Organic matter flow through the benthic communities under higher ocean acidification conditions

• Grant number: 12/14032-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: November 01, 2012
• End date: February 08, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Oceanography - Biological Oceanography
• Principal Investigator: Paulo Yukio Gomes Sumida
• Grantee: Camila Ortulan Pereira
• Host Institution: Instituto Oceanográfico (IO). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 14/04328-3 - Effects of increasing atmospheric CO2 on marine microbial communities: a compound-specific isotope approach, BE.EP.DD

Abstract

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration is causing global warming and ocean acidification (OA), which increasingly are recognized as important drivers of change in biological systems. OA has the potential to alter in many ways the organic carbon biogeochemistry in the ocean, leading to changes in quality of organic matter available for the marine organisms. So far, we know very little about how the sediments, the organisms that live in it and the processes that occur will react to changes in the acidity of seawater. On the Brazilian coast, in particular, the study on the effects of climate change on benthic processes is still incipient. This proposal is an experimental study that combines labeling techniques with stable isotope (carbon and nitrogen) and molecular techniques in order to follow the incorporation of organic carbon and its fate in the benthic community of the marine sediment after the arrival of fresh food, in current conditions and low pH. To this end, we intend to test the following hypotheses: 1) organic material from the microphytobenthos is the main carbon source for benthic communities of coastal areas and 2) OA alters the incorporation of organic carbon in benthic communities (bacteria, half-and macrofauna). The results generated will be extremely useful for understanding how climate change will affect the marine benthic ecosystem. (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)

HARVEY, BEN P.; AL-JANABI, BALSAM; BROSZEIT, STEFANIE; CIOFFI, REBEKAH; KUMAR, AMIT; ARANGUREN-GASSIS, MARIA; BAILEY, ALLISON; GREEN, LEON; GSOTTBAUER, CARINA M.; HALL, EMILIE F.; et al. Evolution of Marine Organisms under Climate Change at Different Levels of Biological Organisation. WATER, v. 6, n. 11, p. 3545-3574, NOV 2014. (12/14032-9)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

PEREIRA, Camila Ortulan. Organic matter flow through the benthic communities under current and ocean acidification conditions. 2016. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto Oceanográfico (IO/DIDC) São Paulo.