Browsing by Author "Rossi, Sergio"
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- Changes of energy fluxes in marine animal forests of the Anthropocene: factors shaping the future seascapePublication . Rossi, Sergio; Isla, Enrique; Bosch-Belmar, Mar; Galli, Giovanni; Gori, Andrea; Gristina, Michele; Ingrosso, Gianmarco; Milisenda, Giacomo; Piraino, Stefano; Rizzo, Lucia; Schubert, Nadine; Soares, Marcelo; Solidoro, Cosimo; Thurstan, Ruth H; Viladrich, Núria; Willis, Trevor J; Ziveri, PatriziaClimate change is already transforming the seascapes of our oceans by changing the energy availability and the metabolic rates of the organisms. Among the ecosystem-engineering species that structure the seascape, marine animal forests (MAFs) are the most widespread. These habitats, mainly composed of suspension feeding organisms, provide structural complexity to the sea floor, analogous to terrestrial forests. Because primary and secondary productivity is responding to different impacts, in particular to the rapid ongoing environmental changes driven by climate change, this paper presents some directions about what could happen to different MAFs depending on these fast changes. Climate change could modify the resistance or resilience of MAFs, potentially making them more sensitive to impacts from anthropic activities (i.e. fisheries and coastal management), and vice versa, direct impacts may amplify climate change constraints in MAFs. Such changes will have knock-on effects on the energy budgets of active and passive suspension feeding organisms, as well as on their phenology, larval nutritional condition, and population viability. How the future seascape will be shaped by the new energy fluxes is a crucial question that has to be urgently addressed to mitigate and adapt to the diverse impacts on natural systems.
- Heterotrophy in marine animal forests in an era of climate changePublication . Denis, Vianney; Ferrier‐Pagès, Christine; Schubert, Nadine; Coppari, Martina; Baker, David M.; Camp, Emma F.; Gori, Andrea; Grottoli, Andréa G.; Houlbrèque, Fanny; Maier, Sandra R.; Mancinelli, Giorgio; Martinez, Stephane; Yalçın Özdilek, Şükran; Radice, Veronica Z.; Ribes, Marta; Richter, Claudio; Viladrich, Nuria; Rossi, SergioMarine animal forests (MAFs) are benthic ecosystems characterised by biogenic three-dimensional structures formed by suspension feeders such as corals, gorgonians, sponges and bivalves. They comprise highly diversified communities among the most productive in the world's oceans. However, MAFs are in decline due to global and local stressors that threaten the survival and growth of their foundational species and associated biodiversity. Innovative and scalable interventions are needed to address the degradation of MAFs and increase their resilience under global change. Surprisingly, few studies have considered trophic interactions and heterotrophic feeding of MAF suspension feeders as an integral component of MAF conservation. Yet, trophic interactions are important for nutrient cycling, energy flow within the food web, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and MAF stability. This comprehensive review describes trophic interactions at all levels of ecological organisation in tropical, temperate, and cold-water MAFs. It examines the strengths and weaknesses of available tools for estimating the heterotrophic capacities of the foundational species in MAFs. It then discusses the threats that climate change poses to heterotrophic processes. Finally, it presents strategies for improving trophic interactions and heterotrophy, which can help to maintain the health and resilience of MAFs.
- Marine forests forever—A necessary multilateral program for a fair futurePublication . Horta, Paulo; Sissini, Marina N.; Fonseca, Alessandra; Turra, Alexander; Rodrigues, Ana Claudia; Rorig, Leonardo; Bonomi‐Barufi, José; Pagliosa, Paulo; Bastos, Eduardo; Grimaldi, Guido; Dias, Carlos Eduardo Peixoto; Fialho, Fabio; Oliveira, Carlos Yure B.; Frade, Pedro R.; Schubert, Nadine; Silva, João; Assis, Jorge; Rossi, Sergio; Mansilla, Andres; Soares, Marcelo; Gouvêa, Lidiane; Alves-Lima, Cicero; Coelho, Márcio A. G.; Serrao, Ester A.; Anderson, Antonio Batista; Joyeux, Jean‐Christophe; Berchez, Flávio; Otero‐Ferrer, Francisco; Filho, Jorge Luiz Rodrigues; Mies, Miguel; Araujo, Moacyr; Hall‐Spencer, Jason M.Not only advances but also old addictions, setbacks, obstructions and delays are observed during COP16 (on biodiversity), COP29 (on climate change) and G20 in a year full of tragedies resulting from climate change; we need to look in the rearview mirror and plan new paths to be presented and discussed at COP30, in 2025, in the Brazilian Amazon. Worldwide temperature records show that 2023 and 2024 were the warmest in at least the last 2000 years (Esper, Torbenson, and Büntgen 2024). About 90% of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases and 30% of human emissions of carbon dioxide are stored in the ocean, shielding the planet from even more rapid changes in the biosphere. The recent acceleration in climate change is a threat not only to terrestrial systems but also to largely neglected marine ecosystems and their socio-biodiversity. Considering the relationship between global warming and biological extinctions (Malanoski et al. 2024), as well as the high vulnerability of marine biodiversity to these global threats (Pinsky et al. 2019), we call for the urgent need to create global and multilateral policies that are based on climate-smart ocean planning and carbon neutrality, focused on climate adaptation and mitigation strategies to protect, restore and foster sustainable management of marine socio-ecological systems (Frazão Santos et al. 2024).
- Trophic ecology of Caribbean octocorals: autotrophic and heterotrophic seasonal trendsPublication . Rossi, Sergio; Schubert, Nadine; Brown, Darren; Gonzalez-Posada, Alba; Soares, Marcelo O.Studies over the past decades indicate that octocorals are becoming the dominant group in some areas of the Caribbean. Yet, basic knowledge about the trophic ecology of these organisms and their seasonal and species-specific variability is still scarce, though this might play a key role in determining their importance in benthic-pelagic coupling processes and, consequently, their role in carbon cycles. In the present study, two Caribbean gorgonian species (Plexaurella nutans and Pterogorgia anceps) were studied during an annual cycle, to assess seasonal variations in their reliance on heterotrophic versus autotrophic energy inputs. Zooplankton capture rates and bulk tissue stable isotopes were measured on a monthly basis to assess heterotrophic energy input, while autotrophic contribution was quantified monthly by Symbiodiniaceae cell densities and pigment contents, accompanied by seasonal measurements on Symbiodiniaceae (Breviolum sp.) photosynthetic performance and host respiratory demand. The results show that while autotrophy was the main energy source for both species, there was also a non-neglectable input through zooplankton that accounted for 0.2-0.8% and 0.7-3.4% of the energy demands in P. nutans and P. anceps, respectively. Our data further demonstrate that there are species-specific and seasonal differences in the contributions of these two nutrition modes, though there is no indication of shifts in the predominant mode during the year in either species. The energy inputs resulted in a positive energy balance throughout the year, with an energy surplus available for somatic growth, gonads, and/or energy reserves (e.g., lipids). However, the seasonal patterns differed between species, a feature that is most likely related to the different reproduction periods of the octocorals. Altogether, the information gathered here serves for a better understanding of the trophic ecology of mixotrophic octocorals and the seasonal variability of the nutritional modes that will define their potential impact in the carbon cycle and benthic-pelagic coupling processes of coral reefs.