Regional Drivers of Ecosystem Change and its Influence on Deep-Sea
Populations in the Mediterranean (ReDEco)
The deep-sea floor is a vast habitat, one of the largest on the planet, covering more than
65% of the Earth's surface. Most of it is covered by soft sediment hosting a large
proportion of the ocean's biodiversity and representing one of the the largest reservoir's
of biomass on Earth. Conditions on the deep-sea floor are extreme (e.g. high pressure,
low temperature, limited food) thus challenging the existence and survival of most
deep-sea organisms. In the early days of oceanography, the deep-sea floor has been
characterised as physically stable, however more recent research has provided evidence
that it is a dynamically changing and vulnerable environment. Despite its remoteness,
the deep-sea floor is largely affected by man, either through effects of climate change or
directly through exploitation of deep-sea resources. In addition, our knowledge of the
deep sea is poor compared to other marine or terrestrial ecosystems, making the
prediction of future effects of human activities very difficult.
In a recent report of the European Science Foundation on the "Impacts of Climate
Change on the European Marine and Coastal Environment" it was pointed out that
European marine ecosystems show profound modifications linked to the present climate
change. Effects include sea level rise, increased levels of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere and consequently ocean acidification, ocean warming, decline in sea-ice
cover etc. Also many species, ranging from the microscopic benthos and plankton to
fish and larger animals such as seabirds and marine mammals, show significant changes
which are thought to be directly related to human-induced climate changes. However,
despite the many studies, the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems are still
unclear and often limited to coastal or epi-pelagic ecosystems. One of Europe's major
policy aims is to develop its marine resources, including the deep-sea, in an ecological
sustainable manner. This requires a better understanding of potential climate change
impacts at both regional and local levels and a profound knowledge on how global
change and other anthropogenic impacts may induce changes in the functioning of
marine ecosystems.
A consortium of 6 partners from 4 European countries are being funded under the EU
FP6 ERA-NET Scheme to study the effects of ecosystem change on deep-sea
populations in the Mediterranean. The project – ReDEco (Regional Drivers of
Ecosystem Change and its Influence on Deep-Sea Populations in the Mediterranean) –
will begin in early 2009. It will focus on key drivers of climate change such as
temperature changes, shifts in surface primary productivity, cold water cascading etc.
and examine their impacts on deep-sea populations. It will integrate knowledge with
new data from a diverse array of study sites in the Mediterranean to allow insights into
long-term change in deep-sea ecosystems. This will enable a better understanding and
prediction of decadal-scale fluctuations and their impact on biological communities and
ecosystem functioning, which is essential for identifying vulnerable systems and
pursuing options to enhance resilience and human well-being.
The principal objectives of the research programme are:
1.
To understand effects of climate change on deep-sea ecosystems in
relation to climate-driven regional key factors and events including the impact of
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
large-scale episodic events, dense shelf water cascading (DSWC) and also
anthropogenic impacts
To examine the variation of total particle flux to the seabed and understand how
this variation may affect the micro- meio- macro- and megabenthic communities
To study benthic community responses to varying food supply
To examine the effects of climate induced changes on deep-sea communities
over shorter and longer timescales (more than a decade)
To investigate historical demography and biogeography of selected species with
distinctive dispersal capability and reproductive strategy
To integrate available historical data, time series measurements and new data
acquired during the project in a conceptual model in order to predict, under
different plausible hypothetical scenarios, the impact of climate change on
various physicochemical and/or biological parameters
These objectives will be achieved using different and modern techniques and integrating
data from different marine sciences such as geology, physical oceanography, chemistry
and biology. The main expected deliverables of the project are the following:
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A description of key environmental factors - water column, organic
matter input, sediment geochemistry- and their variability in space and time
The production, by using traditional and novel methods, of temporal
and spatial biodiversity data of deep-sea taxa ranging from prokaryotes to meio-,
macro- and megafauna
An assessment of the impact on deep sea ecosystems of
environmental fluctuations driven mainly by meteorological (mainly wind and
atmospheric temperature), hydrological (mainly fluvial discharge and
circulation) and biological (mainly plantktonic blooms) forcings at different time
scales
An assessment of geographic displacement and interconnectivity of
different populations by means of biogeographic and molecular analysis of key
species of the Mediterranean
Project coordinator:
Nikolaos Lampadariou, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), Greece.
nlamp@her.hcmr.gr
Project partners:
Miqel Canals, Universitat de Barcelona / Facultat de Geologia (UB), Barcelona, Spain.
miquelcanals@ub.edu
Sergio Stefanni, IMAR-Instituto do Mar (IMAR), Horta, Azores, Portugal.
sstefanni@uac.pt
Marina R Cunha, Universidade de Aveiro, Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar,
Aveiro, Portugal. marina.cunha@ua.pt
Anastasios Tselepides, University of Piraeus, Department of Maritime Studies (UP),
Pireus, Greece. tselepi@unipi.gr
Serge Heussner, CNRS-CEFREM, Perpignan, France. heussner@univ-perp.fr