The historical global impacts of climate change on coral reefs: the role of refugia and key oceanographical and functional traits

• Grant number: 23/09180-3
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2030
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Oceanography - Biological Oceanography
• Principal Investigator: Miguel Mies
• Grantee: Miguel Mies
• Host Institution: Instituto Oceanográfico (IO). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Adalto Bianchini ; Carla Zilberberg ; Christian R Voolstra ; Christine Ferrier Pages ; Derek Paul Manzello ; Guilherme Ortigara Longo ; Heitor Evangelista da Silva ; Jacqueline De La Cour ; John Parkinson ; Marcelo Visentini Kitahara ; Paulo Yukio Gomes Sumida ; Ronaldo Bastos Francini Filho ; Samuel Coelho de Faria ; Sean Richard Connolly ; Tito Monteiro da Cruz Lotufo ; William Skirving

Abstract

Coral reefs are diverse environments that are currently experiencing a severe decline because of numerous anthropogenic stressors. The overarching purpose of this work is to quantify the impacts of climate change on coral reefs at a global scale, and to identify the buffering role of refugia and key functional traits. We propose the investigation of six major gaps in our knowledge: (i) currently, it unknown which anthropogenic stressor has caused the most destruction to coral reefs, (i.e., coral cover loss) on both global and provincial geographical scales; (ii) global refugium sites have not been adequately diagnosed because of the lack of appropriate criteria that encompass biological, oceanographic, and management characteristics, as well as data regarding response to thermal stress; (iii) it is currently impossible to determine if the epicenter of marine biodiversity on the planet, the Raja Ampat area (Indonesia), which is recognized as a significant refugium, actually serves as a climate refugium due to the lack of data on thermal stress and coral cover loss; (iv) the absence of documentation on temporal and spatial scales prior to 2016 has resulted in a lack of knowledge about the thermal stress experienced by Brazilian reefs, raising the possibility that bleaching episodes could have occurred in the past without being identified; (v) although it has been reported that Brazilian corals can survive for extended periods of time with little or no symbiotic dinoflagellates, the reason behind this remains unclear; and (vi) no research has been conducted on the functional characteristics and ability to withstand changes in physico-chemical conditions of Brazilian symbiotic dinoflagellates. Our aim is to address these topics via a combination of meta-analyses (i-ii), field data collection (iii-iv), and lab experiments (v-vi). These efforts should result in a minimum of 13 articles published in high-impact scientific journals, as well as the mentorship of at least 6 students. The findings will be of interest to a diverse audience, including scholars, students, marine protected area managers, government officials, and the general public. This proposal should consolidate a new line of research on the impacts of climate change on coral reefs at the Universidade de São Paulo, formed by a multidisciplinary and international research team. (AU)

Scientific publications

(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)

DESTRI, GIOVANNA; GUTH, ARTHUR Z.; LUZA, ANDRE L.; IBANHEZ, JULIA Y.; DOTTORI, MARCELO; SILVEIRA, ILSON C. A.; BRAZ, GIULIA B.; DE LA COUR, JACQUELINE L.; MANZELLO, DEREK P.; SKIRVING, WILLIAM J.; et al. The Thermal Stress History of South Atlantic Reefs Reveals Increasing Intensity, Duration, Frequency, and Likely Undocumented Bleaching Episodes. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, v. 31, n. 4, p. 16-pg., 2025-04-01. (23/09180-3)