Temporal and spatial variability in mudflat and mangrove foraminiferal eDNA communities in subtropical environments and their implication for sea-level reconstruction

Liu, Zhaojia; Khan, Nicole S.; Yu, Howard K. Y.; Schweizer, Magali; Walker, Jennifer S.; Schunter, Celia

doi:10.5194/jm-45-679-2026

Articles | Volume 45, issue 2

https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-45-679-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-45-679-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 45, issue 2

Research article

|

31 Aug 2026

Research article |

| 31 Aug 2026

Temporal and spatial variability in mudflat and mangrove foraminiferal eDNA communities in subtropical environments and their implication for sea-level reconstruction

Zhaojia Liu, Nicole S. Khan, Howard K. Y. Yu, Magali Schweizer, Jennifer S. Walker, and Celia Schunter

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-45-679-2026-supplement

Data sets

Supplementary Tables of: Temporal and spatial variability of mudflat and mangrove foraminiferal eDNA assemblages and its implication for sea-level reconstruction Zhaojia Liu, Nicole S. Khan, Howard K.Y. Yu, Magali Schweizer, Jennifer S. Walker, Celia Schunter https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.31829704

Short summary

We studied how genetic material from foraminifera in Hong Kong mangroves and mudflats varies through seasons and how this affects records of past sea levels. Over 2 years, communities in mangroves were relatively stable, allowing accurate estimates of elevation relative to the sea. The mudflat–mangrove transitional zone changed with season, causing biased estimates. Mangroves are therefore more accurate than mudflats for tracking past sea-level change.