Quantifying patterns of dispersal and settlement in marine benthic invertebrates is challenging, largely due the complexity of life history traits, small sizes of larvae (less than 1 mm), and potential for large-scale dispersal (greater than 100 km) in the marine environment. Doropoulos and Roff develop a novel method that allows for immediate differentiation and visual tracking of large numbers of coral larvae (millions to billions) from dispersal to settlement. Neutral red and Nile blue stains were extremely effective in coloring larvae, with minimal impacts on survival and settlement following optimization of incubation times and stain concentrations. Field validation to wild-captured larvae from the Great Barrier Reef demonstrates the efficacy of staining across diverse taxa. The method provides a simple, rapid (less than 60 minutes), low-cost (approximately one US dollar per 100,000 larvae) tool to color coral larvae that facilitates a wide range of de novo laboratory and field studies of larval behavior and ecology with potential applications for conservation planning and understanding patterns of connectivity. The lefthand column of the image shows Nile blue (top), unstained (middle) and neutral red (bottom) free-swimming Acropora anthocercis larvae. The central column shows newly metamorphosed A. anthocercis, similarly treated. The righthand column shows mixed larvae of Platygyra sinensis (top), Dipsastraea favus (middle) and Coelastrea aspera (bottom).
Image Credit: pbio.3001907
Editorial
Reflecting on 2022
PLOS Biology: published December 16, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001957
Essay
Seasonal timing on a cyclical Earth: Towards a theoretical framework for the evolution of phenology
PLOS Biology: published December 27, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001952
Perspectives
Members of the majority need to actively promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging
PLOS Biology: published December 14, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001902
Open science priorities for rigorous nature-based climate solutions
PLOS Biology: published December 12, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001929
Pushing the boundaries of behavioral analysis could aid psychiatric drug discovery
PLOS Biology: published December 8, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001904
Towards a unification of the 2 meanings of “epigenetics”
PLOS Biology: published December 27, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001944
The curse of the protein ribbon diagram
PLOS Biology: published December 12, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001901
Primers
Turning decisions into actions
PLOS Biology: published December 16, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001927
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Alzheimer’s-related brain damage shows sex-specific links with risk factors
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Exploring the genetic architecture of protein secretion in Komagataella phaffii (Pichia pastoris) for biotechnology applications
PLOS Biology: published December 16, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001911
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Threat management priorities for conserving Antarctic biodiversity
PLOS Biology: published December 22, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001921
Differences in the functional brain architecture of sustained attention and working memory in youth and adults
PLOS Biology: published December 21, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001938
Efficient coding theory of dynamic attentional modulation
PLOS Biology: published December 21, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001889
Integrated neural dynamics of sensorimotor decisions and actions
PLOS Biology: published December 15, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001861
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A brain-wide form of presynaptic active zone plasticity orchestrates resilience to brain aging in Drosophila
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Pannexin 1 activity in astroglia sets hippocampal neuronal network patterns
PLOS Biology: published December 7, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001891
APOE alleles are associated with sex-specific structural differences in brain regions affected in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia
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ERK1/2 signalling dynamics promote neural differentiation by regulating chromatin accessibility and the polycomb repressive complex
PLOS Biology: published December 1, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000221
Early enforcement of cell identity by a functional component of the terminally differentiated state
PLOS Biology: published December 5, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001900
Multispecies biofilm architecture determines bacterial exposure to phages
PLOS Biology: published December 22, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001913
Analysis of the evolution of resistance to multiple antibiotics enables prediction of the Escherichia coli phenotype-based fitness landscape
PLOS Biology: published December 13, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001920
Alternative splicing liberates a cryptic cytoplasmic isoform of mitochondrial MECR that antagonizes influenza virus
PLOS Biology: published December 21, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001934
The RNA export and RNA decay complexes THO and TRAMP prevent transcription-replication conflicts, DNA breaks, and CAG repeat contractions
PLOS Biology: published December 27, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001940
Inorganic sulfur fixation via a new homocysteine synthase allows yeast cells to cooperatively compensate for methionine auxotrophy
PLOS Biology: published December 1, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001912
Identification of genetic variants of the industrial yeast Komagataella phaffii (Pichia pastoris) that contribute to increased yields of secreted heterologous proteins
PLOS Biology: published December 15, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001877
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The structure of the human LACTB filament reveals the mechanisms of assembly and membrane binding
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Short Reports
Rapid and predictable genome evolution across three hybrid ant populations
PLOS Biology: published December 20, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001914
Methods and Resources
Coloring coral larvae allows tracking of local dispersal and settlement
PLOS Biology: published December 6, 2022 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001907