United States | Global Change Biology | 23 | 10.1111/gcb.17620 |
| 17 | Metagenomic insights into the dynamic degradation of brown algal polysaccharides by kelp-associated microbiota | Yi-Shuo Zhang, Yu-Qi Zhang, Xiang-Ming Zhao, Xiao-Lei Liu, Qi-Long Qin, Ning-Hua Liu, Fei Xu, Xiu-Lan Chen, Yu-Zhong Zhang, Ping-Yi Li | Yi-Shuo Zhang | Shandong University, China | Applied and Environmental Microbiology | 21 | 10.1128/aem.02025-23 |
| 18 | Optimizing extraction methods by a comprehensive experimental approach and characterizing polyphenol compositions of Ecklonia radiata | Xinyu Duan, Vigasini Subbiah, Osman Tuncay Agar, Colin J Barrow, Muthupandian Ashokkumar, Frank R Dunshea, Hafiz A R Suleria | Hafiz Ansar Rasul Suleria | The University of Melbourne, Australia | Food Chemistry | 20 | 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.139926 |
| 19 | Reduced and smaller phytoplankton during marine heatwaves in eastern boundary upwelling systems | Weikang Zhan, Ming Feng, Ying Zhang, Xinchen Shen, Haigang Zhan, Qingyou He | Haigang Zhan, Qingyou He | South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, China | Communications Earth & Environment | 20 | 10.1038/s43247-024-01805-w |
| 20 | Invasive Seaweed Rugulopteryx okamurae: A Potential Source of Bioactive Compounds with Antioxidant Activity | Radia N A Belhadj, Cristina Mellinas, Alfonso Jiménez, César Bordehore, Maria Carmen Garrigós | Marı́a Carmen Garrigós | University of Alicante, Spain | Antioxidants | 20 | 10.3390/antiox13111298 |

## Topic trends

### What Topics Define the Class of 2026?

The Class of 2026 in marine and coastal plant biology is strongly defined by blue carbon ecosystems and high-value marine biochemicals. Coastal vegetated habitats represent the primary ecological foundation, led by blue carbon (16% normalized frequency) and seagrass meadows (14%), alongside kelp forests (8%) and carbon sequestration dynamics (8%). Researchers are actively quantifying coastal carbon budgets and examining how vegetated habitats mitigate environmental change. Concurrently, a major biochemical cluster centers on seaweed bioactive compounds and extraction technologies. High-value marine polysaccharides, particularly fucoidan (8%) and ulvan (4%), are prominent alongside functional assays measuring antioxidant capacity (8%), DPPH radical scavenging (6%), and ABTS radical reduction (4%). Advanced bioprocessing techniques like ultrasound-assisted extraction (6%) are increasingly integrated to refine green extraction workflows for algae. Additional key themes encompass species distribution modeling, salt marsh ecology, brown algae physiological traits, and macroalgal blooms across regional coastal waters such as the Yellow Sea. Together, these dominant themes demonstrate a dual focus within marine plant biology: expanding ecological understanding of coastal carbon sinks while advancing high-value pharmaceutical and industrial applications from marine flora.

*Leading research themes*

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

Comparing the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2026 reveals a clear strategic pivot toward molecular genomics, invasive ecology, and high-precision bioprocessing. The most notable growth was driven by comparative genomics, which entered the top cohort at 6% normalized frequency, accompanied by genomic insights into whole-genome duplication (4%) and horizontal gene transfer (4%). Invasive macroalgal species and green tides also saw rapid escalation; Rugulopteryx okamurae and Ulva prolifera surged from zero representation in 2023 to 6% each in 2024, alongside Spartina alterniflora invasions (4%). In contrast, broader observational and climate anomaly themes experienced significant relative declines: carbon stocks studies dropped sharply from 14% to 4%, while marine heatwave research fell from 14% to 8%. Furthermore, methodological focus shifted toward standardized biochemical evaluation, with DPPH radical scavenging assays (6%) and ultrasound-assisted extraction (6%) gaining substantial momentum. This shift highlights an evolving discipline moving beyond static baseline carbon counting toward genomic adaptation, invasion dynamics, and refined marine bioprospecting.

*How topics shifted year over year*

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Marine and coastal plant biology Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/marine-and-coastal-plant-biology/2026. Accessed 2026-07-24.

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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