The vERSO project aims to study ecosystem responses to global change in the Southern Ocean using a multiscale approach. The project involves multiple Belgian and international partners [LIST OF PARTNERS] and will assess the impact of environmental changes on benthic taxa through various work packages, including studying connectivity and adaptation, trophic ecology, sensitivity and resilience, and integrative modeling. The goals are to better understand how Southern Ocean ecosystems may be modified by interacting stressors like temperature, pH, nutrients and food availability and to provide policy recommendations on the project's findings.

1. vERSO
Polar Day, RBINS
Feb18, 2014

2. and another Accronym…
vERSO: Ecosystem Responses to global change: a
multiscale approach in the Southern Ocean

3. Who’s onboard (partners)
•
ULB (lead): Chantal De Ridder, Bruno Danis & Philippe Dubois
•
UGent: Ann Van Reusel
•
KUL: Filip Volckaert
•
VUB: Frank Dehairs
•
ULg: Gilles Lepoint
•
RBINS: Anton Van de Putte
•
MNHN: Marc Eléaume & Nadia Améziane
•
UB: Bruno David & Thomas Saucède

4. Who’s onboard (followup)
•
Hilde Eggermont (Belgian Biodiversity Platform, BE)
•
François André (SPF Environment, BE)
•
Steven Chown (Monash University, AUS)
•
Huw Griffiths (British Antarctic Survey, UK)
•
Julian Gutt (Alfred Wegener Institute, DE)
•
Guillaume Lecointre (Museum National d’Histoire
Naturelle, FR)

5. Context
•
SO experiencing fast-paced environmental changes
•
Potential far-reaching modifications of ecosystem functions
•
Multiple, interacting stressors: t°, pH, sedimentation,
nutrients, food resources,…
•
Little information on benthic systems
•
RoI: WAP and TA
•
New SCAR SRPs (AntERA, AntECO)

6. Objectives
•
Assess the impact on various benthic taxa
•
Multiscale, integrated approach
•
Research on connectivity and adaptation, trophic
ecology, sensitivity and resilience, modelisation

7. Workpackages
•
WP1: Connectivity and Adaptation
•
WP2: Trophic Ecology
•
WP3: Sensitivity and Resilience
•
WP4: Integrative modelling
•
WP5: Valorisation

8. WP1: Connectivity and Adaptation
•
identify the contemporaneous and past connectivities in nematods,
amphipods, echinoderms and fishes
•
identify and understand the dispersal-related processes that explain
the distribution patterns and biodiversity
•
assess relative importance of environmental and dispersal-related
explanatory variables in determining distribution and biodiversity
patterns.
•
microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA markers
•
specific spatio-temporal molecular patterns will be used to expand
the predictive power and resolution of the models

9. WP2: Trophic Ecology
•
delineate general trophic web structure and carbon pathways
•
assess trophic variability
•
estimate the adaptative potential of communities to future
trophic changes
•
characterise primary production and fluxes to the sea floor,
energy flow through the benthic food web and trophic niches
•
stable isotope tracing experiments or natural isotopic ratios
and fatty acid compositions

10. WP3: Sensitivity and Resilience
•
assess the combined effects of temperature, acidification, and food quality
and quantity on nutrient fluxes, metabolism and functional structure
•
prokaryotes, nematodes, amphipods and echinoids
•
food sources enriched in heavy stable isotopes of C and N will be used to
trace their fate in the trophic web.
•
characterise energy metabolism and acid-base balance
•
output of these experiments will be used in the interpretation of WP2 and
WP4
•
resilience analysis based on available long-term data and on modelling
using sensitivity, connectivity and trophic ecology data

11. WP4: Integrative modelling
•
run predictive models
•
species distribution models (SDMs) and dynamic models
•
integrate biogeographical, connectivity, trophic, sensitivity
and environmental data
•
fine-scale data will be used to validate predictive SDMs
•
dual role in vERSO: science driver and integrator

12. WP5: Valorisation
•
publication of scientific and Data papers
•
transfer information to policy-makers, through Antarctic Environments
Portal (www.environments.aq), CCAMLR, or the ATCM - CEP
•
mentor young scientists and ongoing networking activities with APECS
•
increase the use of new tools, methods and technologies
•
create and maintain an attractive website targeting different
(non-)expertise groups
•
organise vERSO symposium, back-to-back with SCAR Biology
Symposium 2017

13. More info
•
http://biomar.ulb.ac.be/projects/verso/
•
dedicated website yet to be deployed… stay tuned!