MARDIGRA · Elucidating the MARine DIversity GRAdient with empirical and theoretical models
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2020-05-01 → 2022-04-30
- EU contribution
- €207,312
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-ST
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Results in brief
Elucidating the MARine DIversity GRAdient with empirical and theoretical models
As Earth warms, our oceans are predicted to undergo dramatic changes. However, anticipating the effects of climate change on life in our oceans will remain a difficult task without understanding what marine biodiversity patterns are and how they were generated. To date, study research on distributions and drivers of global biodiversity has been dominated by work in terrestrial systems, and uncertainty persists regarding whether terrestrial and marine biodiversity are shaped by analogous processes. MARDIGRA sought to establish a new analytical procedure for estimating baseline marine diversity patterns and inferring the broad-scale processes that generated those patterns. The specific objectives of MARDIGRA were to 1) pioneer a workflow for modeling species distributions of three orders of marine fishes in the Atlantic, 2) model how environmental conditions and past climate changes may have shaped modern marine diversity patterns, and 3) compare model results for the three fish orders to determine the degree to which the effects of climate on diversity are universal. I chose three well-known fish orders for this study (Gadiformes, codfishes and allies; Scombriformes, tunas and allies; and Beloniformes, flyingfishes and allies) because they generally inhabit three different marine depth regions—bottom, midwaters, and surface waters, respectively. Furthermore, these orders contain many commercially important species under intensive fishing pressure. MARDIGRA strengthens links between observed geographic concentrations of species diversity and theory-predicted expectations of how historical climate change shaped these patterns and illuminates unique processes underlying marine diversity patterns. In turn, project findings will aid in anticipating potential effects of climate change on future diversity, and lead to more robust preservation, fisheries management, and climate change mitigation strategies.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
As the Earth warms, the oceans are predicted to undergo dramatic physical and chemical changes. However, uncertainty persists regarding the geograpic distributions of marine biodiversity patterns and the processes that generate them. Basic measures of biodiversity are often used as a proxy for ecosystem health, and without understanding what marine biodiversity patterns are and how they have been generated in the past, anticipating and mitigating climate change effects on our oceans will remain an impossible task. To date, study of terrestrial systems has dominated macroecological and biogeographic research. The proposed project will establish analytical procedure for estimating baseline marine diversity patterns and inferring the broad-scale processes that generated those patterns, adapted to the unique properties of marine systems. The specific objectives of the project are: 1) Obtain empirical estimates biodiversity patterns for three orders of marine fish, 2) Generate a process-based model of the mechanisms leading to marine diversity patterns, and 3) Compare empirical diversity estimates and process-based models to identify where theory is unable to predict reality. This work will strengthen the link between the theory-predicted expectations of marine biodiversity and observed empirical patterns, improving our understanding of the unique processes that shape marine macroecology and biogeography. This, in turn, will aid in anticipating the potential effects of climate change on future diversity, and lead to more robust preservation and mitigation strategies.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET · KOBENHAVNCoordinatorDenmark
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union