scholarly journals Another Decade of Marine Climate Change Experiments: Trends, Progress and Knowledge Gaps

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alissa Bass ◽  
Thomas Wernberg ◽  
Mads Thomsen ◽  
Dan Smale

Anthropogenic climate change is a significant driver of change in marine ecosystems globally. To improve mechanistic understanding of the impact of climate-related stressors, experimental work on marine organisms has intensified in recent decades. A previous synthesis paper published nearly a decade ago established that Marine Climate Change Experiments (MCCEs) published from 2000–2009 were primarily laboratory-based and focused on single stressors and individual focal temperate species. Using consistent methodology, we compared the 2000–2009 analysis to experiments published in the following decade (i.e. 2010–2019) to assess recent trends in MCCEs and to determine to what extent knowledge gaps and research priorities have been addressed. The search returned 854 papers, vs. 110 from the 2000s, indicating considerable intensification of research effort and output. We found again that single species studies were most common, particularly with benthic invertebrates as model organisms, and that laboratory-based research comprised over 90% of all studies. However, multiple stressor experiments increased substantially, where tests for interaction effects between ocean acidification (i.e., increased pCO2) and warming were particularly common. Furthermore, a wider range of model species were studied and more community-level experiments were conducted in the 2010s compared with the 2000s. In addition, studies on behavioral responses, transgenerational effects, genetic adaptation and extreme climatic events increased markedly. These recent advances in MCCEs have undoubtedly improved understanding of how climate change will affect marine organisms and the communities and ecosystems they underpin. Going forward, biases in the type and distribution of model organisms should be addressed to enhance general understanding of responses to environmental change. Similarly, experiments should manipulate a greater number and range of climate and non-climate factors and increase the number of target organisms to increase realism. Finally, where possible, further research should be combined and contextualized with field-based experiments and observations to better reflect the complexity of marine ecosystems and yield more representative responses to ocean climate change.

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 41-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen S. Ban ◽  
Hussein M. Alidina ◽  
Thomas A. Okey ◽  
Rachel M. Gregg ◽  
Natalie C. Ban

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Ting Zhang ◽  
Shanshan SONG ◽  
Bin ZHANG ◽  
Yang ZHANG ◽  
Miao TIAN ◽  
...  

Abstract Toxic harmful algal blooms (HABs) can cause deleterious effects in marine organisms, threatening the stability of marine ecosystems. It is well known that different strains, natural populations and growth conditions of the same toxic algal species may lead to different amount of phycotoxin production and the ensuing toxicity. To fully assess the ecological risk of toxic HABs, it is of great importance to investigate the toxic effects of phycotoxins in marine organisms. In this study, the short-term toxicity of 14 common phycotoxins (alone and in combination) in the marine zooplankton Artemia salina was investigated. On the basis of 48 h LC50, the order of toxicity in A. salina was AZA3 (with a LC50 of 0.0203 µg/ml)>AZA2 (0.0273 µg/ml) >PTX2 (0.0396 µg/ml)>DTX1 (0.0819 µg/ml)>AZA1 (0.106 µg/ml)> SPX1 (0.144 µg/ml)>YTX (0.172 µg/ml)>dcSTX (0.668 µg/ml)>OA (0.728 µg/ml)>STX (1.042 µg/ml)>GYM (1.069 µg/ml)>PbTx3 (1.239 µg/ml)>hYTX (1.799 µg/ml)>PbTx2 (2.415 µg/ml). For the binary exposure, additive effects of OA and DTX1, DTX1 and hYTX; antagonistic effects of OA and PTX2, OA and STX; and synergetic effects of DTX1 and STX, DTX1 and YTX, DTX1 and PTX2, PTX2 and hYTX on the mortality of A. salina were observed. These results provide valuable toxicological data for assessing the impact of phycotoxins on marine planktonic species and highlight the potential ecological risk of toxic HABs in marine ecosystems.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
K R DEVIKA ◽  
P MUHAMED ASHRAF

Dear Professor,<div><p>I am herewith enclosing a research paper entitled “<b>Electrochemical characteristics of BIS 2062 carbon steel under simulated ocean acidification scenario.</b>” authored by Devika KR, and me. </p> <p>The research paper highlights the behavior of carbon steel in acidified natural seawater. Ocean acidification is a burning issue under climate change. Several studies have undertaken to understand the behavior marine organisms and marine environment. No studies have initiated regarding the deterioration of materials due to ocean acidification. Large number of materials were deployed in the ocean with different objectives. These materials are under risk as the ocean acidification continues. We believe this is the first attempt to study the impact of ocean acidification on carbon steel. </p> <p>The study conducted to evaluate the impact of ocean acidification on BIS 2062 boat building steel. The results showed that the carbon steel will deteriorate 2 to 3 times higher when pH was changed from 8.05 to 7.90. The data highlights the immediate need to redesign the marine materials within 1-2 decade. The paper also highlights the possible mechanism of deterioration under different pH scenario.</p><p>Thanking you</p><p>Sincerely</p><p>ashrafp</p><br></div>


2018 ◽  
Vol 108 (5) ◽  
pp. 565-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Macfadyen ◽  
C. Paull ◽  
L.M. Boykin ◽  
P. De Barro ◽  
M.N. Maruthi ◽  
...  

AbstractBemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a pest species complex that causes widespread damage to cassava, a staple food crop for millions of households in East Africa. Species in the complex cause direct feeding damage to cassava and are the vectors of multiple plant viruses. Whilst significant work has gone into developing virus-resistant cassava cultivars, there has been little research effort aimed at understanding the ecology of these insect vectors. Here we assess critically the knowledge base relating to factors that may lead to high population densities of sub-Saharan African (SSA) B. tabaci species in cassava production landscapes of East Africa. We focus first on empirical studies that have examined biotic or abiotic factors that may lead to high populations. We then identify knowledge gaps that need to be filled to deliver sustainable management solutions. We found that whilst many hypotheses have been put forward to explain the increases in abundance witnessed since the early 1990s, there are little published data and these tend to have been collected in a piecemeal manner. The most critical knowledge gaps identified were: (i) understanding how cassava cultivars and alternative host plants impact population dynamics and natural enemies; (ii) the impact of natural enemies in terms of reducing the frequency of outbreaks and (iii) the use and management of insecticides to delay the development of resistance. In addition, there are several fundamental methodologies that need to be developed and deployed in East Africa to address some of the more challenging knowledge gaps.


2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 1306-1318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid E. van Putten ◽  
Stewart Frusher ◽  
Elizabeth A. Fulton ◽  
Alistair J. Hobday ◽  
Sarah M. Jennings ◽  
...  

Abstract The changing geographical distribution of species, or range shift, is one of the better documented fingerprints of climate change in the marine environment. Range shifts may also lead to dramatic changes in the distribution of economic, social, and cultural opportunities. These challenge marine resource users' capacity to adapt to a changing climate and managers' ability to implement adaptation plans. In particular, a reluctance to attribute marine range shift to climate change can undermine the effectiveness of climate change communications and pose a potential barrier to successful adaptation. Attribution is a known powerful predictor of behavioural intention. Understanding the cognitive processes that underpin the formation of marine resource users' beliefs about the cause of observed marine range shift phenomena is therefore an important topic for research. An examination of the attribution by marine resource users of three types of range shifts experienced in a marine climate change hotspot in southeast Australia to various climate and non-climate drivers indicates the existence of at least three contributing cognitions. These are: (i) engrained mental representations of environmental phenomena, (ii) scientific complexity in the attribution pathway, and (iii) dissonance from the positive or negative nature of the impact. All three play a part in explaining the complex pattern of attribution of marine climate change range shifts, and should be considered when planning for engagement with stakeholders and managers around adaptation to climate change.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda N. Shore ◽  
Jordan A. Sims ◽  
Michael Grimes ◽  
Lauren I. Howe-Kerr ◽  
Lauren Stadler ◽  
...  

AbstractTerrestrial runoff can negatively impact marine ecosystems through stressors including excess nutrients, freshwater, sediments, and contaminants. Severe storms, which are increasing with global climate change, generate massive inputs of runoff over short timescales (hours to days); such runoff impacted offshore reefs in the northwest Gulf of Mexico (NW GoM) following severe storms in 2016 and 2017. Several weeks after coastal flooding from these events, NW GoM reef corals, sponges, and other benthic invertebrates experienced mortality (2016 only) and/or sub-lethal stress (both years). To assess the impact of storm-derived runoff on reef filter feeders, we characterized the microbiomes of two sponges, Agelas clathrodes and Xestospongia muta, during periods of lethal stress, sub-lethal stress, and no stress over a three-year period (2016-2018). Increased anaerobes during lethal stress indicate hypoxic conditions were associated with the 2016 mortality event. Additionally, we found evidence of wastewater contamination (based on 16S rRNA gene libraries and quantitative PCR) in sponges 185 km offshore following storms (2016 and 2017), but not during the non-flooding year (2018). We show that flooding after severe storms reaches offshore reef ecosystems and may impact offshore benthic organisms, highlighting the need for molecular and microbial time series from near- and offshore reef ecosystems, and for the continued mitigation of stormwater runoff and climate change impacts.ImportanceStressors associated with terrestrial runoff have contributed to substantial population declines in nearshore marine ecosystems worldwide over the last three decades. It has been assumed that offshore marine ecosystems (>100 km from land) are largely unaffected by terrestrial runoff. Our findings, however, suggest that flooding events can significantly impact offshore marine organisms, based on the detection of shifted microbiomes and human pathogens in offshore sponges after extreme storm events across two separate years, and lack of detection in a non-flooding year.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Frost ◽  
John Baxter ◽  
Paul Buckley ◽  
Stephen Dye ◽  
Bethany Stoker

In recent decades, the body of evidence on climate change including that for marine impacts has grown rapidly leading to a number of challenges, including the need to collate and summarise a large volume of information and to be able to analyse and interpret complex messages for a wide variety of stakeholders from scientists to policy-makers and the wider public. The Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP) has been functioning at the science-policy interface for over ten years collating, assessing and interpreting information on marine climate change impacts. This experience, and the fact that the MCCIP model is being more widely adopted nationally and globally, provides an opportunity to look at lessons learned in working in the science-policy interface with a focus on the Scientific Integrity and Independence Risk Management Scheme (SIIRMS). This scheme was developed by MCCIP as a framework for providing climate information and advice to policy and decision-makers. Examples are provided of the impact of MCCIP on policy and the development of marine legislation along with other examples of how marine biodiversity information being utilized for policy needs.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Bopp ◽  
Olivier Aumont ◽  
Lester Kwiatkowski ◽  
Corentin Clerc ◽  
Léonard Dupont ◽  
...  

Abstract. The impact of anthropogenic climate change on marine net primary production (NPP) is a reason for concern because changing NPP will have widespread consequences for marine ecosystems and their associated services. Projections by the current generation of Earth System Models have suggested decreases in global NPP in response to future climate change, albeit with very large uncertainties. Here, we make use of two versions of the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace Climate Model (IPSL-CM) that simulate divergent NPP responses to similar high-emission scenarios in the 21st century and identify nitrogen fixation as the main driver of these divergent NPP responses. Differences in the way N-fixation is parameterized in the marine biogeochemical component PISCES of the IPSL-CMs lead to N-fixation rates that are either stable or double over the course of the 21st century, resulting in decreasing or increasing global NPP, respectively. An evaluation of these 2 model versions does not help constrain future NPP projection uncertainties. However, the use of a more comprehensive version of PISCES, with variable nitrogen-to-phosphorus ratios as well as a revised parameterization of the temperature sensitivity of N-fixation, suggests only moderate changes of global-averaged N-fixation in the 21st century. This leads to decreasing global NPP, in line with the model-mean changes of a recent multi-model intercomparison. Lastly, despite contrasting trends in NPP, all our model versions simulate similar and significant reductions in planktonic biomass. This suggests that projected plankton biomass may be a much more robust indicator than NPP of the potential impact of anthropogenic climate change on marine ecosystems across model.


2022 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geir Ottersen ◽  
Andrew J. Constable ◽  
Anne B. Hollowed ◽  
Kirstin K. Holsman ◽  
Jess Melbourne-Thomas ◽  
...  

The Polar Regions chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) provides a comprehensive assessment of climate change impacts on polar marine ecosystems and associated consequences for humans. It also includes identification of confidence for major findings based on agreement across studies and weight of evidence. Sources of uncertainty, from the extent of available datasets, to resolution of projection models, to the complexity and understanding of underlying social-ecological linkages and dynamics, can influence confidence. Here we, marine ecosystem scientists all having experience as lead authors of IPCC reports, examine the evolution of confidence in observed and projected climate-linked changes in polar ecosystems since SROCC. Further synthesis of literature on polar marine ecosystems has been undertaken, especially within IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) Working Group II; for the Southern Ocean also the Marine Ecosystem Assessment for the Southern Ocean (MEASO). These publications incorporate new scientific findings that address some of the knowledge gaps identified in SROCC. While knowledge gaps have been narrowed, we still find that polar region assessments reflect pronounced geographical skewness in knowledge regarding the responses of marine life to changing climate and associated literature. There is also an imbalance in scientific focus; especially research in Antarctica is dominated by physical oceanography and cryosphere science with highly fragmented approaches and only short-term funding to ecology. There are clear indications that the scientific community has made substantial progress in its ability to project ecosystem responses to future climate change through the development of coupled biophysical models of the region facilitated by increased computer power allowing for improved resolution in space and time. Lastly, we point forward—providing recommendations for future advances for IPCC assessments.


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