Biodiversity changes - causes, consequences and management implications

ACRONYM
BIO-C3
Title
Biodiversity changes - causes, consequences and management implications
General information
BIO-C3 will investigate the dynamics of biodiversity in the Baltic Sea, their causes and the consequences for the function of food webs, including implications for biodiversity management policies. Baltic biodiversity is historically dynamic responding to various drivers operating at different time and space scales. Because of low salinity and relatively young age the species diversity is generally low but contains many recent immigrants and glacial relict species. Nevertheless, Baltic food webs sustain many goods and services valued by society. We will investigate functional consequences of ongoing and projected distributional and compositional changes of benthic and pelagic communities with a focus on invasive and resident key species. Using spatial and temporal projections of abiotic/biotic drivers including their interaction (e.g. climate change, eutrophication, species invasions, fisheries) we will assess how biodiversity responds in time, space and along gradients of human impact and hydrography. We will investigate the potential and genetic basis for colonisation and adaptation of species and populations to the Baltic Sea, and how compositional and adaptive changes of Baltic biodiversity affects ecosystem functions with an emphasis on trophic linkage and food web dynamics. Results will feed into impact assessments that guide management policies including improved operationalization of status indicators and guidelines for MPAs.
Start
January, 2014
End
June, 2017
Funding (total)
3667000
Funding (GEOMAR)
693000
Funding body / Programme
    BMBF / EU / BONUS call 2012: viable ecosystem
Coordination
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel (GEOMAR), Germany