Seagrass and macroalgal community dynamics and performance under environmental change

• Applicant: Mirta Teichberg, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Ecology and Biodiversity of Plants and Ecosystems ; Organismic Interactions, Chemical Ecology and Microbiomes of Plant Systems ; Plant Physiology
• Term: from 2015 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 278616556

Shallow water coastal systems are inhabited by marine benthic primary producers that provide critical habitat and food for many marine organisms. Seagrasses and macroalgae offer stabilization of sediments and protection against erosion and turbidity, and enhancement of biogeochemical processes including oxygen production, carbon sequestration, and nutrient filtration and cycling. However, local and global environmental changes are rapidly increasing, leading to increased nutrient and sediment inputs, reduction of consumers, and increased temperature and ocean acidification which may impact these shallow water coastal systems. As research examining impacts of environmental change on seagrasses and macroalgal shallow water systems focuses primarily on temperate latitudes, major knowledge gaps exist on functioning of tropical systems. This project aims to understand and predict tropical shallow water seagrass and macroalgal community dynamics and performance under changing environments by 1) determining temporal and spatial distribution, abundance, and biodiversity of seagrass and macroalgal communities in relation to different environmental parameters, 2) examining biological and physiological responses of seagrasses and macroalgae to abiotic and biotic stressors and competitive interactions between them, and 3) using a trait based approach to predict seagrass and macroalgal community dynamics under environmental change. These goals will be realized through intensive field studies on seagrass and macroalgal shallow water communities in two tropical sites, Bocas del Toro, Panama and Zanzibar, Tanzania currently exposed to increased anthropogenic activities. Sub-sites will be selected where different environmental conditions of nutrients, light, climate and temperature variability, or grazing pressure are evident. In parallel, controlled field, laboratory, and mesocosm experiments will be carried out on seagrass and macroalgal responses to abiotic and biotic factors at the field sites and host institution, ZMT, Germany. All data collected from these studies will be integrated to gain a holistic picture of the combined local and global impacts on these important ecosystems.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Kai Bischof; Professor Dr. Agostino Merico; Professor Dr. Peter Schupp