vERSO Polar Day, RBINS Feb18, 2014
and another Accronym…
vERSO: Ecosystem Responses to global change: a multiscale approach in the Southern Ocean
Who’s onboard (partners)
• ULB (lead): Chantal De Ridder, Bruno Danis & Philippe Dubois
• UGent: Ann Van Reusel
• KUL: Filip Volckaert
• VUB: Frank Dehairs
• ULg: Gilles Lepoint
• RBINS: Anton Van de Putte
• MNHN: Marc Eléaume & Nadia Améziane
• UB: Bruno David & Thomas Saucède
Who’s onboard (followup)
• Hilde Eggermont (Belgian Biodiversity Platform, BE)
• François André (SPF Environment, BE)
• Steven Chown (Monash University, AUS)
• Huw Griffiths (British Antarctic Survey, UK)
• Julian Gutt (Alfred Wegener Institute, DE)
• Guillaume Lecointre (Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, FR)
Context
• SO experiencing fast-paced environmental changes
• Potential far-reaching modifications of ecosystem functions
• Multiple, interacting stressors: t°, pH, sedimentation, nutrients, food resources,…
• Little information on benthic systems
• RoI: WAP and TA
• New SCAR SRPs (AntERA, AntECO)
Objectives
• Assess the impact on various benthic taxa
• Multiscale, integrated approach
• Research on connectivity and adaptation, trophic ecology, sensitivity and resilience, modelisation
Workpackages
• WP1: Connectivity and Adaptation
• WP2: Trophic Ecology
• WP3: Sensitivity and Resilience
• WP4: Integrative modelling
• WP5: Valorisation
WP1: Connectivity and Adaptation
• identify the contemporaneous and past connectivities in nematods, amphipods, echinoderms and fishes
• identify and understand the dispersal-related processes that explain the distribution patterns and biodiversity
• assess relative importance of environmental and dispersal-related explanatory variables in determining distribution and biodiversity patterns.
• microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA markers
• specific spatio-temporal molecular patterns will be used to expand the predictive power and resolution of the models
WP2: Trophic Ecology
• delineate general trophic web structure and carbon pathways
• assess trophic variability
• estimate the adaptative potential of communities to future trophic changes
• characterise primary production and fluxes to the sea floor, energy flow through the benthic food web and trophic niches
• stable isotope tracing experiments or natural isotopic ratios and fatty acid compositions
WP3: Sensitivity and Resilience
• assess the combined effects of temperature, acidification, and food quality and quantity on nutrient fluxes, metabolism and functional structure
• prokaryotes, nematodes, amphipods and echinoids
• food sources enriched in heavy stable isotopes of C and N will be used to trace their fate in the trophic web.
• characterise energy metabolism and acid-base balance
• output of these experiments will be used in the interpretation of WP2 and WP4
• resilience analysis based on available long-term data and on modelling using sensitivity, connectivity and trophic ecology data
WP4: Integrative modelling
• run predictive models
• species distribution models (SDMs) and dynamic models
• integrate biogeographical, connectivity, trophic, sensitivity and environmental data
• fine-scale data will be used to validate predictive SDMs
• dual role in vERSO: science driver and integrator
WP5: Valorisation
• publication of scientific and Data papers
• transfer information to policy-makers, through Antarctic Environments Portal (www.environments.aq), CCAMLR, or the ATCM - CEP
• mentor young scientists and ongoing networking activities with APECS
• increase the use of new tools, methods and technologies
• create and maintain an attractive website targeting different (non-)expertise groups
• organise vERSO symposium, back-to-back with SCAR Biology Symposium 2017
More info
• http://biomar.ulb.ac.be/projects/verso/
• dedicated website yet to be deployed… stay tuned!