Estuarine keystone species in a changing world: how early life-history stages of fiddler crabs will respond to coastal ocean warming and acidification?

• Grant number: 17/00802-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: May 01, 2017
• End date: July 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Tânia Marcia Costa
• Grantee: Juan Carlos Farias Pardo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB-CLP). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista. São Vicente , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 18/00577-0 - Estuarine keystone species in a changing world: how early life-history stages of fiddler crabs will respond to coastal ocean warming and acidification?, BE.EP.MS

Abstract

The oceanic costal warming and acidification affect the ecosystem structure and functioning. Predicting effects of climate changes on estuarine and coastal organisms are complex. The multifaceted abiotic and biotic factors carried out addictive, antagonistic and/or synergic effects on organisms, mainly early life-history stages, and also on intra- and interspecific relationships. However, the responses to stressors are species-specific and related to their own habitat. At this context, we aim to analyze the effects of climate changes on behavior, physiology and predator-prey interaction on early life-history stages (embryo and larvae) of Leptuca thayeri. Initially, abiotic factors (temperature, pH, alkalinity and salinity) from burrows (microhabitat) of ovigerous females and mangrove area will be measured. We will verify the synergetic effect of temperature increase and pH decrease on embryos and larvae Zoea I. Additionally, we will verify the effect of pH decrease on predator-prey interactions between L. thayeri embryo and larvae with the puffyfish Spheoroides greeleyi using behavioural (swimming activity) and physiological (heat beating) responses. Due the importance of predicting the impact of future climate variation on ectothermics, this project will bridge some gaps about estuarine and coastal organisms, an underexplored group on South Atlantic. (AU)

Academic Publications

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

PARDO, Juan Carlos Farias. Estuarine key-species in a changing world: how potential vulnerable stages of fiddler crabs respond to global warming and acidification?. 2018. Master's Dissertation - Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Instituto de Biociências. Botucatu Botucatu.