SEAMET · Multi-driver climate change effects on SEAgrass METabolism: ecosystem implications

Multi-driver climate change effects on SEAgrass METabolism: ecosystem implications

Pressures linked to Global climate change (GCC) (ocean acidification (OA), warming and hipoxia) represent a major threat for marine ecosystems. The single and combined effects of GCC drivers is expected to alter the energetic costs of main metabolic routes, forcing trade-offs in organisms’ metabolism, with further impacts in the functioning of the whole ecosystem to which they belong. The consequences of GCC do not only affect organisms and functioning of marine systems but have also important repercussions for society and human well-being since the ecosystems services provided by marine systems may be also affected. To understand and determine realistic consequences of GCC we need to comprehend the impacts of multiple stressors on individuals, estimate the acclimation and adaptation capacity of organisms, and assess the repercussion of individual adjustments on the ecosystems functioning. SEAMET project addresses this major challenge in marine science by assessing if marine communities can survive under the multiple stressor future driven by GCC. AIM AND OBJECTIVES The aim of the project SEAMET was at exploring the physiological tolerance, metabolic adjustments and plasticity limits of marine benthic photoautotrophs to different GCC drivers, such as OA and global warming, to evaluate the potential of individuals for acclimation and adaptation to climate change and the implications for the whole community and ecosystem functioning. To reach this global aim, SEAMET was structured to operate at three hierarchical levels, from supracellular to community. These levels coincide with the objectives and the three first work-packages (WP 1 to 3) described in the project. The net metabolic balance (NMB) was used as a functional trait to explore the scaling-up implications of individual adjustments on the functioning of the community, the ecosystem, and the carbon cycling using seagrasses as a main model species. Objectives: -Objective 1. WP1-Mechanistic bases of carbon-related physiology. -Objective 2. WP2-Physiological plasticity, and tolerance limits of organisms to GCC drivers. -Objective 3. WP3-Acclimation and adaptation potential of organisms and associated communities to GCC. -Objective 4. WP4-Dissemination of results and outreach. SEAMET has validated the use of the Net Metabolic Balance as a trait suitable for estimating the metabolic status of organisms and quantify the effects of GCC drivers on organism’ physiology and carbon metabolism. Globally, SEAMET results pointed to large metabolic plasticity of the seagrass (i.e. Zostera marina, Cymodocea nodosa and Syringodium isoetifolium) and macroalgae (i.e. Caulerpa polifera) species studied.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union