Complete title: NaturE-based solutioNs using positive species interactions in seaGrasses to reduce locAl stressors and nourish ecosystem resistance to climate chanGE
Acronym: ENGAGE
Keywords: #Symbiosis, #MarineBiology, #MicrobialEcology, #Ecotoxicology, #Geochemistry, #NaturebasedSolutions
Coordinator/Lead Partner: Genoa Marine Centre, SZN, Italy
Principal Investigator(s): Ulisse Cardini
Partnership: UNIPI, UNICA, SZN
Funding body and amount: MUR, Progetti di Ricerca di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale (PRIN)
Overall funding: 241.692 €
Funding to GMC-SZN: 99.955 €
Grant period: October 2023 – November 2025
Project in a nutshell:
Healthy seagrass meadows are essential to sustain biodiversity and functioning of Mediterranean coastal systems. In addition, marine plants may mitigate the impacts of global changes, such as seawater warming and acidification (i.e., climate rescuing effect).
Thus, preserving and restoring these ecosystems is recognized as a promising nature-based solution to the climate-driven biodiversity crisis. At the same time, increasing evidence suggests that positive interactions with invertebrates and the microbial community are vital to sustain seagrass ecosystems functioning and survival. Nonetheless, such species interactions received sparse attention in these systems and are often not included in conservation and restoration plans. In ENGAGE, we assess how the resistance and resilience to global stressors (e.g., seawater warming and acidification) of key habitat-forming seagrasses is affected by the presence/absence of positive associations with invertebrates and their bacteria. Further, we investigate whether these associations are able to reduce the intensity of local/regional stressors as well as the cascading community effects, to evaluate the effectiveness of seagrass-invertebrate associations as nature-based solutions to
confront prominent societal challenges in coastal systems. We focus on two study systems: i) Posidonia oceanica and the sponge Chondrilla nucula and ii) Cymodocea nodosa and the lucinid bivalve Loripes orbiculatus. In each of these model associations, we assess whether the organisms alone vs the association are able to reduce levels of local/regional stressors, such as organic and inorganic pollutants, alone or in combination with global stressors.
We simultaneously investigate diversity and function of host-associated and free-living microbes, to evaluate their role in promoting the success of the association and the provision of key services.
Contacts: ulisse.cardini(at)szn.it
To know more: