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!