Freshwater ecosystems under climate change: impacts across multiple levels of organisation

• Grant number: 19/08474-8
• Support type: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Thematic Grants
• Duration: March 01, 2021 - February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Theoretical Ecology
• Principal researcher: Gustavo Quevedo Romero
• Grantee: Gustavo Quevedo Romero
• Home Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Pesquisadores principais: Valeria Maia Merzel
• Assoc. researchers: DOMINGOS DE JESUS RODRIGUES ; Mathias Mistretta Pires ; Thiago Gonçalves Souza ; Thiago Junqueira Izzo ; Victor Satoru Saito
• Associated scholarship(s): 21/07916-7 - Predicting the effects of global warming on the stability of food webs, BP.DD; 17/26243-8 - Extreme rainfall events and their effects on the community structure and ecosystem functioning, BP.PD

Abstract

Freshwater ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to climate change because (I) many species in these habitats have limited ability to disperse as the environment changes; (II) the temperature and availability of water are climate dependent; and (III) many systems are already exposed to several anthropogenic stressors. The aim of this project is to investigate the effects of global climate change (e.g., warming, thermal variability, precipitation), predicted for the next decades, on the structure, stability and dynamics of complex ecological networks (food webs), as well as on the multiple facets of biodiversity of macroinvertebrates and microorganisms, and consequences for ecosystem functioning. By means of field experiments using natural microcosms (e.g., bromeliads) and mesocosms comprised of lacustrine organisms, we will manipulate the effects of warming, thermal variability/instability, and precipitation in temperate and tropical communities. We will also use latitudinal, altitudinal and thermal gradients (i.e., geothermal streams), as well as their underlying climatic components, as effective natural experiments to investigate and monitor the impact of climate change on (I) the structure of food webs and (II) the alpha and beta taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of macroinvertebrates and aquatic microorganisms. The integrated results of this multidisciplinary Thematic Project will improve our understanding of the impacts of climate change at different scales on structural and functional characteristics of natural freshwater communities, and take preventive measures in future plans for global conservation. (AU)

Scientific publications

(5)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

NESSEL, MARK P.; KONNOVITCH, THERESA; ROMERO, GUSTAVO Q.; GONZALEZ, ANGELICA L. Nitrogen and phosphorus enrichment cause declines in invertebrate populations: a global meta-analysis. BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS, v. 96, n. 6, p. 2617-2637, DEC 2021. Web of Science Citations: 1.

REZENDE, FELIPE; ANTIQUEIRA, PABLO A. P.; PETCHEY, OWEN L.; VELHO, LUIZ FELIPE M.; RODRIGUES, LUZIA C.; ROMERO, GUSTAVO Q. Trophic downgrading decreases species asynchrony and community stability regardless of climate warming. ECOLOGY LETTERS, v. 24, n. 12 SEP 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.

NASH, LIAM N.; ANTIQUEIRA, PABLO A. P.; ROMERO, GUSTAVO Q.; DE OMENA, PAULA M.; KRATINA, PAVEL. Warming of aquatic ecosystems disrupts aquatic-terrestrial linkages in the tropics. Journal of Animal Ecology, v. 90, n. 7, p. 1623-1634, JUL 2021. Web of Science Citations: 1.

ROMERO, GUSTAVO Q.; MOI, DIEISON A.; NASH, LIAM N.; ANTIQUEIRA, PABLO A. P.; MORMUL, ROGER P.; KRATINA, PAVEL. Pervasive decline of subtropical aquatic insects over 20 years driven by water transparency, non-native fish and stoichiometric imbalance. BIOLOGY LETTERS, v. 17, n. 6 JUN 9 2021. Web of Science Citations: 1.

NESSEL, MARK P.; KONNOVITCH, THERESA; ROMERO, GUSTAVO Q.; GONZALEZ, ANGELICA L. Nitrogen and phosphorus enrichment cause declines in invertebrate populations: a global meta-analysis. BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS, JUN 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.