Descripción del proyecto
¿Pueden los arrecifes de coral sobrevivir en un entorno cambiante?
Los arrecifes de coral están amenazados por las actuales presiones medioambientales mundiales. El proyecto CoralChange, financiado con fondos europeos, examinará los efectos de los cambios a nivel mundial en las especies de coral a través de múltiples generaciones para determinar cómo la dinámica y la viabilidad de sus poblaciones se ven afectadas a largo plazo. Mediante el empleo de modelos demográficos predictivos, identificará cómo la adaptación al calentamiento y la acidificación de los océanos puede perjudicar a los corales jóvenes. Los resultados del proyecto ayudarán al desarrollo de estrategias de gestión y conservación eficaces, así como a la identificación de las especies de coral con más probabilidades de sobrevivir en el futuro.
Objetivo
Coral reefs are among the most diverse, spectacular and productive ecosystems on the planet. However, coral reefs are also among the marine ecosystems more susceptible to the adverse effects of the on-going global change. The frequency and severity of coral bleaching and mass mortality events increases every year, with serious consequences on the long-term viability of coral populations. However, during the last years, few studies have investigated the future of coral populations under different global change scenarios using demographic models. Moreover, these studies have not considered the capacity of corals to adjust their physiology to maintain performance despite environmental change (acclimatization) with the additional energetic cost of this adaptive mechanisms and their consequent transgenerational effects on the viability of future offspring. The CoralChange project will investigate, for the first time, the transgenerational effects induced by global change in stony coral and octocoral species in order to determine how their population dynamics and viability is compromised in the long-term. To achieve this goal, I will develop demographic predictive models combining field and experimental data that include coral physiological condition, trophic plasticity, reproductive success and larval viability. This new approach will identify the possible energetic costs of adaptive mechanisms to ocean warming and acidification that may undermine the early, and most vulnerable, life stages of corals. The results of this study will be essential to develop effective management and conservation strategies to safeguard coral reefs under multiple stressors, as well as identify coral species and populations with higher probability to survive in future conditions.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinador
08007 Barcelona
España