All Stories

  1. Epidemiological analysis reveals coral species affected by stony coral tissue loss disease present a similar epizootic progression despite differences in susceptibility and population impact

    Article • PLOS One, January 2026, PLOS

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  2. Juveniles reveal natural recovery potential of Caribbean coral species after a widespread disease die-off

    Article • Communications Earth & Environment, December 2025, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  3. 2023 global heatwave causes mass mortality of a keystone coral on shallow Western Atlantic reefs

    Article • iScience, November 2025, Elsevier

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  4. Spatial Prioritization for the Zonation of a Reef System in a New Remote Marine Protected Area in the Southern Gulf of Mexico

    Article • Diversity, October 2025, MDPI AG

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  5. Reduced Atlantic reef growth past 2 °C warming amplifies sea-level impacts

    Article • Nature, September 2025, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  6. Enhancing structural connectivity through coral restoration by adopting a landscape ecology perspective

    Article • Landscape Ecology, May 2025, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  7. High-resolution aerial imagery reveals that the distribution and arrangement of Acropora palmata patches determine their resistance to hurricane impacts

    Article • Coral Reefs, April 2025, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  8. The Roles of Secondary Calcifiers in Reef Construction and Maintenance in Coral and Rocky Reefs of the Mexican Pacific

    Article • Marine Ecology, March 2025, Wiley

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  9. Night surveys reveal abundant populations of sea urchins with high erosive potential in Cayo Arenas, Banco de Campeche

    Article • Ciencias Marinas, February 2025, Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanologicas

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  10. Strong linkage between parrotfish functions and habitat characteristics

    Article • PLOS One, December 2024, PLOS

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  11. Half of Atlantic reef-building corals at elevated risk of extinction due to climate change and other threats

    Article • PLOS One, November 2024, PLOS

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  12. Spatial variability of sedimentary assemblages reflects variations in bioerosion pressure of adjacent coral reefs

    Article • PLOS One, October 2024, PLOS

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  13. Incorporating parrotfish bioerosion into the herbivory paradigm of coral reef resilience

    Article • Conservation Letters, October 2024, Wiley

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  14. Microbiomes of three coral species in the Mexican Caribbean and their shifts associated with the Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease

    Article • PLOS One, August 2024, PLOS

    David A Paz-García, José Q. García-Maldonado, Dr M. Leopoldina Aguirre Macedo, Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  15. Fine‐grained sediment production by endolithic sponges on Caribbean coral reefs

    Article • Limnology and Oceanography, July 2024, Wiley

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  16. Three-dimensional morphological variation and physical functionality of Caribbean corals

    Article • Coral Reefs, February 2024, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  17. Presence of microplastic in target species of small scale fisheries and possible social implications on the local communities

    Article • Marine Biology, February 2024, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  18. Similar functional composition of fish assemblages despite contrasting levels of habitat degradation on shallow Caribbean coral reefs

    Article • PLOS One, December 2023, PLOS

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  19. Sclerochronological characteristics of Orbicella faveolata in Cayo Arenas, a remote coral reef from the Gulf of Mexico

    Article • PLOS One, November 2023, PLOS

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  20. Newly deceased Caribbean reef-building corals experience rapid carbonate loss and colonization by endolithic organisms

    Article • Communications Biology, September 2023, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  21. Anthropogenic pollution decreases the size of octocorals

    Article • PLOS One, August 2023, PLOS

    Dr. Néstor Rey Villiers, Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip, Alberto Sanchez

  22. A Shift in Communities of Conspicuous Macrocrustaceans Associated with Caribbean Coral Reefs following A Series of Environmental Stressors

    Article • Diversity, June 2023, MDPI AG

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  23. The contribution of assisted coral restoration to calcium carbonate production in Eastern Pacific reefs

    Article • Revista de Biología Tropical, May 2023, Universidad de Costa Rica

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  24. Presence of microplastic in target species of small scale fisheries and possible social implications on the local communities

    Article • April 2023, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  25. Legacy effects of anthropogenic disturbances modulate dynamics in the world's coral reefs

    Article • Global Change Biology, March 2023, Wiley

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  26. Photogrammetry for coral structural complexity: What is beyond sight?

    Article • Coral Reefs, March 2023, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  27. A Review of Research on the Mustard Hill Coral, Porites astreoides

    Article • Diversity, March 2023, MDPI AG

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  28. Structure-from-motion photogrammetry demonstrates variability in coral growth within colonies and across habitats

    Article • PLOS One, November 2022, PLOS

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  29. Anthropogenic disturbances and ecological memory modulate dynamics in the world’s coral reefs

    Article • October 2022, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  30. Coral reef erosion: In situ measurement on different dead coral substrates on a Caribbean reef

    Article • Limnology and Oceanography, September 2022, Wiley

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  31. Stony coral tissue loss disease decimated Caribbean coral populations and reshaped reef functionality

    Article • Communications Biology, June 2022, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  32. Dataset of coral reefs monitoring, Puerto Morelos, Mexico, 2019

    Article • Data in Brief, June 2022, Elsevier

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  33. Geomorphically controlled coral distribution in degraded shallow reefs of the Western Caribbean

    Article • PeerJ, March 2022, PeerJ

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  34. Functional divergence from ecological baselines on Caribbean coral reefs

    Article • Ecography, February 2022, Wiley

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  35. Diversity of Coral Reef Fishes in the Western Indian Ocean: Implications for Conservation

    Article • Diversity, January 2022, MDPI AG

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  36. An emerging coral disease outbreak decimated Caribbean coral populations and reshaped reef functionality

    Article • November 2021, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  37. Impacts of a changing environment on marginal coral reefs in the Tropical Southwestern Atlantic

    Article • Ocean & Coastal Management, September 2021, Elsevier

    Dr Ruy Kenji P Kikuchi, Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  38. Coverage Increases of Porites astreoides in Grenada Determined by Shifts in Size-Frequency Distribution

    Article • Diversity, June 2021, MDPI AG

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  39. Effects of the Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Outbreak on Coral Communities and the Benthic Composition of Cozumel Reefs

    Article • Frontiers in Marine Science, March 2021, Frontiers

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  40. Two decades of carbonate budget change on shifted coral reef assemblages: are these reefs being locked into low net budget states?

    Article • Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, December 2020, Royal Society Publishing

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  41. Pelagic Sargassum as an emerging vector of high rate carbonate sediment import to tropical Atlantic coastlines

    Article • Global and Planetary Change, December 2020, Elsevier

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  42. Functional potential of coral assemblages along a typical Eastern Tropical Pacific reef tract

    Article • Ecological Indicators, December 2020, Elsevier

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  43. Recovery disparity between coral cover and the physical functionality of reefs with impaired coral assemblages

    Article • Global Change Biology, November 2020, Wiley

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  44. The role of geomorphic zonation in long-term changes in coral-community structure on a Caribbean fringing reef

    Article • PeerJ, October 2020, PeerJ

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  45. Massive Influx of Pelagic Sargassum spp. on the Coasts of the Mexican Caribbean 2014–2020: Challenges and Opportunities

    Article • Water, October 2020, MDPI AG

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  46. Temporal changes in the composition and biomass of beached pelagic Sargassum species in the Mexican Caribbean

    Article • Aquatic Botany, October 2020, Elsevier

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  47. Fish diversity divergence between tropical eastern pacific and tropical western Atlantic coral reefs

    Article • Environmental Biology of Fishes, September 2020, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  48. Coral Reef Recovery in the Mexican Caribbean after 2005 Mass Coral Mortality—Potential Drivers

    Article • Diversity, September 2020, MDPI AG

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  49. Puerto Morelos Coral Reefs, Their Current State and Classification by a Scoring System

    Article • Diversity, July 2020, MDPI AG

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  50. A meta-analysis to assess long-term spatiotemporal changes of benthic coral and macroalgae cover in the Mexican Caribbean

    Article • Scientific Reports, June 2020, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  51. Reef-scale impacts of the stony coral tissue loss disease outbreak

    Article • Coral Reefs, May 2020, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  52. The no-take zone network of the Mexican Caribbean: assessing design and management for the protection of coral reef fish communities

    Article • Biodiversity and Conservation, March 2020, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  53. Carbonate budgets as indicators of functional reef “health”: A critical review of data underpinning census-based methods and current knowledge gaps

    Article • Ecological Indicators, March 2020, Elsevier

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  54. A rapid spread of the stony coral tissue loss disease outbreak in the Mexican Caribbean

    Article • PeerJ, November 2019, PeerJ

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  55. Functional consequences of the long-term decline of reef-building corals in the Caribbean: evidence of across-reef functional convergence

    Article • Royal Society Open Science, October 2019, Royal Society Publishing

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  56. A rapid spread of the Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease outbreak in the Mexican Caribbean

    Article • August 2019, PeerJ

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  57. Coral reef systems of the Mexican Caribbean: Status, recent trends and conservation

    Article • Marine Pollution Bulletin, March 2019, Elsevier

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  58. Coral Reef Degradation Differentially Alters Feeding Ecology of Co-occurring Congeneric Spiny Lobsters

    Article • Frontiers in Marine Science, January 2019, Frontiers

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  59. A framework for measuring coral species-specific contribution to reef functioning in the Caribbean

    Article • Ecological Indicators, December 2018, Elsevier

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  60. Declining capacity of coral reefs to sustain geo-ecological functions during the Anthropocene

    Article • Functional Ecology, November 2018, Wiley

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  61. Latitudinal variation in structure and function of conspicuous reef fish assemblages along the western Gulf of California

    Article • Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad, November 2018, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  62. Diversity and abundance of conspicuous macrocrustaceans on coral reefs differing in level of degradation

    Article • PeerJ, June 2018, PeerJ

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  63. Rapid coastal development compromises marine protection efficacy on Caribbean coral reefs

    Article • Conservation Letters, June 2018, Wiley

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  64. Loss of coral reef growth capacity to track future increases in sea level

    Article • Nature, June 2018, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  65. Habitat degradation alters trophic pathways but not food chain length on shallow Caribbean coral reefs

    Article • Scientific Reports, March 2018, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  66. Herbivory facilitates growth of a key reef-building Caribbean coral

    Article • Ecology and Evolution, November 2017, Wiley

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  67. Does reef architectural complexity influence resource availability for a large reef-dwelling invertebrate?

    Article • Journal of Sea Research, October 2017, Elsevier

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  68. Rapidly increasing macroalgal cover not related to herbivorous fishes on Mesoamerican reefs

    Article • PeerJ, May 2016, PeerJ

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  69. Simplification of Caribbean Reef-Fish Assemblages over Decades of Coral Reef Degradation

    Article • PLOS One, April 2015, PLOS

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  70. The dynamics of architectural complexity on coral reefs under climate change

    Article • Global Change Biology, September 2014, Wiley

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  71. Assessment of Acropora palmata in the Mesoamerican Reef System

    Article • PLOS One, April 2014, PLOS

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  72. Community Structure of Scleractinian Corals outside Protected Areas in Cozumel Island, Mexico

    Article • Atoll Research Bulletin, January 2014, Smithsonian Institution

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  73. Shifts in coral-assemblage composition do not ensure persistence of reef functionality

    Article • Scientific Reports, December 2013, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  74. Evaluating life-history strategies of reef corals from species traits

    Article • Ecology Letters, September 2012, Wiley

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  75. Complex reef architecture supports more small-bodied fishes and longer food chains on Caribbean reefs

    Article • Ecosphere, October 2011, Wiley

    Dr Nicholas K Dulvy, Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  76. Coral identity underpins architectural complexity on Caribbean reefs

    Article • Ecological Applications, September 2011, Wiley

    Dr Nicholas K Dulvy, Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  77. Drivers of region-wide declines in architectural complexity on Caribbean reefs

    Article • Coral Reefs, July 2011, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Nicholas K Dulvy, Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  78. Region-wide temporal and spatial variation in Caribbean reef architecture: is coral cover the whole story?

    Article • Global Change Biology, January 2011, Wiley

    Dr Nicholas K Dulvy, Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  79. Caribbean Corals in Crisis: Record Thermal Stress, Bleaching, and Mortality in 2005

    Article • PLOS One, November 2010, PLOS

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  80. Influence of shelter availability on interactions between Caribbean spiny lobsters and moray eels: implications for artificial lobster enhancement

    Article • Marine Ecology Progress Series, February 2010, Inter-Research Science Center

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  81. Flattening of Caribbean coral reefs: region-wide declines in architectural complexity

    Article • Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, June 2009, Royal Society Publishing

    Dr Nicholas K Dulvy, Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  82. Effects of Hurricanes Emily and Wilma on coral reefs in Cozumel, Mexico

    Article • Coral Reefs, October 2006, Springer Science + Business Media

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip

  83. Community structure of fishes in Cabo Pulmo Reef, Gulf of California

    Article • Marine Ecology, September 2006, Wiley

    Dr Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip, Luis Eduardo Calderon-Aguilera