Comunicación oral al Symposium GLOBEC-IMBER España celebrado en Valencia del 28-30 marzo de 2007. Dentro de la sesión "Capacidad predictiva y modelado" ; Los ecosistemas marinos son complejos por definición, tanto por la cantidad de variables de estado, como el número de relaciones entre estas variables de estado y el gran número de variables ambientales que afectan las funciones de estas relaciones. Finalmente, los ecosistemas marinos comprenden procesos en un rango muy grande de escalas espaciales y temporales. La modelización es una abstracción simplificada de esta complejidad a un grado tratable y comprensible que ha servido sobretodo en retrospectiva para entender la dinámica de algunos procesos y dirigir esfuerzos de observación y experimentación. Con la creciente certeza de los cambios globales, se suma ahora un esfuerzo de predicción. A mi modo de ver, hay dos escalas de temporales de predicción. Por un lado está la escala de tiempo larga, entiéndase de variabilidad anual hasta multianual. Esta escala puede dar lugar a predicciones de la dinámica de los ecosistemas marinos a "grosso modo" sobretodo para planificación a largo término de políticas ambientales y sociales. La segunda escala es la de la variabilidad subdiaria hasta semanal. Aunque en principio pueda parecer menos interesante, a semejanza de la meteorología, estas predicciones del estado del escosistema a corto plazo serán las más relevantes para la sociedad con aplicaciones de salud ambiental y seguridad marítima, entre muchas otras. Ambas escalas requieren indudablemente de un esfuerzo similar a la meteorología con la cuál llevamos un retraso de 50 a 100 años. Se necesitan extensas redes de observación en tiempo real de una amplio abanico de variables, potentes bases de datos que vayan estructurando la adquisición de estos datos con metaanálisis automatizados y modelos numéricos con asimilación de datos en tiempo real. La tarea a realizar es compleja y costosa, pero no por ello podemos permitirnos la demora de su puesta en marcha ; Marine ecosystems are complex by definition, be it for the number of state variables, the number of relationships between these variables or the large number of environmental factors that affect the functions of these relationships. Finally, marine ecosystems encompass a large range of spatial and temporal scales. Models are simplified abstractions of this complexity to a manageable and compregensible degree. Models have been used mainly for hindcast to understand dinamic processes and direct observation and experimentation efforts. With the growing evidence for global change, a prediction effort is now added. In my view, there are two temporal scales for prediction. On the one hand there is the long scale from anual to multianual variability. This scale can give gross predictions of the dynamics of marine ecosystems, most usefull for the long-term planning of environmenal and social politics. On the other hand there is the subdaily to weekly variability. Although it may now seem less interesting, similarly to meteorology, short-term predictions of ecosystem status will be most relevant for society with applications from environmental health to maritime safety, among many other. Both scales undoubtly require a similar effort to that in meteorology, with which we lag behind 50 to 100 years. We need extensive real-time observation nets of a vast number of variables, powerful databases structuring the acquisition of such data and automatic metanalysis tools, and numerical models with online data assimilation. The task is complex and expensive, but we can not afford to postpone addressing it now ; Proyecto VARITEC (CTM2004-04442-C02)
48 pages ; For over thirty years, there has been much talk regarding climate change, not only about its consequences, but also about our responsibility, considering that hu-mans are highly impacting ecosystem dynamics. As early as 1988, at the initiative of the United Nations Environment Program and the World Meteorological Or-ganization, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was created. The panel consists of experts on climate change and has the mission to evaluate scientific, technical and socio-economic information on the risks of climate change caused by human activity, the potential environmental and socio-eco-nomic consequences of climate change and the options for adapting to these con-sequences or to mitigate its effects.Unfortunately, the political and economic powers that dominate our planet have been systematically very critical of the experts' conclusions and even more reluctant to the proposed measures. The IPCC has produced five major reports, the most recent in 2014. On the basis of these reports, various international con-ventions and treaties have been promoted, not without enormous difficulties. These include the Kyoto Protocol, the first international treaty to reduce green-house gas emissions, in force until 2020, and the subsequent Paris Agreements, which establish new measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions after 2020. The international political community has been ratifying the treaties, with largely un-equal effective measures and the systematic boycott of US governments for the consequences that the implementation of such measures would have on their economy. [.]
13 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables ; The production of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) in response to several environmental variables was studied in 2 mesocosm experiments. The first (Expt 1) examined a gradient of 4 nutrient levels; the second (Expt 2) examined different conditions of silicate availability and zooplankton presence. Tanks were separated in 2 series, one subjected to turbulence and the other not influenced by turbulence. In tanks with nutrient addition, TEP were rapidly formed, with net apparent production rates closely linked to chl a growth rates, suggesting that phytoplankton cells were actively exuding TEP precursors. High nutrient availability increased the absolute concentration of TEP; however, the relative quantity of TEP produced was found to be lower, as TEP concentration per unit of phytoplankton biomass was inversely related to the initial nitrate dose. In Expt 1, an increase in TEP volume (3 to 48 μm equivalent spherical diameter) with nutrient dose was observed; in Expt 2, both silicate addition and turbulence enhanced TEP production and favored aggregation to larger TEP (>48 μm). The presence of zooplankton lowered TEP concentration and changed the size distribution of TEP, presumably by grazing on TEP or phytoplankton. For lower nutrient concentrations, the ratio of particulate organic carbon (POC) to particulate organic nitrogen (PON) followed the Redfield ratio. At higher nutrient conditions, when nutrients were exhausted during the post-bloom, a decoupling of carbon and nitrogen dynamics occurred and was correlated to TEP formation, with a large flow of carbon channeled toward the TEP pool in turbulent tanks. TEP accounted for an increase in POC concentration of 50% in high-nutrient and turbulent conditions. The study of TEP dynamics is crucial to understanding the biogeochemical response of the aquatic system to forcing variables such as nutrient availability and turbulence intensity ; This study was supported by EU project NTAP (EVK3-CT-2000-00022). Access to the Espeland Marine Biological Station of the Bergen Marine Food Chain Research Infrastructure was possible through Contract No. HPRI-CT-1999-00056 of the Improving Human Potential Programme of the European Union. F.P. held a Ramon y Cajal contract ; Peer Reviewed
In some dinoflagellate species, physiological processes appear to be altered by exposure to certain turbulent conditions. Here we investigated how two levels of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates (ε = 0.4 and 27cm2s-3) affected the toxin and ecdysal cyst dynamics of two bloom forming species, Alexandrium minutum and A. catenella. The most striking responses were observed at the high s generated by an orbital shaker. In A. catenella, lower cellular toxin content was measured in cultures shaken for more than 4 days. The same trend was observed in A. minutum, although variability masked statistical significance. For the two species, inhibition of ecdysal cyst production occurred immediately and during the period of exposure of the cultures to stirring (4 or more days) at any time during their growth curve. Recovery of cyst abundances was always observed when turbulence stopped. When turbulence persisted for more than 4 days the net growth rate significantly decreased and the final biomass yield was lower than in the unshaken cultures. This study suggests that high levels of small-scale turbulence would contribute to the modulation of the harmful bloom dynamics through the interaction at the level of toxin and encystment processes ; This work has been supported by the Spanish funded projects TURFI 25 (REN2002-01591/MAR) and TURDITOX (CTM2005-03547/MAR) and by the EU funded project SEED (GOCE-CT-2005-003875). L. Bolli held a "Leonardo da Vinci" grant within the StudEX program of Switzerland and Ò. Guadayol a predoctorate I3P fellowship from the CSIC. G. Llaveria holds an FPU grant of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education (MSE). E. Garcés and F. Peters are sustained by the Spanish "Ramon y Cajal" contracts of the Spanish MSE and 30 K. van Lenning by the "Agència Catalana de l'Aigua" of the Catalan Autonomous Government ; Peer Reviewed
11 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables ; In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the impact of turbulence on aquatic organisms. In response to this interest, a novel instrument has been constructed, TURBOGEN, that generates turbulence in water volumes up to 13 l. TURBOGEN is fully computer controlled, thus, allowing for a high level of reproducibility and for variations of the intensity and characteristics of turbulence during the experiment. The calibration tests, carried out by particle image velocimetry, showed TURBOGEN to be successful in generating isotropic turbulence at the typical relatively low levels of the marine environment. TURBOGEN and its sizing have been devised with the long-term scope of analyzing in detail the molecular responses of plankton to different mixing regimes, which is of great importance in both environmental and biotechnological processes ; Rachel Macmasters is acknowledged for language check. A.A., M.I.F., D.I., M.R.d'A., and R.W. thank the Flagship project RITMARE—The Italian Research for the Sea Programme (Ricerca ITaliana per il MARE) for partial support. A.A. was funded by the European Union under FP7-People—GA No. 600407 ; Peer Reviewed
15 páginas, 6 figuras, 4 tablas. ; We studied the effects of the Prestige oil spill on Ría de Vigo bacterial abundance, production and community structure by using mesocosms (ca. 3500 l) filled with water from the center of the Ría, to which we added a realistic concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; initial concentrations of approximately 20 to 30 µg l–1 chrysene equivalents) at each of the 4 periods of the seasonal cycle: spring bloom, summer stratification, autumn upwelling and winter. We followed the changes in bacterial activity by leucine and thymidine incorporation, and the changes in bacterial assemblage structure by 16S rDNA DGGE. In addition, simultaneously with the winter mesocosm experiment, we ran microcosms with fuel additions equivalent to 0.5, 1, 2 and 4× the treatment imposed on the mesocosms in the seasonal experiments. Bacterial community structure was also analyzed by CARD-FISH. We detected significant effects of the PAHs on bacterial community structure (increased number of bands) and production only in the summer experiment. In the microcosm experiments, we found similar effects to those in the mesocosms at PAH concentrations of ca. 20 to 40 µg l–1, and clear detrimental effects on phytoplankton at concentrations of ca. 80 µg l–1, with large development of Gammaproteobacteria. Our results indicate that an oil spill of the Prestige's magnitude will have effects on the microbial resident community only at certain times of the year, while at higher PAH concentrations the effects might be more evident. For most of the year, the resident Ría de Vigo microbial communities appear to be accustomed to PAH concentrations such as those used in these experiments. ; This work was supported by Project IMPRESION (VEM2003-20021). Financial support to I.L. and A.C.D. was provided by PhD fellowships from the Spanish government (MEC). Writing of the manuscript was supported by Project SUMMER (CTM2008-03309/MAR). ; Peer reviewed
Special issue Oceans and Human Health: The Importance of Marine Ecosystems on Human Health and Wellbeing.-- 17 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, supplementary material https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17145078 ; Involving and engaging stakeholders is crucial for studying and managing the complex interactions between marine ecosystems and human health and wellbeing. The Oceans and Human Health Chair was founded in the town of Roses (Catalonia, Spain, NW Mediterranean) in 2018, the fruit of a regional partnership between various stakeholders, and for the purpose of leading the way to better health and wellbeing through ocean research and conservation. The Chair is located in an area of the Mediterranean with a notable fishing, tourist, and seafaring tradition and is close to a marine reserve, providing the opportunity to observe diverse environmental conditions and coastal and maritime activities. The Chair is a case study demonstrating that local, collaborative, transdisciplinary, trans-sector, and bottom-up approaches offer tremendous opportunities for engaging coastal communities to help support long-lasting solutions that benefit everyone, and especially those living by the sea or making their living from the goods and services provided by the sea. Furthermore, the Chair has successfully integrated most of its experts in oceans and human health from the most prestigious institutions in Catalonia. The Chair focuses on three main topics identified by local stakeholders: Fish and Health; Leisure, Health, and Wellbeing; and Medicines from the Sea. Led by stakeholder engagement, the Chair can serve as a novel approach within the oceans and human health field of study to tackle a variety of environmental and public health challenges related to both communicable and non-communicable diseases, within the context of sociocultural issues. Drawing on the example provided by the Chair, four principles are established to encourage improved participatory processes in the oceans and human health field: bottom-up, "think local", transdisciplinary and trans-sectorial, and "balance the many voices" ; The Chair is supported by the Town Council of Roses, the Fisher's Association of Roses, the Fishmongers Guild of Catalonia, and the University of Girona. Mireia Gascon holds a Miguel Servet fellowship (Grant CP19/00183) funded by Acción Estratégica de Salud—Instituto de Salud Carlos III, co-funded by the European Social Fund "Investing in your future". The research was supported in part by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 774567 (H2020 SOPHIE Project) and No 666773 (H2020 BlueHealth Project); the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the UK Research and Innovation's Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) for the Blue Communities Project and NERC Case PhD. Arnau Carreño holds a doctoral fellowship funded by the Town Council of Tossa de Mar and the Chair
The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic health risks has altered human interactions with nature. Here, we report immediate impacts of changes in human activities on wildlife and environmental threats during the early lockdown months of 2020, based on 877 qualitative reports and 332 quantitative assessments from 89 different studies. Hundreds of reports of unusual species observations from around the world suggest that animals quickly responded to the reductions in human presence. However, negative effects of lockdown on conservation also emerged, as confinement resulted in some park officials being unable to perform conservation, restoration and enforcement tasks, resulting in local increases in illegal activities such as hunting. Overall, there is a complex mixture of positive and negative effects of the pandemic lockdown on nature, all of which have the potential to lead to cascading responses which in turn impact wildlife and nature conservation. While the net effect of the lockdown will need to be assessed over years as data becomes available and persistent effects emerge, immediate responses were detected across the world. Thus, initial qualitative and quantitative data arising from this serendipitous global quasi-experimental perturbation highlights the dual role that humans play in threatening and protecting species and ecosystems. Pathways to favorably tilt this delicate balance include reducing impacts and increasing conservation effectiveness. ; The Canada Research Chairs program provided funding for the core writing team. Field research funding was provided by A.G. Leventis Foundation; Agence Nationale de la Recherche, [grant number ANR-18-32–0010CE-01 (JCJC PEPPER)]; Agencia Estatal de Investigaci; Agência Regional para o Desenvolvimento da Investigação Tecnologia e Inovação (ARDITI), [grant number M1420-09-5369-FSE-000002]; Alan Peterson; ArcticNet; Arkadaşlar; Army Corp of Engineers; Artificial Reef Program; Australia's Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS), National Collaborative; Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), University of Tasmania; Australian Institute of Marine Science; Australian Research Council, [grant number LP140100222]; Bai Xian Asia Institute; Batubay Özkan; BC Hydro Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Bertarelli Foundation; Bertarelli Programme in Marine Science; Bilge Bahar; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Biology Society of South Australia; Boston University; Burak Över; California State Assembly member Patrick O'Donnell; California State University Council on Ocean Affairs, Science & Technology; California State University Long Beach; Canada Foundation for Innovation (Major Science Initiative Fund and funding to Oceans Network Canada), [grant number MSI 30199 for ONC]; Cape Eleuthera Foundation; Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Charles Darwin Foundation, [grant number 2398]; Colombian Institute for the Development of Science and Technology (COLCIENCIAS), [grant number 811–2018]; Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, [grant number 0041–2020]; Columbia Basin Trust; Commission for Environmental Cooperation; Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Cultural practices and environmental certification of beaches, Universidad de la Costa, Colombia, [grant number INV.1106–01–002-15, 2020–21]; Department of Conservation New Zealand; Direction de l'Environnement de Polynésie Française; Disney Conservation Fund; DSI-NRF Centre of; Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology; Ecology Project International; Emin Özgür; Environment and Climate Change Canada; European Community: RTD programme - Species Support to Policies; European Community's Seventh Framework Programme; European Union; European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Marie Skłodowska-Curie, [grant number 798091, 794938]; Faruk Eczacıbaşı; Faruk Yalçın Zoo; Field research funding was provided by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology; Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program; Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, [grant numbers FWC-12164, FWC-14026, FWC-19050]; Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional; Fonds québécois de la recherche nature et technologies; Foundation Segré; Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT Portugal); Galapagos National Park Directorate research, [grant number PC-41-20]; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, [grant number GBMF9881 and GBMF 8072]; Government of Tristan da Cunha; Habitat; Conservation Trust Foundation; Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment; Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas, Sevastopol, Russia; Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt; Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), Brazil; Israeli Academy of Science's Adams Fellowship; King Family Trust; Labex, CORAIL, France; Liber Ero Fellowship; LIFE (European Union), [grant number LIFE16 NAT/BG/000874]; Mar'a de Maeztu Program for Units of Excellence in R&D; Ministry of Science and Innovation, FEDER, SPASIMM,; Spain, [grant number FIS2016–80067-P (AEI/FEDER, UE)]; MOE-Korea, [grant number 2020002990006]; Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund; Montreal Space for Life; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth and Space Science Fellowship Program; National Geographic Society, [grant numbers NGS-82515R-20]; National Natural Science Fund of China; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; National Parks Board, Singapore; National Science and Technology Major Project of China; National Science Foundation, [grant number DEB-1832016]; Natural Environment Research Council of the UK; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Alliance COVID-19 grant program, [grant numbers ALLRP 550721–20, RGPIN-2014-06229 (year: 2014), RGPIN-2016-05772 (year: 2016)]; Neiser Foundation; Nekton Foundation; Network of Centre of Excellence of Canada: ArcticNet; North Family Foundation; Ocean Tracking Network; Ömer Külahçıoğlu; Oregon State University; Parks Canada Agency (Lake Louise, Yoho, and Kootenay Field Unit); Pew Charitable Trusts; Porsim Kanaf partnership; President's International Fellowship Initiative for postdoctoral researchers Chinese Academy of Sciences, [grant number 2019 PB0143]; Red Sea Research Center; Regional Government of the Azores, [grant number M3.1a/F/025/2015]; Regione Toscana; Rotary Club of Rhinebeck; Save our Seas Foundation; Science & Technology (CSU COAST); Science City Davos, Naturforschende Gesellschaft Davos; Seha İşmen; Sentinelle Nord program from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund; Servizio Foreste e Fauna (Provincia Autonoma di Trento); Sigrid Rausing Trust; Simon Fraser University; Sitka Foundation; Sivil Toplum Geliştirme Merkezi Derneği; South African National Parks (SANParks); South Australian Department for Environment and Water; Southern California Tuna Club (SCTC); Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge; Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness; Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation; State of California; Sternlicht Family Foundation; Suna Reyent; Sunshine Coast Regional Council; Tarea Vida, CEMZOC, Universidad de Oriente, Cuba, [grant number 10523, 2020]; Teck Coal; The Hamilton Waterfront Trust; The Ian Potter Foundation, Coastwest, Western Australian State NRM; The Red Sea Development Company; The Wanderlust Fund; The Whitley Fund; Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline; Tula Foundation (Hakai Institute); University of Arizona; University of Pisa; US Fish and Wildlife Service; US Geological Survey; Valencian Regional Government; Vermont Center for Ecostudies; Victorian Fisheries Authority; VMRC Fishing License Fund; and Wildlife Warriors Worldwide.