Coastal diversity: key species and food webs
Coasts and the adjacent shelf seas are among the most productive, yet also the most
vulnerable ecosystems in the world. Species composition and biodiversity in coastal seas
are changing dramatically as a result of over-fishing, species invasions and global warming
processes. In order to appreciate the implications of these changes, we require a
fundamental understanding of ecosystem complexity, structure, and function. This will not
only advance our scientific knowledge on ecosystem processes and allow biodiversity
evaluation, but also will provide the basis for ecological effect assessments.
Implementation
Despite the fact that research on biodiversity has increased enormously in recent years, the role of biodiversity in the functioning of a system is mostly unexplored. Hence, our overall goal is to appraise coastal biodiversity and reveal both its dependence and its impact on ecosystem functioning. We combine long-term observations on biodiversity, population dynamics and succession in coastal communities with laboratory and field experiments on the ecology of coastal communities and physiology of key species from benthic and pelagic systems. Ultimately, the results of this multidisciplinary approach will be applicable to the development of ecosystem management tools and strategies.
The complexity and vastness of the topic of coastal diversity precludes all- encompassing research. Thus, in this package we focus on four topics with which we address the challenge of investigating and defining pivotal processes and key organisms involved in coastal diversity:
- Habitats and biodiversity
- Hidden biodiversity
- Adaptive diversity
- Food-webs and functional biodiversity
