DARKEST · Dark Estuaries: Mapping coastal aquifer biodiversity in a changing world
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2021-12-01 → 2023-11-30
- EU contribution
- €183,473
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Dark Estuaries: Mapping coastal aquifer biodiversity in a changing world
Subterranean estuaries extend inland into coastal aquifers inhabited by a surprising diversity of subterranean animals with peculiar ecological and evolutionary features. The DARKEST project tackled the general questions of how do complex ecosystems thrive in this globally distributed habitat in different hydrological, geological, and biogeochemical settings. A holistic approach was used to bridge scientific disciplines across ecology and geosciences. The goal of DARKEST was to understand how hydrogeological properties and chemical gradients shape biodiversity patterns in coastal aquifers and, ultimately, to quantify the impact of global environmental change on these subsurface coastal ecosystems. Three main objectives were defined at the beginning of this action: Objective 1: Characterize large-scale faunistic diversity patterns across coastal aquifers with differing hydrogeological properties. Objective 2: Identify how subterranean estuaries regulate faunistic diversity patterns in coastal aquifers. Objective 3: Forecast the evolution of coastal groundwater ecosystems in response to global environmental change by projecting shifts in species distribution upon changes in hydrological and chemical conditions within the aquifer. Objective 1 was achieved through the participation into the Stygofauna Mundi database and through the publication of a paper on pitfalls in preserving subterranean biodiversity through protected areas. The results of objective 2 were presented at the 6th International Symposium on Anchialine Ecosystems and in a publication in preparation. The results of objective 3 were published in a paper on the mechanisms and implications for carbon cycle and oxygenation during a tropical cyclone. The action was successfully concluded in all its aspects.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Subterranean estuaries extend inland into coastal aquifers inhabited by a surprising diversity of subterranean animals with peculiar ecological and evolutionary features. How complex ecosystems thrive in this globally distributed habitat in different hydrological and geological settings is poorly understood. This study aims to integrate a novel global database of subterranean fauna with existing geochemical data and high-resolution hydrogeology maps of the world’s aquifers, using modern statistical and modelling methods, to achieve an integrated understanding of the drivers of biodiversity in coastal aquifers and their response to global environmental change. Indeed, coastal aquifers connect the world’s oceanic and hydrologic ecosystems and provide water source for more than one billion people in coastal regions, but these habitats are among those most prone to the long-term effects of climate change and human population growth. Therefore, expected outcomes of the study will contribute to the increasing efforts to discover, describe, and sustain groundwater-dependent ecosystems and to identify biological communities that could serve as indicators of the health of groundwater resources. To achieve these goals, a holistic approach is proposed that bridges scientific disciplines across ecology and geosciences. The project also targets to build the foundation for my long-term plans, that is, to reintegrate in Europe and establish myself as a leading expert in the emerging field of Earth System Ecology. Ensuring success, I will be supervised by host Diego Fontaneto, an expert in ecology, evolution, and large-scale patterns of biodiversity of microscopic animals at the Water Research Institute of CNR in Italy. Moreover, I will benefit from interactions with secondment-host Nils Moosdorf, who has expertise in aquifer hydrogeology, data-driven geoscience, and mega-scale hydrological modelling, at the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research in Germany.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE · RomaCoordinatorItaly
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union