MEDITERRANEAN SHIFTS IN SEAWEEDS AND SEAGRASSES FUNCTIONING

Descrizione del progetto

Proteggere gli ecosistemi forestali sommersi del Mediterraneo

Il Mar Mediterraneo si sta riscaldando. Infatti, le temperature stanno raggiungendo livelli record e minacciano le sue scogliere rocciose poco profonde. Con il sostegno del programma di azioni Marie Sklodowska-Curie, il progetto MEDSHIFTS intende studiare l’influenza di queste condizioni ambientali sulla fisiologia e sull’ecologia delle alghe e delle praterie marine, che costituiscono elementi fondamentali per la biodiversità dell’ambiente marino, la produzione alimentare e la stabilità delle coste. Per l’analisi dei dati verranno utilizzati metodi biologici e statistici. Ciò consentirà alla ricerca di analizzare le attuali condizioni di funzionamento e di prevedere i cambiamenti dell’ecosistema in diverse condizioni climatiche.

Obiettivo

Anthropogenic global change is rapidly transforming ocean conditions, leading to rising sea surface temperatures, ocean acidification, and more frequent extreme climatic events. These changes are reshaping marine ecosystems compromising essential services like food provision and coastal protection. The Mediterranean shallow rocky reefs, faces particularly severe impacts with intense global warming and frequent marine heatwaves, making it crucial for studying the rapid shifts in species composition and ecosystem functioning. The aim of the MEDSHIFTS project is to quantify and to predict how these changes impact seaweeds and seagrasses’ functioning, one of the most diverse taxonomic categories in the Mediterranean Sea, through a combination of 3 processes and 10 traits including calcification rate and the morphological form. MEDSHIFTS will rely on the synergy of my expertise in statistical modelling and benthic functioning with extensive expertise in assessing the effects of mass mortality events on rocky benthic habitats of the host (Dr Garrabou). This will be complemented by the essential expertise in traits-based approaches, seaweeds and seagrasses communities, meta-analyses and risk assessments of the three secondment supervisors and one close collaborator (Dr Teixidó, Dr Cebrian, Dr De Bello, and Dr Claudet). By being trained in seaweeds and seagrasses ecology and latest approaches to analyze functional shifts (e.g. Trait Probability Density), I will provide scientific basis on shifts in seaweeds and seagrasses functioning under present and future climatic scenarios in the Mediterranean Sea. MEDSHIFTS outcomes will significantly contribute to inform and enhance policy-making and decision-making processes, supporting the implementation of ongoing restoration programs, and improve awareness of the general public on the effects of global change in shallow rocky reefs; boosting my career opportunities as a prominent functional ecologist in the face of global change.