Bioconstructional organisms from the Ross Sea under Climate Change: ecosystems and ‘oasis’ of biodiversity to monitor and protect

Acronimo
BIOROSS
Codice
PNRA18_00237 - D
Anno
2021
Area di ricerca
Marine science
Tematica specifica di ricerca
Monitoring presence, structure & biodiversity of key bioconstructors
Regione di interesse
Antarctica, Ross Sea, NW coast, Cape Adare -> Drygalski Ice Tongue
Sito web progetto
https://sostenibilita.enea.it/en/projects/bioross
PI
Regina Kolzenburg
Istituzione PI
ENEA - National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development
Sito web istituzionale
https://www.enea.it/it/centro-ricerche-santa-teresa
Altre Istituzioni e soggetti coinvolti
CNR-ISP, SZN, University of Padova, University of Genova, Università Cà Foscari di Venezia
Consistenza del team ricerca
Researchers: 13 Women: 4 Doctoral students: 1 Technicians: 2 Additional collaborations: - Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Ischia Marine Centre: Dr Federica Ragazzola - Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (LSCE, France): Dr Eric Douville, Dr Nadine Tisnerat-Laborde; - University of Western Australia (UWA, Australia): Prof Malcolm McCulloch, Dr Julie Trotter; - Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Science (Poland): Prof Piotr Kuklinski; - Otago University (New Zealand): Prof Abigail Smith; - NIWA (New Zealand): Dr Mark Pinkerton, Dr David Bowden, Dr Di Tracy, Dr Helen Bostock, Dr Sadie Willis, Joshu Mountjoy
Stato progetto
In corso
Stazioni principali usate
Nave
Il progetto

Plants and animals creating the physical structure (ie bioconstruction) are key elements to maintain biodiversity and influence ecosystem processes. Structurally complex, these ecosystems are characterized by high density and great macroinvertebrate species richness. However, they are vulnerable to climate drivers, which can alter the physiology and structure of the builders and their community composition, production, diversity, trophic structure, and nutrient cycling. Thus, bioconstructions are considered 'Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems', representing an ideal model system to monitor the effects of climate change. In particular, bioconstructions from the polar regions of the Southern Ocean are exposed to rapid warming and waters with levels of carbonate saturation state close to corrosive values. BIOROSS will explore these unique benthic ecosystems of the Ross Sea focusing on bryozoan, coralline algae, cold-water coral and calcifying sponge bioconstructions and their associated communities in order to build vulnerability maps related to global threats (ocean acidification and global warming). To understand the distribution and extent of the Ross Sea bioconstructions, the international team of BIOROSS will study the Antarctic material already available from PNRA and NIWA collections and take part in a new seabed exploration and collection in the Ross Sea on board of R / V Tangaroa . The multidisciplinary approach will address questions on the structure and functioning of builder species and associated communities using a suite of cutting-edge instrumentation for offshore survey and sampling, and state-of-the-art analytical facilities and methods, including multibeam echosounders, towed camera, DNA-barcoding, electron microscopy, computed tomography and mass spectrometry. BIOROSS will contribute to the knowledge of these unique ecosystems and the development of a dedicated educational program will further enhance the impact of the project beyond academia.

Immagini
  • Motivazione, importanza della ricerca

    The BIOROSS project is conservation-focused and aims to understand the vulnerability and range of sensitivities of marine Antarctic calcifiers to CO 2 driven climate change and ocean acidification. Bioconstructional organisms provide the foundation for many other species and ecosystem processes, making them pivotal for conservation. Additional, quickly intensifying pressures caused by climate change may see those important bioconstructional organisms severely affected and potentially disappear in the ecologically important region of the Ross Sea. Will those calcifying organisms living close to their extreme limits in the Ross Sea be able to adapt to rapidly changing environmental conditions associated with climate change?

    Obiettivi della proposta

    The main objectives of the BIOROSS project are 1) to create a georeferenced database including maps of the benthic habitats and faunal distribution in selected areas of the Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area, with a specific focus on bioconstructional calcareous algae, bryozoan species, solitary cup corals and sponges and 2) to investigate their biomineralization mechanisms and the potential effects of ocean acidification and global warming on their growth.

    Attività svolta e risultati raggiunti

    Maps of historic species' presence and abundance were created and form the baseline of the currently ongoing planning of the scientific cruise in the Ross Sea in 2023.

    Prodotti