Descrizione del progetto
Impatto del riscaldamento dell’Oceano Artico sui cetacei
Nonostante il ruolo fondamentale dei cetacei artici quali bioindicatori dell’ecosistema marino artico, la nostra comprensione della loro capacità di adattare il comportamento e la fisiologia alle perturbazioni indotte dal clima rimane limitata. Questa lacuna di conoscenza sarà affrontata dal progetto WARMM, finanziato dall’UE, che raccoglierà una serie di dati multispecie a lungo termine abbracciando 25 anni e includendo due predatori apicali artici (narvalo e balena franca) e due sub-artici (megattera e focena), per studiare le risposte comportamentali e fisiologiche di queste specie al cambiamento climatico. I quattro cetacei sono stati scelti perché presentano un’alimentazione, un habitat e un livello di attività contrastanti: ciò rende questo set di dati unico per condurre un’analisi comparativa delle modalità con cui queste quattro specie affronteranno l’imminente riscaldamento dell’oceano.
Obiettivo
Over the past 30 years, sea ice in the Arctic has declined by 3-4% per decade, making the Arctic the area experiencing the most rapid ecological changes due to climate change. Understanding the consequences of climate change on the Arctic ecosystem is therefore part of the European Union’s (EU) wider efforts. As a consequence of rapid sea-ice loss and increasing temperatures, the abundance, diversity and distribution of low trophic level organisms will be inevitably altered, generating cascading effects through the entire marine food chain from phytoplankton to apex predators. Despite their crucial role as bio-indicators of the Arctic marine ecosystem, the capacity of Arctic cetaceans to adjust their behaviour (foraging, movement patterns) and physiology (fat storage, thermoregulation) to climate-induced perturbations remains poorly understood. By compiling a multi-species long-term dataset covering 25 years and including 2 Arctic (narwhal and bowhead whale) and 2 sub-Arctic (humpback whale and harbour porpoise) apex predators, the WARMM project aims at investigating the behavioural and physiological responses of these species to climate change. The choice of the 4 cetaceans is based on their contrasting diet, habitats and level of activity, making this dataset unique to feed a comparative analysis of how these 4 species will cope with an imminent warming ocean. I will exploit a large existing dataset that will be augmented by physiological data collected during the project to (1) identify the foraging strategies from acoustic and accelerometry data, (2) link the behaviours and physiology to the environment, to finally (3) predict the future responses of apex predators in terms of thermal stress and geographical range. Our project will constitute an unprecedented scientific baseline to advise the EU and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in mitigating the effects of climate change and safeguarding the Arctic marine biodiversity.
Campo scientifico
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmarine biology
- natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologymammalogycetology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinephysiology
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
3900 Nuuk
Groenlandia