Project description
The power of mesocosms for ecosystem understanding
To understand the intricate workings of complex ecosystems, scientists turn to mesocosms, which are controlled, large-scale experimental systems. In this context, the EU-funded AQUACOSM will take this approach to new heights. By expanding and integrating mesocosm research infrastructures, it aims to bridge gaps, unlock innovation, and provide unprecedented insights into the impacts of stressors on aquatic ecosystems. Building on the success of a previous project, AQUACOSM will unite freshwater and marine research infrastructures to form an expanded network, granting hundreds of researchers access to cutting-edge facilities. AQUACOSM’s goals include coordinated experiments spanning from the Mediterranean to the Arctic, investigating the effects of climate-related stressors on ecosystem services. This initiative will advance experimental ecosystem science to new frontiers.
Objective
Experimentation in mesocosms is arguably the single most powerful approach to obtain a mechanistic quantitative understanding of ecosystem-level impacts of stressors in complex systems, especially when embedded in long-term observations, theoretical models and experiments conducted at other scales. AQUACOSM builds on an established European network of mesocosm research infrastructures (RI), the FP7 Infra project MESOAQUA (2009-2012), where 167 users successfully conducted 74 projects. AQUACOSM greatly enhances that network on pelagic marine systems in at least 3 ways: first by expanding it to 10 freshwater (rivers and lakes), 2 brackish and 2 benthic marine facilities, and by involving 2 SMEs and reaching out to more, thereby granting effective transnational access to world-leading mesocosm facilities to >340 users on >11500 days; second, by integrating scattered know-how between freshwater and marine RI; and third, by uniting aquatic mesocosm science in an open network beyond the core consortium, with industry involved in an ambitious innovation process, to promote ground-breaking developments in mesocosm technology, instrumentation and data processing. A new dimension of experimental ecosystem science will be reached by coordinated mesocosm experiments along transects from the Mediterranean to the Arctic and beyond salinity boundaries. These efforts will culminate in a joint research activity (JRA) to assess aquatic ecosystem responses across multiple environmental gradients to a selected climate-related key stressor with repercussions for ecosystem services. Overall, AQUACOSM will fill a global void by forging an integrated freshwater and marine research infrastructure network. Long-term sustainability is sought through assessing governance models based on science priorities and economic innovation opportunities. Linkages to and synergies with ESFRI RI and other large initiatives are ensured by AQUACOSM partners and Advisory Board members in those programs.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsfreshwater ecosystems
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencespollution
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental scienceshydrologylimnology
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesdata sciencedata processing
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
12489 Berlin
Germany
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Participants (21)
5838 Bergen
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5020 Bergen
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1011 JV AMSTERDAM
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06800 ANKARA
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
LL74 8SG Tyn Y Gongl
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
19013 Attikia Anavissos
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06800 Ankara
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24148 Kiel
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75794 Paris
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
34090 Montpellier
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901 87 Umea
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3293 Lunz Am See
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80539 Muenchen
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75230 Paris
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8000 Aarhus C
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00790 Helsinki
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00014 Helsingin Yliopisto
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7000 803 Evora
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SW7 2AZ LONDON
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0579 Oslo
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06844 Dessau-Rosslau
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