TCE FINAL

Coral Reefs

Biodiversity of Tropical Coastal Ecosystems

Species Diversity in Tropical Coastal Ecosystems

How many sps are there in tropical ecosystems?

• 25% of all known marine species are found in and around tropical coastal ecosystems. Number may exceed a million!!.
• Difficul to known in mesophotic reefs bcs they are around 30 mtrs - 150 mtrs down.
• Broad overview of the cateogires of organisms that you can find on tropical coastal ecosystems (TCE):
  • Nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria: Important to the nutrient budget of TCE. An example is the bloom of Trichodesmium, which gives a brown color in the water sea, known as "sea sawdust".Experiment done by Prof Michael Kuhl, shown that beach rock with cyanobacteria releases oxygen when it's exposed to sunlight and after it's been moistened ny sea water again.
  • Microalgae: photosynthethic organisms. Primary production
  • Macroalgae or seaweeds: 3 types: Red, brown, green
    • Competition between coral and macroalgaes, for space, which is modulated by the presence or absence of other organisms such as grazers.
      • Coral reef macro-algae:
        • Show high rates of primary prod and provide habitat and food for many sps, they can also become a threat to coral reefs under certain conditions.
        • Algae, can use toxins and can make brandes (causar marcas) with their fronds, causing damage to corals.
        • Increase nutrients and reduced grazing, macro algae can become the dominant benthic organisms in TCE.
        • Many macro-algae on coral reefs deposit calcium carbote like corals. For example:
          • Halimeda: much of the sand is produced by that calcifying green algae.
          • Red macro-algae calcify encrusting rocks, surfaces, mangrove roots and stones, and coral fragments are essentially glued together by red coralline algae to make framework, that consists of the reef!.
  • Marine angiosperms or flowering plants: sea grasses and mangroves. Represent land plants that have re evolved for life in the ocean.

Species Diversity: Lower Invertebrates

• Protists: ciliados, dinoflagelados. Pueden ser heterotróficos y fototróficos.
• Sponges:
  • Cliona: Ayuda en el proceso de decalcificación, ella crece x los esqueletos de colonias de corales vivos y muertos. Haciendo esto, remueve grandes cantidades de Carbonato de calcio en los arrecifes, representando un fuerza potente en el balance de carbonato en los arrecifes de corales.
• Cnidarios: medusas, hydroids, corales, anemonas.
  • Simbiosis con dinoflagelados
• Ctenophores: They are not jellyfish, y tmp son parte de los cnidarios, a pesar de ser gelationosos, NO tienen verdaderas células punzantes (cnidocitos). Dieta de tortugas tmb.
• Bryozoans o Ectoprocts; Forman colonias incrustantes y a veces estructuras lacias, donde hay miles de individuos.
• Platelmintos: Algunos son parásitos, otros son predadores activos en arrecifes (nudibranquios). Son coloridos pq advierten que son "destastefulness" o desagradables para los peces, tmb pq tienen compuestos tóxicos en sus tejidos.
• Nemerteans: well developed digestive system, a primitive blood vascular system. carnivoros, filtradores, detritivoros.

Species Diversity: Complex Organisms

2 groups that differs form the evolution process:

1. Molluscs, Annelids, Arthropods: Protostomados

   • Moluscos:
     • Open circulatory system, sin arterias ni venas.
     • Sistema sensorial, cerebros avanzados.
     • Simbioticos (bivalvos con dinoflag)
   • Anélidos:
     • Gusanos segmentados.
     • Poliquetos son los mas representativos.
   • Artropodos:
     • Crustaceos.
     • Sea spiders

2. Echinoderms, Chordates: Deutorostomados

   • Equinodermos:
     • estrellas, pepinos, estr quebradizas, erizos.
     • filtradores de particulas, detritivoros.
   • Chordates:
     • nosotros tmb pertenecemos
     • primitivo: tunicados.
     • tienen Phryngeal gill pouches, notocordia (primitiva a column vertb, and hollow dorsal nerve tube)
     • Vertebrados (sub filo)
       • peces: + de 32 mil sps. 10 mil asociados a TCE.
       • reptiles: tort marinas, sea snakes.
       • sea birds.
       • marine mammals: whales, dolphins, dugongs.

RESEARCH STATION: HERON ISLAND.

Field work:

• Importance of benthic micro-algae:

  • Macro-algae, micro algae, epilithic algal matrix (Algae that covers surfaces that are bare that have just been bleached after coral bleaching or when a crown of thorns has eaten the coral tissue of the skeleton).
  • very hig oxygen conc coming out from the rocks with algae. At night, is the opposite, high co2 and low o2.
  • poliqueti turbelidos: tentaculos muy largos se hasta 2 m, q usan para alimentarse de las particulas, son detritivoros, alimento de peces, per oalgunas sps son toxicas.

• Al menos 40 sps visibles en 1 roca del arrecife.

Coral Reef Ecosystems

What is a coral reef?

• Coral reefs are a benthic ecosystems which are typified by a dominance of Scleractinian corals.
• Phylum: Cnicaria
• Class: Anthozoa
• Subclasses:

• 2 major types of coral reefs: Hexocorallia and Octocorallia

  • Hexocorallia: Hard corals - Order Scleractinia

    • Extensive fused calcium carbonate skeleton
    • Tentacles number in multiples of six
    • Tentacles tend to be non-pinnate
    • Fused skeletal structure --> extensive calcium carbonate deposits contribute to the framework of coral reefs.
    • Rarely have toxic chemicals in the tissues and colours are rarely as vibrant as those seen in soft corals

  • Octocorallia: Soft corals - Order Alcyonacea

    • Tissues include spicules which may be made out of calcium carbonate.
    • tentacles number in multiples of eight.
    • tentacles tend to ve pinnate (plumosos)
    • no fused skeleton, but spicules contribute to the carbonate sediments on reefs.
    • Are often brightly coloured and include toxic chemicals within the tissues to make up for the lack of an extensive skeleton.

• Reefs building corals - Order Scleractinia, Class Anthozoa: Reefs where clacium carbonate has built up over time to create reefs and islands.

  • Polyps: 2 tissues: gastrodermus and ectodermus. Con boca-ano y cavidad gastrovascular. con un anillo de tentaculos en su boca. Dentro de las cel del gastrodermis, viven los dinoflagelados, donde atrapan la luz solar y dan fotosintesis.

Coral Growth Forms of Scleractinian

• Branching coral growth.
• Globose colony: like a big sphere of calcium carbonate.
• Encrusting corals: growing out across the substrate.
• Plating corals: where you have plates of coral polyps, that jut out from the reef.Well designed to absorb light. Also found in caves.
• Not all corals live in colonies: like, solitary, mobile, and they dont live in the vast coral colonies. The one that the proff has, is a SINGLE POLYP (a huge one), with a mouth in the middle, and at night time, there u can see a lot of tentacles

Types of Coral Reefs

• Carbonate Coral Reefs: like on Heron Island. Where significant amount of calcium carbonate have built up over time.

  • Chemistry of Calcium carbonate (CaCO3): in geological formations, is the result of the accumulation of the shells and skeletons of marine organisms such as corals.

  • 2 polymorphs or crystal forms of CaCO3 found in marine organisms:

    • Aragonite: forms the major part of the skeletons and shells of molluscs as well as cold and tropical corals.

    • Calcite: common of the shells of brachiopods, echinoderms, bivalves, cocolithoforidos, foraminifiera.

      • Red coralline algae have calcite that incorporates Magnesium with the amount varying from sps to sps. High Mg content makes for a more soluble form of calcite.
  • Calcification: Process by which CaCO3 is precipitated into the shells and skeletons of marine organisms
  • Decalcification: process by which CaCO3 is broken down and solubilised.
  • Seawater in tropical areas is super-saturated with CaCO3.

  • Ocean Acidification: More CO2 in the atm

    • CO2 + H20 --> H2C03 --> HCO3- + H+ (proton)
    • H+ + CO3 (Carbonate ion) --> HCO3- (bicarbonate ion)
    • Result: The pH decreases (more acid), and the abundance of CO3 (carbonate ion) decreases = leading to a more dificult formation of CaCO3, which lead to be harder for organisms to make their shells and skeletons.
    • The pH of the ocean has decreased -0.1 pH, since the indsutrial revolution.
    • 26% Increase of the Proton concentration
    • 26% Decrease of CO3

• Non-carbonate Coral Reefs: where corals still precipitate calcium carbonate but not at a rate which can keep up with the erosion and loss of carbonate due to storms and biological agents that remove calcium carbonate at a high rate.

  • Exists at high latitudes: Fingal Bay at 33°S
  • in deep water.(deep water reef systems), los corales son MESOFÓTICOS, crecen sobre rocas, pq no hay suficiente carbonato de calcio para erosionar todo le substrato.El unico carb de calcio es el q esta dentro de los corales.
  • Cold water coral reef: deep cold and dark habitats.

Environmental Requirements for Carbonate Reefs

• Temperature: No menor a 18°C
• Altos niveles de luz para los rangos de fotosintesis de los dinoflagelados - Water column clear, not wnough sediments.
• No cerca de rios que distruben la presencia de SST y nutrientes.

• Low amounts of CO2, and high amounts of Carbonate and Calcium: Degree of saturation of the water column for the crystalline forms of calcium carbonate: aragonite and calcite.

  • En zonas de upwelling, hay mas CO2 y por ende la cantidad de saturacion de aragonita disminuye.

• Se necesita_ conditions warm, clear, sunlit and shallow.

  • Clear and nutrient-poor waters. ... Yet, productive and diverse coral reefs???
  • Dual nature of reef building corals, which are essentially the engineers and architerct of the structure of coral reefs. The dual nature is refered bcs, corals can eat plankton, they can absorb small particles that flow by using their tentacles (polyps), In this way, corals are particle feeders and thereby consumers. However, bcs corals have symbiotic dinoflagellates in their tissues, they are also able to act like primary producers trapping sunlight. So corals are, primary producers while at the same time being heterotrophic consumers.
  • Reciclado de nutrientes: Los nutrientes inorganicos fluyen x la columna de agua en los arrecifes de coral, luego el coral rompe las proteinas y otros compuestos son provistos directamente x el prod primario (dinoflagelados simbiontes o zooxantelas). Los simbiontes estan fijando el CO2, absorbiendo el nitrogeno y fosforo, y pasándolo directamente al hospedero coral, el coral rompe estos compuestos y los pasa de nuevo en su forma inorgánica, como nitrogeno inorganico, fosforo y los otros "waste products" a los dinoflagelados, y asi se hace un ciclo. = Resultado es un reciclado interno de energà y nutrientes, entre la estructura del arrecife de coral y sus simbiontes intracelulares. ---> ESTO HACE Q LOS CORALES SEAN EXTREMEDAMENTE EFICIENTES EN RECICLAR LOS POCOS NUTRIENTES QUE TIENEN DISPONIBLES.
  • Darwin paradox: Where the nutrients came from? --> dsps se verá pero en resumen: los organismos pueden producir nutrientes como Ammonia, de fuentes como Nitrogeno en la atm, y asà traer nutrientes key al sistema.Tmbn, los corales se benefician de los nutrientes aportados x las excretas de los peces, so el pez obtiene proteccion y el coral nutrientes para su alga simbiotica.

Profile of a Coral Island

Forest Exploration

• Terrestrial plants: tienen q resistir: violent storms, high temp, high salt content, limited amounts of nutrients and water.

  • Pandanous trees: sus semillas viajan x agua, de isla a isla.
  • Octopus bush - Género Heliotropium: salt and desiccation tolerant, tiene pequeñas flores q parecen los tentaculos de un pulpo.
    • usado para tratar el "ciguatera poisoning", este envenanimiento se da x la acumulacion de toxinas en cadenas alimenticias asociadas con arrecifes de coral y estas toxinas se acumulan en los tejidos de los peces y causan engermedades hasta la muerte en humanos q los comen.
  • Genero Pisonia - arbol: tmbn conocido como "bird-catcher tree".Usa sus semillas pegajosas para atrapar aves, las aves mueren y le dan nutrientes al suelo al rededor del arbol. Solo en el Indo Pacifico. Por otro lado, tmb las aves, como la golondrina son portadores de estas semillas, x lo q sus semillas son trasnferidas de isla en isla. Mutualismo, pq los arboles tmb le dan espacio para nesting.

• Islas son importantes para la anidacion de aves, x gran cantidad de arboles, lejos de depredadores, y acceso a la rica productividad del oceano.

  +Amenaza ahora: introduccion de animales: gatos y ratas (comen huevos y nidos)

The Reef Flat

• Low tide - no circulation with the rest of the ocean --> Very warm temp.
• No photosynthesis, a lot of respiration and CO2 high amounts.
• High oxygens levels also. --> x cianobacterias y microalgas pegadas en rocas.
• Organismos como pepinos de mar (detritivoro y se alimente de sedimentos, igiere arena y la limpia del material detritivoro y luego expulsa arena limpia --> importante rol ecologico), algas (turbinaria brown algae, pedinia, sargassum, caulerpa, chlorodesmis (alga verde q es toxica para los predadores pero tiene peq organismos q habitan en ella), halimedea (tmb es calcificadora, deposita calciu, producidora de arena de carbonato de calcio)), corales (montipora, ), estrellas de mar, epaulette shark o "pintarroja colilarga ocelada", alguila morena)
• Halimeda: alga verde calcificadora,precipita carbonato de clacio dentro de sus tejidos x la fotosintesis, se pueden ver cristales de calcio en sus frondas, generan arena de calcio,
  
• Estrella de mar azul: Linckia,

• The Reef Crest: la parte de afuera mas importante de la plataforma de la isla, donde el agua (en baja marea) llega hasta solo los tobillos, it is really flat. Importante pq:

  • Proteccion costera: toma el impacto de las olas y proteje los ecosistemas mas delicados cerca a la costa,
  • Hay fragmentos de corales rotos, x las fuertes tormentas. Esos fragmentos se unen, se pegan entre ellos x algas conocidas como algas rojas coralinas, y en el tiempo se solidifican y hacen una barrera mas fuerte contra estas tormnentas.(si no estan estas barreras de corales, las tormentas destruirian toda la costa, no habrà protección costera)
  • Ambiente importante x la calidad del agua. El agua oceanica q entra, tiene muchas bact nitrificantes, hay una entrada significante de nutrientes inorganicos, vitales para arrecifes de corales --> mas cianobacterias --> filtro biologico. --> da nutrientes para prod primaria.
  • giant clam: el bivalvo con el crecimiento mas rapido, son simbioticos con los dinoflagelados, como los corales. Crece rapido pq filtra las microalgas para alimentarse y a la vez toma los nutrientes y x la fotosintesis de los dinoflagelados, consume sus productos derivados.

Dive to the Reef Crest

• Funcion del coral reef al inicio, con poca prof: disipan la energia q viene de las olas y tormentas
• Bajo 10mts: mas corales ramificados (branching corals), la zona mas productiva de corales, pq hay luz ideal, bajos nutrientes y sedimentos.
• Mas abajo, cada vez menos corales x menos luz... hasta llegar a la superficie arenosa. Parte del arrecife de corales ha terminado.

Mangroves and Seagrass Communities

Mangrove Ecosystems

Mangrove Forests

• Forest within the intertidial zone, afectadas x la marea o agua de mar.
• With and extensive root systems.
• Van desde mean tide hasta highest astronomicla tide.
• Despues de ellas, habrá vegetacion terrestre.
• Mangrooves are woody plants, these are trees. Unlike seagrasses or salt marshes.

Distribution of Diversity

• Tropical and subtropical distribution
• More sps in the tropical regions than in the more temperate regions or the subtropical.
• Highest diversity in the Indo Pacific, similar to coral reef.s
• shores with lw wave enrgy
• they need soft sediments (moody or muds, sands)
• Countries that have the largest area of mangroves: Indonesia, Brazil, Australia.

Different kinds of forests:

• Mangrove forests are associated with river deltas, estuaries.
• Mangrove forests associated with coastal embayments
• Mangrove forests associated with lagoons, where mangroove colonizae islands, inside a barrier reef, common in americas, belize.
• All of them where waves energy is low para permitir el crec de mangrooves.

• Highly vairbale in size and sps composition.

  • Tall forests from the North of Australia, in the Daintree river, where trees reach 30 mtrs.
  • Typical coastal mangrove, trees about 5 or 15 mtrs tall. Often inundated by seawater everyday.
  • Scrub forest. forests that are dominated by trees that are less than about 2 mtrs tall, they can be extensive.

Mangrove Biology

• Special adaptations for living in salt water:

  • Salt is toxic for all plants, even mangroves, so the have to exclude salt when taking up water, and only extract fresh water.
  • They limit water loss when they do photosynthetic carbon gain (steep lead angles, low stomatal conductance). So plants take up CO2 form the atm, through very small pores called stomata on the lead surface, and the mangrooves limit the amount of water they lose through those pores and that gives rise to very low stomatal conductance.
  • Some sps have salt glands.they excrete de salt, like crystal, bcs of the accumlation of salt spray.

• Plant features:

  • The root system. Inunndation with tidal water and saturated soils reduce oxygen supply to roots.

  • Special roots for transporting oxygen:

    • Aerenchyma (celulas en tejido esponjoso)
    • Give rise to exosystem properties
  • Differnt types of roots: buttresses, pneumatophores, stilts or prop roots and "knee" roots. Todos esos tipos de raÃ, salen a la superficie, evitando estar totalment bajo el lodo (area anaerobica)
  • Roots: habitat for other organisms, bcs they increases friction and slow tidal water resulting in trapping of sediments and other particles that are suspended, que se depositen en el suelo. There are algal communities bcs of the amount of nutrients.

  • raices, tmb mantienen el nivel del agua.

• Reproduction and dispersal:

  • Many mangrove tree sps have "propagules" rather than true seeds.
  • Propagules germinate, sofirst grow on thei mother trees (viviparous)
  • The are buoyant and dispersed by tides and currents.

• Specialized fauna:

  • Crabs are important components of the fauna.
    • Consume leaf litter (hojarascas)
    • Have vast quantities of larvae (food for other and released in tidal waters)
    • Las madrigueras de los cangrejos contribute to surface "roughness" (aspereza), ofrece mayor friccion.
  • Diverse community of invertebrates and vertebrates, including commercially important fish species.

• Mobile fauna: tigers, fruit bats, crocodiles, crabs, fish, birds.

• Patterns in the forests:

  • Differences in tolerances of salt, inundation, nutrients and differences in dispersal and predation of propagules lead to characteristic patterns in the vegetation, sometimes called "zonation".

Mangrove Ecology

• Ecosystems functions: cultural, coastal protection, supporting fisheries production, extraction of timber and other products, carbon sequestration.

• Coastal protection:

  • Mangrove forests provide protection from waves associated with storm surges.
  • Roots, stems and foliage attenuate waves
  • Economic value estimated at 10 000 dollars per hectare for prevention of typhoon damage.

• Fish need mangroves:

  • Mangroves are nurseries for some fish species.
  • Mangrove forests are rich in resources for both grazers and predators
  • Economic value of mangorves for fisheries was estimated at 37 500 dollars per hectare.

• Mangroves and carbon:

  • Mangrove sediments are globally significant stocks of carbon: Toman el CO2 atm y lo toman para su biomasa y particularmente tmbn para sus suelos, y lo secuestran o almacenan x decadas.

    • Low oxygen in sediments slows down decomposition
    • Root production is high
    • Roots trap sediments and carbon from elsewhere
    • Soil volumes increase over time with sea level rise.

  • Blue carbon for conservation:

    • There are markets for Carbon (the verified carbon standard program)
    • Within the IPCC there are guidelines to account for losses (eg clearing of mangroves) and gains (restoration) of coastal wetlands in national carbon accounting.
    • Mangroves can be included in the REDD+ (Reduced Emission from Deforastation and Degradation of tropical forests for developing countries) framework (payments for carbon protected from deforestaion)

The Future of Mangroves

• Mangrove forests and climate change:

  • Mangrove forests will be affected by:

    • Se level rise
    • elevated atm CO2
    • elevated temp
    • changes in rainfall
    • changes in wind and waves (storminess)

  • Effectsof climate change will be influenced by coastal development (ex: dams, clearing, walls, catchment management,e tc) and responses of adjoining ecosystems.

• Mangrove forests and sea level rise:

  • Mangroves are vulnerable to sea level rise

  • Predictions for what will happen:

    • Seaward fringe inundated too long and dies (retreat)
    • Landward forests expand
    • Barriers will prevent movement - "squeeze"

• Sea level rise:

  • Loss of seaward forests: overwhelm tolerance of inundation
  • Mangrove invasion of saltmarsh
  • Squeezed against barriers.

• Monitoring responses to sea level rise:

  • Increasing elevation of the soil surface over time at same rate of SLR occurs due to:

    • sediment deposition
    • root growth
    • low rates of subsidence

• Modeling change with sea level rise:

  • Models can help visualize the future

  • Where will mangrove forests exist in the future:

    • Digital elevation models of land surface
    • Sea level predictions
    • Knowledfe of vertical accretion and other processes

• Maintaining mangroves: Plan for a climate change.

  • Secure land for weland expansion
  • Remove barriers to landward movement of the ecosystem (pond walls, roads, dykes)
  • Redraw boundaries around wetland reserves
  • Ensure sediment supply is maintained (dams and levees) (represas y canales de escorrentia q no permiten llegar los nutrientes adecuados al manglar)
  • Reduce pollution inputs
  • Reduce unsustainable extraction
  • Restoration of ecosystem.

Seagrass Communities

Introduction to Seagrasses

• A seagrass meadow: vast grassy habitats in the coast. They are grazed by large mammalian herbivores.
• Flowering plants (not algae) that live in the intertidial zone and submerged in seawater.
• They live below the mangroves.
• They occurs from mean tide to the sub tidal (where they are submerged all the time)
• Unlike mangroves the are herbaceous plants (not woody)
• manaties y tortugas se alimentan de ellos.
• Distribucion: highest in the indo pacific.
• soft sediments (muds, sand), bcs como son plantas con raices, necesitan un suelo suave donde crecer.
• shallow with low wave nergy.
• Distribution in the same place than corals and mangroves.

• they occur in estuaries, coastal habitats, deep water and associated with coral reefs. . con alta disponibilidad de luz = REQUISITO CLAVE, pq necesitan la luz suficiente para la ganancia de carbono a través de la fotosintesis (ya q paran sumergidas).

  • Entonces, los sea grasses estan aguas someras de poca profundidad cuando: los estuarios estan asociados con rios y hay un mayor out welling de nutrientes y sedimentos y otros materias. (En River Estuary = Shallow habitats for Seagrasses)
  • En aguas claras, Seagrass = Deep depths.

• Important to know for seagrass development:

  • Seagrass requiere high light levels for photosynthesis and growth
  • They cannot withstand high wave energy
  • They are restricted to shallow water and relatively calm conditions
  • Increases in turbidity of water from pollution or sediments leads to losses of seagrass.

Seagrass Biology

• Different kinds of seagrasses:

  • Seagrasses largos con forma de correa "Large strap-like seagrass species"
  • Small species common in the Indo pacific region, they cover large areas and difficult to see sometimes. Grazed by dugongd and turtles. Aparecen como una cubierte verde en la superficie, pq la mayoria de la planta esta debajo de la superficie.
• Seagrass species vary in size and other traits but have similar general plan of repeating modules (Called ramets)
• Both seeds and ramets can disperse to form new plants and meadows.
• compuestas x: leaves, rhizome (underground stem) and roots (into the sediment)
• crecen desde la "tip", llamado "growing tip".
• son como lineas de crecimiento.
• they are small, thin leaves, small rhizomes, short-lived and grow very rapidly, they are easily grazed. Pero hay sps que tienen raices grandes y mas gruesas hojas (thalassia, enhalus)

• Adaptations:

  • Gas spaces within them: for transport of oxygen.(tejido esponjoso)
  • Specialized reproduction: underwater pollen and fertilization, ramets that flowat and disperse.
  • Association with bacteria in the sediment for converting nitrogen gas into forms that plants can use. They can increase N for other organisms in seagrass beds.
  • They concentrate CO2 from the water to increase photosynthesis.

• Ellos albergan microalgas, invertebrados en sus hojas (epifitos) = contribuyen a la productividad en la cad alimenticia.

Seagrass Ecology

• Seagrass foodwebs:

  • They support diverse community of invertebrates and vertebrates: including commercially important fish sps feed on seagrass, epiphytes (macro and microalgae also) and detritus (Dead material)
  • grazed by turtles, dugongs, small fish, crabs.Esos son consumidos x depredadores mayores (pez espada, tiburones, carnivoros)
  • Mega-grazers of seagrass: Dugong! Important animals in dangered.

• Disturbances alter plant communities:

  • Repeated grazing favours species that grow fast which are those favoured by the grazers!! (actually, los dugones cultivan los seagrasses)
  • Floods and intense storms (cyclones, hurricanes, typhoons) can remove seagrass beds (Favorecen a las Fast growing species are the first to return).
  • Over time plant diversity in the meadows increases.

• Ecosystem functions:

  • Coastal protection (Atenuan la wave energy q atenuan la erosion de la costa)
  • Al atenuar la energia de las olas, se genera una caÃa o una precipitación de las particulas en suspensión en la columna de agua, cayendo en la cama de seagrasses, incrementando la calidad del agua e incremntando la claridad del agua.
  • Tmbn genera una "vertical accretion", es decir, la suspension de las particulas, hace que el nivel verticla de la seabed of seagrass aumente, que adhiera volument con el tiempo y se mantenga en relacion con el "sea level rise".
  • estabilizan los sedimentos y evitan que cuando hay una tormenta, todos los sedimentos se vayan contra la costa y causen erosiones.
  • Support fishery production.
  • Carbon sequestration: soft engineering solutions.

• Seagrass and fisheries:

  • Seagrass meadows are nurseries for some fish sps.
  • Seagrass meadows linked to increased fish populations in nerby reef and mangroves.
  • Economic losses of 235 000 dollars/year when 12 7000 ha of seagrass in sout australia was lost!! --> EVALUATION OF ECOSYSTEMS SERVICES OF MARINE HABITATS (Brbier et al. 2011).

• Seagrass and carbon:

  • Seagrass sediment significant stocks of carbon
  • Low oxygen in sediments slows down decomposition of the biomass that was deposited there form the roots.
  • Plants trap carbon from elsewhere (seagrass can slow water and particules that come from the land and carbon that is in the soil of a forested system that when it arrives in the coastal zone, the slowing of the water velocites by seagrass lead to the trapping of that carbon within the seagrass meadow sediments).
  • Soil volumes increase overtime (with adding of sediments and root growth... so carbon is continuamente secuestrado).

Status and conservation

• Threats: losses are mainly due to reduced water quality (increased turbidity), changes on the land are resulting in seagrass losses.

  • Turbidity: inputs of the land, that reduce water quality.
  • More phytoplankton: Increase sediments and nutrients - less light.

  • Seagrasses meadows are sensitive to climate change:

    • losses due to increased temp.
    • losses due to sea level rise in deeper habitat (reduced light)
    • elevated CO2 may enhance production (increase production in seagrass beds... todavia faltan mas inv)

  • Dredging (dragado), trawling (arrastres), and boat anchors (anclas de barcos) physiscally damage seagrass beds.

• Predicted responses to past climate change:

  • inland migration of coastal habitat with sea level rise (igual q mangroves)

• seagrass conservation: Requieres management of land based nutrient and sediment inputs as well as preventing direct disturbance (dredging - dragado). Monitoring networks, resposnses to seagrases in changes in environmental conditions ("Seagrass Watch"). Best to prevent losses! bcs, restoring seagrass meadows is difficult bcs water quality has to be impoved before restoration can work.

Ecosystem Processes

Nutrient Cycles

Plants and Animals

• Carbon and nitrogen are the fundamental building bocks of life, and form carbohydrates, proteins and fats that make up all living tissues. Organisms acquire C and N from the environment either in their organic and inorganic form.

• Inorganic compounds include CO2, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

• Paradox of Darwin: 1842: como un ecosistema (arrecife de corales) puede ser tan productivo y crecer en condiciones tan pobres de nutrientes?

  • water surronding corals: poco nutriente y poco plancton.. pero y los dinofalgelados??
  • Plants adquieren Carbon en su forma INORGANICA, del CO2, para la fotosintesis. Este proceso convierte el C inorganico en C organico (Reducción), ese C fijo es usado para construir biomasa (FOTÃROFOS- PHOTOAUTOTROPHIC, PHOTO pq light es la energy source y Auto pq CO2 es la fuente de C)
  • Animals construyen biomasa directamente del Carbon Organico q ingierem en forma de plantas marinas. Por la RESPIRACIÃ AEROBICA, el carbohidrato ingerido reacciona x oxidacion y se convierte en CO2 (inorganico), liberando enregia para los procesos metaboligoc (QUIMIOHETEROTROFIA - Quimio pq la energia gana resultados de romper enlaces quimicos y Hetero pq el carbon organico es usado para construir biomasa).
  • Nitrogen assimilation: Uptake de nitrogen inorganic - known as ammonia.
  • Plantas necesitan ammonia para crecer.
  • Animales necesitan nitrogeno para crear biomasa, en forma organica como proteinas y aa. Cuando son metabolizados generan nitrogen rich organic wasste products como Urea.
  • Urea luego es convertida en el ambiente como forma inorganica en ammonia - Amonificación
  • Ammonia and ammonium (charged variable of ammonia) usada x plantas y microbios en el ambiente.

Other Modes of Life

• Simple Carbon Cycle:

  • primeary producers (fijan el co2 q esta en el agua)
  • primary consumers (producen y liberan CO2 cuando oxidan el carbon organico q usan para la produccion de energÃ)
  • secondary consumers
  • tertary consumers
• continuamente el CO2 entra a la atm, permitiendo el crecimiento del ecosistema (Es un ciclo)
• lo mismo ocurre con N2, tomado x plantas y microbes de la atm, luego convertido y liberado en forma de urea x consumidores.
• **El reciclado de Nitrogeno dentro del sistema nunca es 100% eficiente!, por ende, sin una ingesta continua de MUEVO NITROGENO, las reservas, eventualmente, se gastarÃan y el ecosistema morirÃ
  • MICROBIOS!! (Archae y Bacteria)
• Cuando los tejidos del coral mueren, el Carbonato de calcio de su esqueleto es RAPIDAMENTE COLONIZADO X BIOFILMS DE MICROBIOS.
• Microbios fomran relaciones simbioticas con organismos multicel (esponkas, corales).

• RESPIRACION AEROBICA (NECESITA DE O2)

  • Respiración aeróbica es la Oxidación de carbohidratos a CO2, usando oxigeno como el aceptor de electrones. Muchos microbios adquieren su energia usando este tipo de respiración.
  • OTRO grupo de microbios son capaces de obtener su energà sustituyendo a los CARBOHIDRATOS x AMMONIO y luego jugar un rol importante en el ciclo del N, como convertidores de AMONIO A NITRITO. Proceso llamado Oxidación del amonio , y los microbios se llaman ammonium oxidisers.
  • La energà generada x la oxidación del amonio es usada para fiar CO2 y formar carbohidratos -- los organismos se llaman QUIMIOAUTOTROFOS pq adquieren su energia de la ruptura de enlacies quimicos del ammonium.
  • Otro grupo de quimioautotrofos se llaman nitrite oxiders, pq utilizan el nitrito en una manera similar. La energia es creada x la oxidación del nitroto resultando en la producción de nitrato, y agua y la energia puede ser usada papra fijar CO2 de la atm.
  • La conversión del amonio a nitrito + la conversión del nitrito a nitrato, es conocido como --> NITRIFICACIà y los microbios son NITRIFICADORES or NITRIFIERS.
  • Como estos procesos neceistan de O2, pq son parte de la resp AEROBICA, los nitrificadores son abundantes en sedimentos OXIGENADOS.
  • Sin embargo, como la energà generada de la oxdicación del amonio a ntrato es muy baja a diferencia de cuando el carbohidrato es el sutrato, estos microbios crecen MUY LENTO y tienen celulas PEQUEÃS teniendo bajas biomasas.

• Otro proceso importante en el ciclo del nitrogeno es la DENITRIFICACIÃ, dada x los quimioautotrofos microbes. Unos lo hacen en cond ANAerobicas y otras en cond AERObicas.

  • Anaerobic denitrification es realizada x ANAMMOX BACTERIA. (ANaeronic AMMonium OXidation). Involucra el proceso de conversión de amonio y nitrito en gas de nitrogeno. Asimismo, como son quimioatottrofos usan la energia generada para fijar CO2 de la atm. PERO en lugar de usar el O2, ellos usan el NITRITO como O2, es decir, cambiaron de aceptador electronico y por ende este proceso es anaerobico (es decir ya no usan O2 para romper los enlaces quimicos y liberar e-).
  • Aerobic denitrification, tmb relaizada x quimioatótrofos, pero q requieren una fuente de energà ORGANICA (azucares) y el NITRATO y O2 son agentes oxidantes. El Nitrato es convertido en NITRITO, que es convertido en Oxido Nitrico y finalmente en Gas de Nitrogeno. Esto es realizado x las enzimas "nitrato, nitrito y oxido nitrico y oxido nitroso reductasa".
  • AMBOS PROCESOS necesitan el uso de NITROGENO (sea como nitrato en la aerobica y nitrito en la anaerobica), para producir GAS DE NITROGENO q se va al ecosistema y entra en la atm.

Solving Darwin's Paradox

• Para q el coral reef prospere, requiere de una ingesta continua de nuevo nitrogeno, para balanzar la perdida. Nuestra atm esta compuesta x 78% N2 gas, y x ende ofrece una gran fuente de nitrogeno para los coeanos a traves de la disolución en la interfase air/water. Sin embargo, esta forma es solo biológicamente disponible para un grupo especializado de microbios llamados fijadores de nitrogeno o diazotrofos.

• Los diazotrofos pueden ser encontrados en Archaea o Bacteria domains. Ellos tienen la habilidad de capturar esta forma INORGANICA de nitrogeno (N2 GAS) y convertirlo en AMMONIA, que sà puede ser usado x otros organismos o convertido en diferentes formas x otro grupo de microbios.
• Los diazotrofos pueden ser anaerobicos o aerobicos y ser fotoautotrofos, quimio autotrofos, quimio heterotrofos, foto heterotrofos. Debido a su gran gama de vida, pueden ser encontrados en distitnos nichos.
• Sus nichos pueden ser free-living and endosymbiotically, living within the tissues of micro-organisms where they provide a source of organic nitrogen directly to their host.
• Ejemplo de diazotrofos visibles: Trichodesmium, filamentos marrones en la superficie del agua.
• Diazotrofos pueden ser cianobacterias.
• DIazotrofos como son fototroficos viven donde hay luz, pero tmbn son heterotroficos asi q tmbn habitan donde no hay luz.
• Como el O2 inhibe la accion de las enzimas nitrogenasas, las cianobacterias q hacen fotosintesis y x ende neceistan O2, tienen una celula especializada llamada heterocisto q tiene una capa impermeable al 02 evitando q entre el o2 y se pueda ejecutar la fijacion del nitrogeno, produciendo energia y a la vez haciendo fotosintesis n las otras celulas.
• Los fijadores de nitrogeno (diazotrofos) q viven endosimbioticamente dentro de los tejidos de corales, viven con las microalgas. El problema es q las microalgas durante el dia hacen fotosintesis, inhibiendo la actividad nitrogenasa de los diaztrofos, PERO DE NOCHE, la microalga hace respiración celular, utilizando su oxigeno y azucares para sus funciones metabolicas, en estas cond de bajo oxigeno, la nitrogenasa funciona y fija nitrogeno gas y lo convierte en AMMONIA!. --> TEMPORAL SEPARATION.

• RESPUESTA A LA PARADOJA DE DARWIN: la razon x la cual los arrecifes de corales pueden crecer en aguas oligotroficas en los tropicos, donde los nutrientes y consecuentemente el fitoplancton son limitados, es debido a la presencia de una amplia gama de microbios en el agua, en superficies bioticas y abioticas, y hasta viviendo endosimbioticamente dentro de los tejidos de los organismos q componen el arrecife de coral.

Calcification and the Carbonate Balance

How to mesure calcification

• 2 processes on coral reefs that remove large amounts of Calcium Carbonate: Eroding organisms and storms.
• The balance: Calcification and Decalcification --> The Carbonate Balance of coral reefs.

• Calcification is highest in warm sun-lit waters of the tropics and sub-tropics, where the concentration of Calcium carboate ions is highest.

  • There, a range of organisms from cnidarians such as reef building corals, algae, molluscs, crustaceans and small creatures known as formaminiferans are able to deposit large amounts of calcium carbonate from the surrounding water column.
  • La alta cant de calcium carbonate ions, significa q habra mucho material para hacer cristales de aragonita y calcita para hacer las conchas y esqueletos de org marinos.

• Formas de medir la calcificacion en el tiempo, en organismos:

  • en conchas: tiñen una linea de la valva, y luego miden que tanto crecio dsps de esa linea o "dye mark"
  • en corales, miden el 45Ca (isotopo), en el esquelto de corales y otros organismos. Para hcer eso, se tiene q cultivar el coral en agua de mar con un radioisotopo agregado, con el tiempo, el radioisotopo se deposita con isotopos de calciu y es usado como un marcador. Lo negativo es q no se puede hacer en campo natural, siempre en lab.
  • método de peso flotante: donde los fragmentos de corales o otros org calcificadores, son pesados bajo el agua. So, si sabes la densidad del Calcium carbonate, puedes calcular la cantidad de calcium carbonate que ha sido agregado al coral en el tiempo.
  • rayos x, donde toman una foto de un coral grande y largo para ver las lineas de crecimiento (como anillos en un arbol).

Decalcification and its causes

• Decalcification: processes of removing calcium carbonate from reefs.
• Storms, wave action, eroding reef organisms (Eg. parrtofish, boring invertebrates, sponges, microalgae)

• pH and carbonate chemistry sea water depends on concentration of CO2 in the atm and in the seawater.

  • More CO2, el pH baja y tambien bajan la concentracion de iones carbonato.
  • Menos iones de carbonato de calciu, afecta la deposiciond e aragonita y calcita.
  • EASIER DISSOLUTION OF CARBONATE IONS!!

• storms: cyclones, typhoons, hurricaines.

  • pero si estos eventos no pasan con mucha frecuencia, los coral reefs pueden recuperarse naturalmente. Entonces una tormenta puede golpear un arrecifice, pero luego de 10 o 20 años, esos corales regresaran y construiran nuevamente la comunidad de corales.

• Biological processes of erosion of carbonate stocks from reefs:

  • External Biological Eroders: grazing parrotfish, sea urchins.

    • Eat corals directly or chew on pieces of substrate that inadvertently are eroded from the surface of the reef. Constant grazing can remove anormous amounts of calcium carbonate overtime.
    • Contributors to the carbonate sands.

  • Internal Biological Erosers: Sponges, microalgae, boring worms, barnacles and molluscs: les gusta bore (perforar) dentro de los esqueletos vivos y muertos de carbonato de calcio.

    • Esto reduce la estructura integra de los esqueletos de corales, llevanto a que sean facilmente rermovidos del arrecife x tormentas.

The Importance of the Reef Framework

• When reefs lose coral and structure, they tend to be populated by more corallivorous fish and those fish which a specialist in terms of feeding on coral. disappear.

• Number of herbivorous fish (alagal eaters) increase as coral is lost.
• Menor calcificacion afecta a los coral reefs, lo que lleva a una mayor exposición de los mangalres y seagrass, exposed to wave energy.

• Eso sumado con la contaminacion y sobrepesca, afectara grandemente el tropical coastal ecosystem.

Predator-Prey Interactions

Marine Food Webs and Diets

• The transfer of energy from one level to the next is and incredibly inefficient process: typically only about 10% of the enrgyis actually transferred from one level too another.

• In coral reefs:

  • 1 level: fitoplancton, seagrasses, algae, seaweeds

  • Niveles sup: herviboros, peces herv, erizos, tortugas.

    • HerbÃoros: parrotfish. come microalgas, importante pq toma la enrgia del alga q toma del sol y lo convierte en proteina animal, q genera la base de los depredadores superiores.

      • Increase turnover rates (Detritus): como el parrotfish come las microalgas, hara que esas microalgas vuelvan a crecer mas rapudo en 1 o 2 dias..."they turnover rapidly".
      • le dan la forma a la benthic community structure
      • High consumption rates de los herbivoros.
      • Functional groups: based on jaw/dentition morphology: browsers (buscando entre algas), scrapers (pico como parrotfish), excavators (bumphead parrotfish, huge heavy jaws, como las microalgas encima y DENTRO del coral).

    • Planktivoros:

      • Schooling, andan en cardumenes, entonces tienen q encontrar un lugar donde esconderse x los predadores (en branching corals).
      • se adhieren a otros animales como whale shark (big and safe)
      • upturned mouths, come cojiendo el plancton del agua, mas facil. -- adapt
      • single colours --- dificil de ver para depdred.
      • streamlined -- confusion para depred.

    • Invertivores:

      • They prey: crabs or gasteropodos, q usualmente estan distribuidos cripticamente.
      • they forage alone.
      • ejemplo: rayas.
      • son spongivores, corallivores.

      • problemas x ser invertivores y alimentarse solos:

        • vulnerables a predadores, x eso presentan adaptaciones.

      • adaptaciones: strong jaws and good vision, spines and armour, odd body shapes (pq tienen q meterse en lugares extraños de relieve para comer sus presas ocultas).

    • Piscivoros:

      • Estrategia de ser rapidos, persiguen a presa.
      • stalking their prey, surprise the prey.
      • ambush, camuflarse... algunos con algas.
      • streamlined with large moutsh and use camuflaje para ocultarse de sus presas.

Predator Avoidance Behaviours

• Avoiding predators is a strong selection force on all organisms.

• Reef fish usea diverse range of strategies to avoid predation

  • Shoaling:agruparse: the practice of multiple fish coming together for some kind of social reason, to spawn and reproduce or schooling (they swim in the same direction trying to evade predators). Shoaling DIFFERENTE A Schooling.

  • Schools:

    • advantages: muchos ojos viendo predadores, menor posibilidad de ser atacado x predador.
    • Desventajas: competencia x recursos alimenticios, agresión, mas rapida dispersion de enfermedades.
    • As you increase the density of prey, the risk of an individual being eaten goes down.

  • Refuges: they are the key factor influencing the number of fishes on reefs (REFUGIOS).

    • Coral loss impacts fishes. More habitat complxity more number and diversity of fishes.
    • On a single coral, small fishes in a shoal may be a disadvantage, los mas debiles van a ser empujados afuera del coral x la competencia x espacio... su probabilidad de ser comido aumenta!, entonces el tamaño del shoal influye,

• 2 stages lifecycles:

  • Reef habitat:

    • egg production
    • Settlement: high predation rates.
    • refugios en branching corals, se convierten en juveniles, luego spawnign adults.

  • Open ocean:

    • hatching and growth of larval fishes: pueden llegar a otros lugares y colonizar, hay menos predadores en oceano abierto.

  • Many organisms move habitats as they grow, puede ser q tmbn se vayan a los manglares roots, great place as a nursery bcs no hay muchos predadores y hay mucha comida. --> Ontogenetic migrations // Ontogenetic shift.

Parrotfish lifecycle: Basic life cycle of coral reef fish.

• 2 major phases: Demersal and planktonic.
• La vidad del parrotfish tiene cambios de polychromatism, series of colour changes.
• Son hermafroditas secuenciales, comienzan como hembras (1 solo color palido) y cambian a machos (colorido).
• Son Pelagic broadcast spawner!: they release their eggs and sperm together high into the water columnm towards the surface and away from the reed and this help avoid the many predators that dwell there.
• Un macho es el q guia el cardumen seguido x hembras.
• Spawning often occurs late afternoon or early evening, para q los huevos sean transportados rapidamente x las olas a un lugar a salvo mas mar adentro o mar abierto donde hay pocos predadores.
• En el open ocean, las larvas entran a la fase planctonica.
• larvas tienen un saco vitelo q les da comida, aumentando su tamaño volviendolo planctivoro. Pero son visibles so, su peligro de ser depredfado aumenta x zooplanctivoos.
• planctonic phase: 30-90 days.
• luego cuando ya no son larvas, y son larvas mas grandes pero aun con poca movilidad, buscan un lugar donde asentarse.
• primero se asientan en un lugar mas seguro: nursery place: mangrove roots. hasta llegar a un tamaño similar de adultos, como juveniles. ahi como son pequeño y palidos se pueden ocultar entre raices de los depred.
• luego va al arrecife, cuando es mas grande, encuentra lugar para ocultarse en refugios, alimentarse.
• Se une a otros herviboros, para mezclarse y estar mas protegida x mas individuos alrededor.
• cuando ya se hace macho, es mas grande, mas fuerte y defiende a las hembras de su grupo.
• evuentalmente viene el tiempo para el spawning nuevamente.
• La vida del parrotfish depende de una gran variedad de habitats,la conectividad de estos dsd open ocean hasta mangrove roots al reef. Las interacciones predator-prey son una importante influencia durante el ciclo de vida de los peces, afectando no solo la mortalidad sino tmbn el crecimiento y comportamiento. Por ello, los eventos q tomen lugar en estadios tempranos de la vida de los peces son criticos para la poblacion de su sp.

Predator-prey community effects

• Herbivore-algal interactions: more macroalgal cover%, menor grazing.

  • macroalgal son competencia para corales, so los herbivoros son esenciales en la funcion de ese ecosist.
  • Phase sifts: coral dominated reef to Algal-dominated reef (case of Jamaica).
  • desventajas para el coral reef: storms, bleaching, disminucion de herbivoros, soprepesca, enfermedades de urchins, mayor conc de nutrientes.
  • Manage local stressors!.

• Keystone species:

  Is one whose effect is large, and disproportionately large, relative to its abundance.- Power et al., 1996,

  • Exmpl: sea urchins, bumphead parrotfish.

• Indirect effect of predation:

  • The effect of fear: the effects of predators on prey are greater than just direct consumption, pq las presas pasan mas tiempo ocultandose, x ende alimentandose menos, buscando mas refugio y gastando mas energia ene star atentos, x lo q no crecen tanto.
  • many prey sps alter their behavior to avoid predation, perhaps reducing feeding, growth and reproduction rates.

  • si pescamos los depredadores superiores, habra un desbalance o "TROPHIC CASCADE"--- Cuando un nivel trofico afecta otros niveles.

    • Top-down
    • Bottom-up
    • Wisp-waist

Reproduction, Recruitment and Connectivity

Reproduction, Recruitment and Connectivity in tropical coastal ecosystems

• Reproduction in marine ecosistems:

  • water is abundant: direct release of gametes possible. Reduced need for complex reproductive strucutres.
  • conditions are more constant in ocean settings than in land: reduce thermal variability and extremes. Greater constancy of gas and salt conc.
  • greater buoyancy force: larger transport distances of dispersal of gametes.
  • marine dispersal leads to greater homogeneity! - vs terrestrial dispersal leads to greater heterogeneity.
  • organisms dispersal mas de cientos de kms.
• Life history is important: long larval lives tque recorren muchos kms x muchos dias (14-30 dias)

• Modes of reproduction:

  • asexual reproduction: identical replication of the single parent.

    • polyp - fission.
    • sea stars, sea cucumbers, anemonas.
    • By fragmentation: like in corals... low genetic diversity.

  • parthenogenesis: asexual reprod, q involucra el desarrollo del embrion de un huevo sin ser fertilizado.

    • "Virgin birth"
    • tienen el full set of chromosomes, siendo restablecido del de la madre.

  • sexual reproduction: combination of the genetic material of 2 parents. En algunas ps, los gametos son diferentes (Esperma y ovulo) llamandose ANISOGAMOUS, pero hay otras sps que los gametos no se diferencian y son sps ISOGAMOUS. (algas)

• advantages of asexual repr:

  • allows animal to live in isolation (dont have to find a partner)
  • faithful reprod of parents - which may be important in constant environments.
  • can produce many offspring quickly
  • no wastage of gametes or energy associated with sexual repr.

• desvent. de asexual repr:

  • no genetic variability - hence population is vulnerable to changes in the environment.

• Sexual reprod:

  • gonochoristic (dioecious):

    • separate sexes in diff ind
    • common in animals, rare in higher plants and algae.

  • hermaphroditic:

    • both sexes occur in the one ind.

    • diff sex states can occur at the same time or in sequence within the one ind: SEQUENTIAL HERMAPHORDITISM:

      • Protandy : start life as male, then turn female.

        • Protandrous hermaphordites: occurs in ctenophores, flat worms and gastropods, and in some fishes (pez payaso - los ejemplares mas grandes y agresivos son hembras)
        • oldest and larger ind is female
        • hembra lidera el grupo

      • Protgyny : star life as female, then turn male.

        • protogynous hermaphordites: found in many inv such as ospods and sea urchins.
        • most common form of sequential hermaphroditism in fish sps (75%).
        • oldest or larger individual is male.
        • macho lidera
        • ej: parrotfish

• Marine angiosperms:

  • land plants that have returned to ocean
  • lufecycle is very similar to flowering land plants
  • pollen in sea grasses is stringy and is carried from another to stamen by water currents (no pollinators involved).

• mangrove vivipary: many mangroves reproduce through a form of vivipary (or live birth), in which fertilization and development of the next eneration occurs on, and is nourished, by the parents.

• advantages of sexual repr:

  • remixing of genes - genetic variability - preparados para cambios amb.

• desvent:

  • encontrar parejas
  • competir x reproduccion.
  • produces some gametes that are lost from the population due to be less fit (gamete wastage - waste of energy)

Reproduction Timing and Cycles:

• Typical life cycle in the ocean:

  • spawnign, fertilization, development, larval stages, settlement and recruitment, juveniles, maturation, adult.

• Planktotrophic vs. Lecithotrophic:

  • Planktotrophic:

    • Larval stages feed on plankton
    • development is gnerally longer.

  • Lecithotrophic:

    • Larval stages use egg reserves and dont feed on plankton.
    • larvae released from parent.

  • Brooding:

    • Lecithotrophic development BUT larvae remain in BROOD CHAMBERS whithin the parent organism.

• Reproductive timing:

  • generally spawning tends to occur such that larval and juvenile development occurs at the most suitable time of year . tiempo primavera dond hay mas productividad . en tropical waters.

  • several factors can influence the production of gametes:

    • age and sizze
    • nutrition of spawning adults
    • sea temp
    • light levels and periodicity
    • specific chemicals designed to coordinate spawning. quimicos dados x los mismos miembros de sps.

• Spawning cycles:

  • 4 types of spawning cycles:

    1. discontinuo o oportunistico spawning.
    2. non-phasic or continuous spawning activity.
    3. lunar or semi-lunar spawning.
    4. annual spawning.

  • Mass spawing: many organisms that spawn together - like in the great barrier reef. why too many sps spawn at the same time?

    • temperature
    • lunar phase.

    • advantages:

      • can be timed such that larvae are born during the season when the most food is available.
      • sedentary organisms do not need to search for a apartner and can mate with individuals who are relatively far away from themselves without having to move (saves energy)
      • protection from predators, so many gametes are released at once that they cannot all be eaten.

    • disadvantages:

      • parents cannot protext their offspring from predators
      • many gametes can be wasted if they do not end up getting fertilised (Wasste of energy)
      • cross-fertilisation may occur between different sps and create sterile offsprping.

Reproduction and Reef-Building corals:

• reprd in corals:

  • full range of reprod modes:

    • asexual
    • sexual
    • gonochorism (25% sps)
    • hermaphrodism (75% sps): simultaneous, sequential.
  • broadcast spawners (difusionde huevos) as well as brooders (criadores).

  • most (All) larvae are lecithotrophic (Egg feeding)

• Importance of reproduction and recruitment:

  • crucial determinant of dispersal, population structure and connectivity.
  • gnerally, reduced larval life means reduced dispersal.- means less connectivity between populations.
  • alternatively, increased larval life means greater dispersal distances - greater connectivity between populations.
  • short distance disprsal - 100% self-recruitment. - greater genetic distances betwee subpopulation.
  • longer distnace dispersal - reduced self-recruitment - less genetic distances between subpopulations.

Ecosystem Services and Threats

Marine Ecosystem Services

Marine Ecosystem Services Overview

• Provisioning Services:

  • Wood by mangroves: source of fuel, build houses.
  • fishing: reef fish - protein- food. Farmaceutical products by invertebrates (sea squirt, algaes)
  • regulating services . Regulate the environment - aminorizan el impacto de olas by the reef and mangroves.
  • cultural services: buceo, turismo, canotaje x manglares - conexion con naturaleza.
  • Intangible cultural services: identity, linkage to a healthy ecosystems, bird watching, sandy beach, see the diversity.
  • well being for humans: basic materials for good life, good social relations, health, security.

• Why value ecosystem services?

  • puedes tomar mejores planes de manejo ambiental.

  • evitar mangrove removal for hotel development.

    • changed beach dynamics, and increased erosion
    • dredgin for sand
    • sedimentation, smothering of coral - coral mortality.
    • less coastal defense. increase amount of erosion.

  • accounting national natural resources.- que los paises no solo consideren, capital proveniente de mineria, gas, petroleo o cap humano, sino q tmbn tomen en consideracion el valor de servicios ecosistemicos.

    • Por eso debemos de Monitoring and take corrective action!. NOT TAKE IF FOE GRANTED!.
    • Engaging community - environmentally friendly behaviour.
    • generating financial support for conservation!!.

• Ecosystem state (the complexity of the reef, biodiversity, measure the state going into the field), then that state gives a function (the hability to provide a habitat to have lots of for ex fishes), that provides a service (fishing)

• State -> Function -> Service - siempre mantener buena relacion, pq si tenemos un mal estado, mala funcion y bajo servicio ($).

• Mangroves case study:

  • mangroves important nursery habitat!

  • functional value of mangrove?:

    • Parrotfish rainbow esta relacionado con los mangroves - pez herviboro mas grande en el caribe!.
    • other sps increased abundance on reefs with mangrv¿oves.
    • commercially imp sps.
    • increase in the number of adult fish that ppl can harvest. - sustain a reef fishery!.

Valuation and Challenges

• Methods of valuing ecosystem services:

  • For market services:

    • Travel cost method: cost incurred to access recreational sites.
    • Pleasure pricing: house price varies with proximity to or view of the beach.
    • Replacement cost: coastal protection replaced by other man.made structures (sea wall for ex instead of coral reefs).
    • Avoided cost of damages: ecosystem services providing shoreline protection like coral reefs and mangroves.
    • Market prices: coral reef fishery value - how much ppl pay for coral reef fish.
    • Production function: mangrove value - how much does the mangrove contribute to fish production.

  • For NON market services:

    • Contingent valuation: when u say "how much are u willing to pay to see that, to dive, to whale wathc...?"
    • Choice modelling: give a set of option (dive option 1, with less fishes... dive option 2 includes biggest fishes.) - con eso, puedes averiguar, en qué se basa el cliente para realmente evaluar y darle un valor al ecosistema (cantidad, biodiv, riqueza, tamaño)
• Global economic values of coral reefs: 30 bill dolars. entre turismo, fisheries, coastal pro, biodiv.

• Some challenges in valuing ecosystem services:

  • Drivers of change

    • DIRECT DRIVERS OF CHANGE - AFFECTING THE STATE AND FUNCTION:

      • Resource consumption
      • Climate change
      • changes in land use. - eutrofizacion
      • sps introduction an removal.
      • technology adaptation and use.
      • natural physical and biological drivers.

    • INDIRECT DRIVERS OF CHANGE - AFFECTING SERVICE:

      • Demographic. - diff countries, more ppl, dif values of how they view the environment.
      • economic. - la gente pagaria puede pagar x eso?
      • cultural and religious views.
      • sociopolitical - wars? no time to value env serv.

  • understanding changes in ecosystem state

    • how does an incremental change in habitat complexity influence fish productivity (function) and fishery harvests (service)?.
    • understand the complexity of an ecosystem (linear, curval linear... convey an accurate scenario, how that will translate to the service $)

  • multiple services from an ecosystem.

    • Mangrove services: nursery habitat and adult fish habitat, fuel wood and timber, protection from erosion, carbon sequestration, traps sediments, detoxifies pollutants.
    • tienes q hacer un grafico evaluando x ej en magroves, el valor x hectarea. Sumando el valor de tooodos los servicios. Y eso compararlo con lo que quieren suplantar. Por ej: manglares vrs acuicultura de camarones.

Practical Approaches to valuation:

• InVEST Models: InVEST is a program that has been developed between WWF and The NATURE CONSERVANCY and the U of Standford.

  • Tools or algorithms that can be used to try to value a service spatially and map it:

    • Marine fish aquaculture.
    • marine fish water quality
    • offshore wind energy.
    • overlap analysis.
    • recreation.
    • sediment retention
    • water purification
    • wave energy
    • habitat risk assessment
    • coastal vulnerability
    • aesthetic quality
    • coastal protection
    • carbon
    • biodiversity.

  • Modelling: input: collecting info. --> Spatial layers

    • Diff inputs: hacer dif capas de las actividad y habitats:

      • mangroves
      • seagrass
      • marine transportation zone
      • coral reefs
      • visitation
      • dredging zone
      • oil exploration/drilling zone
      • agricultural runoff zone
      • aquaculture zone
      • fishing zone
    • Example: visitation, puedes ver las coordenadas de las fotos colgadas online y ver Qué lugares son mas visitos x turistas.
    • todo eso lo unes y puedes hacer por ej un RECREATION MODEL.
    • aparte, debes ver: "El numero de visitantes * cuanto se gasta por persona = Recreation Revenue"

    • Valuation process:

      • Simple model with input values (las capas) + Key informants, develop scenarios (info de la gente q sabe realmente los escenarios y cuales son las conseq de cada escenario) = Conservation + Informed Managment + Development

      • Generate scenarios as maps, velando por la CONSERVACION + EL DESARROLLO --> INFORMED MANAGEMENT:

        • Gather current knowledge
        • work with stakeholders
        • identify current and future activiites/uses using social, economic and biophysical factors.

Para tener un correcto manejo, debes ver los escenarios: Actual, Pro Conservacion, Pro Desarrollo Economico, Manejo de información (que incluye pro conservacion y desarrollo), el Informed Management es el que gana, favoreciendo a la poblacion, el estado del habitat, su funcion y sus servicios.

Local Human Impacts

Local Human Impacts Overview

• Polluting the environment
• mas personas viven en zonas costeras
• la densidad de ppl q viven en costas es mucho mayor than inshore (40% de la poblacion mundial en el 5% q representan las areas costeras)
• More Shrimp farms - more sediment into the ocean - less mangroves q atrapen los sedimentos, entonces los sed van al seagrass y luego a los coral reefs.
• Mas agricultura q hace q remuevan mangroves. - reemplazo con sugar cane por ej., cada vez q haya lluvia, lleva los quimicos y sedimentos al oceano.
• el sedimento puede quedarse en la sup evitando q entre luz a los seagrass y coral reefs, O puede sedimentarse y enturbia sus areas disminuyendo tmb el oxigeno.

• Nutrient effects: bcs of too many ppl living in coastal areas - Principalmente N and P, llegan al oceano x lluvias - eutrofizacion - mas microalgas - blooms - toxicos- menoz luz.

  • las plantas q crezcan mas xq se ven favorecidas x los nutrientes, van a crecer mucho, pero como no van a haber suficientes animales q las coman (pq hay poca luz), las plantas igual moriran, se iran al sedimento y las bacterias la descomponeran, aumentando la cantidad de bact en el amb, AUMENTO EL RIESGO DE ENFERMEDADES!.
  • mas detritos y sedimentos, mas estres en animales, mas suceptibles a enf., reducen su reproduccion., menos fishery.
  • dms phytoplankton y sedimento tmb puede afectar la sobrevivencia de filtradores como almejas y conchas.se cierran x mucho materia org susp y mueren.
  • Hypoxia!. pq no crecera el seagrass, habra mas bact q consuman el O2... dead zones!
  • debido a rios, desague, agricultura.

Mechanical Damage and Unsustainable Fishing Practices

• Mechanical Damage:

  • Clearing habitat: coastal development, land filling, navigation channels, mining, wood.
  • Dredging into the seabed, pq queremos aumentar el tamaño del puerto, o pq queremos crear sedimentos y arena q luego podamos llevar mas a zonas costeras y crear mas areas de terreno: es decir, Reclamar x tierra donde queramos construir,
  • Destructive fishing practices: redes de arrastre, usualmente para pescar camarones.

• Unsustainable fishing:

  • Historical depletion of fish stocs and other marine sps.
  • large declines in size of reef fish caught by prehistoric fishers. Even 2000 yrs ago, we were OVEREXPLOITING.
  • 15 fold decrease in Green turtles in the caribbean.
  • reasons: more ppl.
  • conseq: antes llegabamos a una cantidad de pesca con menor esfuerzo, ahora llegamos a la misma cantidad de pesca con MAYOR esfuerzo, es decir, la productividad ha disminuido. - preocupante.

  • Fishing down the food web - by Daniel Pauly:

    • Se sobreexplota más las sps tope, pq son mas grandes y mas accesibles, pero como son mas grandes tienen una tasa de crec mas lenta, se reproducen menos y son mas vulnerables. Por ende, luego pescaremos peces cada vez mas y mas pequeños, llegando a pescar los mas pequeños ... this is called Fishing down the food web.

  • Fishing the largest: big fish tienen un rol importante en mantener la poblacion:

    • 60 cm largo: 3 millones de huevos
    • 40 cm large: 350 000 huevos.
    • Proteger los ind mas largos. No solo evitar pescar los mas pequeños q aun no se reproducen, sino tmb proteger a los ind mas largos pq tienen un impacto mas significiativo en las next generations. Debsmo ver porlos rangos intermedios de tamaños y minimizar el impacto en la sostenibilidad.
    • Exploitive fishing - dynamite and cyanide!.

Invasive Sps. Multiple Stressors and Positive Human Impacts

• Invasive sps:

  • Indigenous sps - en su amb natural.
  • alien sps - sps q nunca han estado ahi.
  • invasive sps - ucando las alien sps infestan el nuevo amb y se hacen mas q las indigenas.
  • 57% de las inv son consideradas harmful.
  • 84% of marine regions are affected
  • ocurre mas donde hay massive shipping activity. Hotspot for invasive sps.
  • x aguas de lastre.
  • x construccion de canales, como el Suez Canal q une el mar rojo con el mediterraneo.

• Multiple stressors:

  • acting at the same time
  • Coastal development + watershed pollution + overfishing = Local threats

• Positive local human impacts:

  • Preservation of ecosystems: only 450m long and 500m wide: 22.5 ha PROTECTED WHERE YOU CANT FISH --> increasing biomass around the area protected.
  • Restoration of damaged systems: restoring mangroves and seagrass beds.
  • change the system from a big commercial fishery to a smaller scale artisanal kind of fishery.

Global Human Impacts

Introduction

• 70% de la tierra cubierta x oceanos.

• Equilibrio en temp global: eq entre incoming and outcoming temp.

  • Distancia entre el sol o la int solar puede cambiar.
  • Cantidad de reflectividad - dependiente de vegetacion, nubes, areas de hielo... afecta la cant de energia reflejada al espacio.

  • Composicion de la atm - gases como CO2 y metano absorben IR rad, resultando en una retencion de energÃ.

    • GHG!
    • nO ghg LA TEMP SERIA -18°C
    • so... GHG son importantes!!, pero el exceso es el problema!
• Records de temp de Ice Cores. temp dsd registros de 800 000 años

• Milankovitch Cycle:

  • Eras de hielo - cuando la tierra se alejaba del Sol.
  • Eras caliente interglaciales - cuando la tierra esta cerca del Sol.

• En la era del Holoceno, el humano aparecio... la temp y el CO2 se mantuvo cte... pero hace 150 años, la era de revolución industrial empezo y el CO2 y GHG aumentaron x la quema de comb fosiles.

• Atm CO2 has increased from 280 ppm (hasta 1870)to 400ppm!
• Average global temp has increased by 0.8°C since 1870

• Rates highest in tens of millions of years.

• Las temp no han aumentado equitativamente en todo el planeta. Los sistemas polares han aumentado 2 o 3 veces mas rápido su temp q en localidades tropicales.
• Land areas se calientan mas rapido q oceanos.
• Dependiendo de la region, mas temp provoca: cambios en tormentas mas fuertes, sequias mas largas, lluvias mas fuertes.

• Over 90% of the energy trapped as a result of the increased GHG effects, has been absorbed by the ocean!. This has changed the charct of the ocean in the past century:

  • Sea levels have risen by arpund 30 cm.
  • Ocean temp have increased 0.7°c
  • Summer sea ice in the Arctic has decreased dramatically with aprox 50-75% depending on the measure being lost since 1979.
  • Oxygen levels are decreasing in the bulk ocean (oc abierto).
  • Oceans have become much more stratified in many regions, reducing the mixing and nutrient regeneration that's so important to the upper layers of the ocean.
  • Ocean acidification: el CO2 se combina con el H20 y forma Ac Carbonico, este se disocia creaando protones y moleculas de bicarbonato. El proton disasociado tambien se une con otros Carbonatos que estan en el mar, creando mas bicarbonato. Como el carbonato se une a la mayor cant de protones, no hay carbonato disponible para los org calcificadores. Ademas la suma de CO2 aumenta el nivel de acidez (menor pH).

  • Conseq of warming oceans:

    • sps se van a latitudes mas altas.: TROPICALISATION OF HIGHER LATITUDES.
    • estados de reprod se adelantan pq el verano y primav se adelantan tmbn. --- estadio reprod mas temprano, mas pequeños los ej, menor fitness.
    • cambios en manejo de pesq. x distrib y abundancia de organismos.

• IPCC: INTERGOVENMETNAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE.: set up by the UN. - assess the scientifica technical and socio economic understanding of the risk of human induced cc.

Climate Change: Effects on Mangroves and Seagrasses.

• Climate change in tropical oceans:

  • ocean temp higher by 0.7°C
  • 0.1 decrease in pH
  • 26% less carbonate ions
  • sea level higher by 30 cm
  • more water in atm - humidity - more intense rainfull events - more evaporation. - more intense storms - inundaciones- huaycos.
  • greater stratification of the ocean (reduced mixing) - warm water being less dense than cold water - that reduces the amount of mixing in the upper layers of the ocean, reduces the amounf of nutrients.
  • decreased oxygen in open ocean ad more dead zone.

  • distribution of mangrove: to higher lat bcs those lat are warming.

    • Changes to rainfall along coastlines can have a large influence on mangrove ecosystem. : sequias, tormentas con rayos (frecuencia de incendios, fire regime) - loss of mangroves.
    • affecting delivery of nutrients, changes in rainfall can drive greater or lesser amounts of flooding which can affect the delivery of sediments to estuarine environments.
  • mas storms and hurricaines afectan los mangalres , significant damage con mas mortalidad y mas vulnerables a futuras tormentas.

  • seagrasses, valorizados en 1.9 trilliones de dolares x año: nutrient recycling, primary productivity, habitat for thousands of fish and bird sps, major food source for endangered manatee, dugong, green turtles.

    • impacted by coastal development
    • impacted by coastal agriculture.
    • imp by stronger storms, flooding, elevated temp.

Coral reefs and global change

• majors drivers of change: acidification and warming ocean.
• Signs q son afectados: blanqueamiento en warming years o epocas de ENSO --> mass coral bleaching and mortality.
• Temp alta desestabiliza la simbiosis entre dinoflagelados y polipos.pq los dinof dejan el tejido de los corales.
• 16% of corals died globally during the very warm conditions of 1998 ENSO.

• Obstacle to rapid adaptations?:

  • Reef bulding corals are long lived with generation times of yrs to decades - evolution is likely to be slow.
  • also genetic diversity can be low due to fact that corals can reproduce asexually.
  • Could corals migrate or adapt their way out of trouble? to higher lat?: Ecosystem migration rate needed: 20 km per yr!, No evidence of ecosystem moving!. also temp isnt the only vairbale that determinates the distrib of ecosystem: The amount of carbonate ions decreases in higher lat.

Impacts and Mitigation

• Aragonite saturation state: That varies with the average temp of the ocean, bcs CO2 likes to dissolve in cold water more than warm water, so the highest aragonite saturation states exist at the lower latitudes (warmer water).
• Carabonate reef systems of the world are restricted to oceans that have aragonite saturation rate of 3.3 or more.
• Cuando hay menos conc de CO2, las areas con aragonita son mas extensas.
• hoy en dia, las areas con aragonita son restringidas x la mayor cant de co2.
• perdemos la habilidad de mantener el equilibrio de calcificacion en sistemas de arr de corales. pq ya no hay areas con suf rates d aragonita.
• Solving local issues is inextricably linked to solving global climate change issues!
• reduce coastal pollution.
• no overfishing

• how much do we have to reduce GHG and CO2 to help TCE?

  • No aumentar mas de 2°c en tglobal temp dsps de la pre industrial
  • reducir 80% de CO2 y GHG para el 2050!!!.
  • To limit atm CO2 to 450 ppm and global temp to 2C above the pre industrial period, we must liimit the total CO2 Budget to 500GT!. Given we burn aroud 35GT wach yr globally, that leaves us 15 yrs to reduce CO2 emissions (and other GHG) to zero!---MAJOR GLOBAL CHALLENGE.

Ecosystem Management

Fisheries Management for Tropical Coastal Ecosystems

Harvesting Fish Populations

• How do we have sustainable fisheries?

  • understand how fish populations growth.
  • how we manage those populations.

• Populations grow exponentially at small sizes:

  • this means, they increase very rapidly.
  • mientas crece mas y mas, la linea de crec decaerá. la linea no es exponencial x siempre.

• Density dependence: Population size is limited:

  • habitat
  • food
  • competition
  • predation
  • disease
  • population growth slows at high densities.

• Different fish sps will grow at dif rates:

  • Turtles, whales, mature at an old age and have few offspring, so their densities will grow slowly.
  • small fish like parrotfish, mature at a young age and breed often, so their densities can grow rapidly.

Fishing management: Fishing pressures

• Many types of fisheries: net fishing, hook and line, spear (Arpón), traps.

• Fishing effort:

  • Effort is a measure of fishing pressure
  • in a line fishery: Hooks set per hour
  • days at sea
  • number of boats per yr.
  • more effort = carch more fish. HOWEVER: these fish have to be replaced!
• Population growth can replace fish that are harvested.
• maximized for intermediate densities
• faster growing sps can sustain higher levels of effort.
• the rate at which the fish population grows is maximised when the fish population is roughly half its carrying capacity.

• overfishing:

  • too much effort.
  • pop growth is low, below half its carrying capacity.
  • fishery non longer profitable.
  • extreme examples are destructive for habitats.

Challenges and solutions in managing fisheries

• Open access fishery = if the fishery is completely unmanaged

  • "Tragedy of the commons"
  • if there is not a regultation of fishing effort.
  • ppl will tend to keep entering the fishery until it is no longer profitable
  • at this point it is overfished, often with ecosystem conseq.

• Regulating fishing:

  • quota mangement.
  • effor management
  • rights based management.
• Gear damage habitat: cyanide, trawling, dynamite, these degrade fisheries and biod, worst the trophic cascades.

• Solutions:

  • Ban destructive practices
  • education
  • Positive incentives! to move to more sustainable practices.
  • marine reserves system: totally protect some areas, provide a refuge for fish, contribute to fisheries through spilover.

Marine Protected Areas

Marine Protected Area System

• La mayoria de paises han acordado en un convenio internacional, de tener al menos 10% de su mar en un AMP.

• Traditional Approaches to site selection:

  • Bigger is better
  • More is better
  • Edge effects: efectos de borde, las reservas q son mas largas (no circulares), son MENOS efectivas que las redondas (con mayor radio)

  • Connective reserves systems are better.

    • is that true? pq las conexiones tmbn pueden espandir enfermedades

  • Is closer better?

    • Ecosistemas q estan geograficamente cerca tienen la posib de ser atacadas x el mismo catastrofe.

• Principles of systematic conservation planning: C A R E principles!!!

  • Connected: captures relationships (para favorecer la recolonizacion x larvas o propagulos, mas conec entre habitat diferentes tmb es imp para q las sps completen sus life cycle en dif type ecosyst)
  • Adequate: viable in the long term (Aseguarar la long term persistence de sps, dando los req de cada sp)
  • Representative: a bit of everything (all the sps and all the habitats)
  • Efficient: cheaply as possible
  • No hay que ser Codiciosos!, escoge la menor cant de areas protegidas pero que sean eficientes, protegiendo a todas las sps!, no busques el area q proteja la mayor cant de sps, sino la COMPLEMENTARIEDAD de areas.

Systematic Conservation Planning in the Real World

It is more complex!

• Objective Function:

  • Minimise the overall "cost" - but differemt sites can cost different amounts
  • Subject to the "constraint" that all biodiversity targets are met (Ex: 20% of each habitat type, or habitat for 300 dugongs).

• Plantear sub areas con diferentes restricciones, por ejemplo:

  • Verde: NO TAKE Areas, donde no se puede hacer nada, super protegido
  • Rojo: Si se pueden hacer actividaddes de recreacion y turismo
  • Amarillo: Areas donde solo se permite la pesca artesanal de la comunidad, NO DE FUENTES EXTRANJERAS.
  • Considerar CONECTIVIDAD Y AGRUPAMIENTO de areas, que sean las minimas pero que garantizen la conectividad para una supervivencia a largo plazo de las sps.

Land and Habitat Management for Tropical Coastal Ecosystems

Land-based activities affect marine ecosystems

• Human activites: sea based (overfishing shipping)
• human act: on the land (logging (tala) and agriculture)
• Land based run off come like: nutrients (N and P), sediments, pesticides.
• cause: eutrofizacion, hipoxia, blooms, outcomes of several sps.
• sedimentation: reduces light, reduce mangrove growth (Excesive sedimentation), bury seedlings, cause mortality.
• pesticides: cause die back of mangroves, coral bleaching.
• Para conservar un ecosistema marino, no solo basta en regular las actividades en mar, sino tmbn las terrestres que afectan al mar, como la deforestacion, pesticidas, descarga de efluentes y nutrientes, uso de suelo.

Integrated land-sea conservation planning

• Los objetivos siempre seran:

  • Threat based: reduce the amount of threat to a marine ecosystem or sps.
  • Outcome based: maintain or improve the state of a marine ecosystem or sps.

• how the reductio of threats impacts for ex coral reef?. search for a model that helps to know how that ecosystem will improve, at what level of threat. MODELING. -- lead to an informed management decision.

  • Threats, actions, costs, invest. - What conservation actions give u the most for ur money?

  • Threats:

    • Identify land and sea based threats to marine ecosystem
    • determine impact of each threat on marine ecosystem

  • Actions:

    • Identify conservation actions to abate threats
    • Calculate area available to implement actions
    • Determine the effectiveness of actions at abating threats to ecosystem.

  • Cost:

    • Calculate the cost of implementng and maintaning actions

  • Invest:

    • Calculate the rate of return on investment (ROI)
    • Identify constraints (budgets or area targets)
    • Invest in actions where the ROI is highest, given constraints.
• Marxan systematic conservation planning software.

• Read: Land-Sea PLanning in the great barrier reef --> guardado en carpeta de QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY

Climate Adaptation

Understanding Climate Change Impacts: Using observations

• Extreme conditions in a long period of time:

• El Niño/La Niña:

  • bleaching

• warmer yrs:

  • sps move to cooler regions

• thermal outfalls from power plants:

  • proxy for warming temperatures.
  • changes in sps compositions: less algae, more grazers.
• CO2 seeps in coral reefs: acidification

• Observed responses to past climate change:

  • geologic (long) time scales
  • fossils and environmental data

• Observations from recent decades: en los ult 50 años, la temp ha aumentado entre 0.5 a 1 C.

  • Range shifts to cooler areas with warming temp.
  • earlier ocurrence of seasonally timed events with warming (blooming much earlier bcs the sea is warmer)
  • inland migration of coastal habitat with sea level rise

Understanding Climate Change Impacts: Using Models

• Why use models in ecology?

  • To study things that cannot be manipulated in experiments.
  • To understand impacts over large areas or long time scales
  • To discover which processes we understand vs. those we dont understand.

• The niche of sps: range of environmental conditions in which sps lives.

  • a simple niche model, optimum, tolerance range: ejes de temp y abundancia.
  • can predict changes in sps distribution based on changing conditions.

• Sps distribution models: relate the present distr of a sps to the environmental conditions

  • warm areas, cool areas, probability of a sps (dangeroys jellyfish - alertar ppl)
  • use statistics to look at relationship between environment and ocurrence: observations where the sp is and where isnt.
  • probability of ocurrence based on temperature (for example)

  • Then...

    • simulate changes in env cond
    • use the relationship between the sps and the env conditions
    • PREDICT where the sps may occur in the future.

Modelling Sea Level Rise

• 2100, 1 metro mas alto (the SLR)
• conseq: menos luz en coral reefs, menos sps, baja pesqueria.
• We cant stop the SLR, but what the researchs showns is the we can use the best scientific information to inform management plans for our coastal zones and this can help ensure the best possible future for both: human beings and the coastal habitats that we rely on.

Management of Climate Change Impacts on Marine Ecosystems

• Management: maintenance of ecosystems servicesfor future human generations: provision of fish, food, infrastructure, services.

• how do we improve conditions for sps threatened?

  • multiple stressors!--> managing.
  • Unmanageable stressors: co2, warming, slr.freq of hurracaines.
  • Manageable stressors: overfishing, crecimiento de infrastructuras, dragado, efluentes.--> HOW WE DEVELOP THE COASTLINE
  • PROTECTION IN REFUGIA!: protect areas.
  • Protection in future habitats: the ones that are more resilient to changes and also Identify where sps will cocur in the future (using models).

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY (WCS) wcs.org

The conservation solution actually isnt simply about understanding how sps and ecosystems are going to respond to climate change, but how humans are actually going to respond to climate change bcs humans are predominately the threat.

Research Methods

Field Methods

Introduction to Field Methods for studying TCE

• Include replication of your measurements, calculate the mean and standard deviation: to understand if there is a real differences.
• how much replication?: trade off: precision vs effort (dms replicas, seria mucho esfuerzo y costo), so Statistical power analysis!.
• Representation and control: which area?, escoger areas control (q no estan contaminadas), con el area experimental (cerca a la zona de contaminacion), Aparte de eso, tener replicas cerca del control y cerca del area contaminada.

• Methodologies for benthic organisms:

  • quadrats
  • bell transacts.
  • line intercept method
  • measuring rugosity.

Methodologies for fish and mobile organisms

• problems: they hide bcs of you, some of them feed at day other at night.
• Introducir video cameras, count fish, estimate abundance, freq of their behaviour, presence or absence.
• Physiological measurements of ecosystem health (temp, ph, sediments, photsintesis).

• Remote Sensing and Large Scale Patterns,

• catlingseaviewsurvey.com

• Any methodlogy used must have:

  • Adequate sampling
  • Representative sampling
  • Representative control sites

• Fiel data and physiological measurements together: holistic understanding of ecosystems.

Experimetnal Design

• Accurate and precise observations - near the truth.
• Factor: type of treatment.
• Level: dif amounts of the factor

• Exp design can include more than 1 factor:

  • 1 factorial desing
  • multi facotrial desing

• Fixed factor: when the levels under study are the only levels of intrest.

  • sex of an animal

• Random factor: when the levels under study are a random sample from a larger population and the goal of the study is to make a statement regarding the larger population.

  • genotypes of a population

Remote Sensing

Using Satellites to Understand Coastal Ecosystems

• Any environmental science and management requieres an understanding of:

  • Biological and physical features present
  • How and why these features chenge over time
• Maps: from field surveys, from satellite images.

• Remote sensing: concepts:

  • remote sensing provides an ability to map biological and physical features.
  • they mao what is on the water surface, column, or on the benthos (marcoalgae, corals, sediments)

• Remote sensing provides:

  • an ability to map and measure how biological and physical features change.

• Transforming an image to a map:

  • Select the area to map
  • acqure image
  • remove atmospheric noise
  • remove water noise
  • correct position
  • select target to map
  • add field data
  • map biotic features
  • final map.

• Information types for monitoring and management: 3 types of info:

  • Composition

    • Whats on the water surface?
    • Whats in the water column?
    • What is on submerged surfaces?
    • What is on the land?

  • Biophysical properties

    • vegetation: biomass, chemistry
    • water bodies: depth, temp, etc.

  • Changes in Composition and biophysical properties over time.

Remote Sensing: Earth Observation Science

• Satellite Sensor Characteristics:

  • Sun synchronous polar orbiting satellite platform: north-south through the poles, same time of day and night (600-800km height).
  • Geostationary earth orbit: orbit is above same spot on earth (35-40 000km height).
• Differnent satellites and sensors give u dif scales or level of detail about the Earth's surface.

• Caract de sensores:

  • Cuanta area cubre 1 pixel, (1 px = 250 m, o 1 px=1km)
  • Different spectral bands: sombrean un pixel con diferentes porcentajes de colores, esto viene de la luz refllejada x la sup terrestre y cada color se le asigna a un aspedto fisico o biologico diferente. --> Spectral signature.
  • Temporal: how often the satellite or sensor comes back over a specific area. Determinado x la altura a la cual el sensor vuela, o x la orbita del satelite.

TED Talk: Ecology From the Air

Mapping and Monitoring Changes in Coastal Ecosystems:

• Understanding and managing any ecosystem requieres info on its composition, biophysical properties and how they are changing over time.
• Remote sensing anables essential ecosystem info to be measured, mapped and monitored.

Google Earth Engine tool!!!!!!1