Nexus · The Nexus: an experimental system to study marine larval dispersal
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2017-02-18 → 2020-05-14
- EU contribution
- €276,107
- Participants
- 3
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-GF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
The Nexus: an experimental system to study marine larval dispersal
The contamination of natural systems with plastic debris has become one of the most pressing global environmental issues. Microplastics (MPs) are of particular concern because their ubiquity and small size make them available for ingestion by a range of aquatic biota. However, despite increasing research efforts, our knowledge about the potential impacts (or lack thereof) of MP exposure on marine organisms remains equivocal. Progress in this field might be hampered in part by the fact that virtually all MP exposure studies restrict their focus to mean-level effects across treatments (e.g. different particle concentrations). The overall goal of this project was the explicit integration of individual-level data into the analysis of behavioural responses to MP contamination. The work was divided into consecutive sub-projects: 1. Potential drivers of inter-individual variation in MP ingestion rates in juvenile fish 2. Individual-level impacts of MP ingestion variation in juvenile fish 3. Effects of MP exposure on in situ survival in settlement-stage fish 4. Multi-level analysis of behavioural responses to MP exposure The action has resulted in novel insights into MP ecotoxicology by illuminating the impacts of a largely overlooked phenomenon, the difference in MP uptake among individuals. Overall, our findings call for the incorporation of individual-level data into future MP impact studies, thereby generating a more thorough understanding of this very current threat to marine ecosystems.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Dispersal is a fundamental trait for the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of any given species. In marine systems, the primary means of connectivity among fragmented habitats is pelagic larval dispersal (LD). Due to the inherent difficulty of tracking minute larvae in the ocean, we are still lacking critical insights into the internal and external causes and consequences of LD. Here, we propose the development of an experimental infrastructure, the Nexus, composed of 25 interconnected larval rearing/settlement tanks, designed to study larval movements as a model of dispersal. We aim to use the Nexus framework to investigate central questions in LD theory that, up to this point, have been difficult to assess: (1) Do marine organisms exhibit condition-dependent dispersal strategies? (2) If so, how does the interaction of phenotype and environment affect dispersal behaviours (context-dependence)? (3) How will climate change affect condition- and context-dependent dispersal in offspring via parental effects? These are timely issues to address, as a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms regulating LD will help predict species’ responses to rapid environmental change. The intended framework will facilitate the holistic assessment and controlled manipulation of the entire LD process, from the natal environment to post-settlement selection, thereby paving the way for novel research avenues in aquatic dispersal ecology. Each tank in the network can independently be controlled for the type of habitat it provides and corridors can flexibly be opened, closed or made directionally permeable. The versatility of the Nexus offers a high degree of experimental flexibility and control to address key issues in spatial meta-population ecology.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE · CAMBRIDGECoordinatorUnited Kingdom
- CURTIN UNIVERSITY · PerthAustralia
- SOUTHERN CROSS UNIVERSITY · East LismoreAustralia
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union