CNIC: US-Turkey Collaborative Research to Study Multiple Climate Stressors on Phytoplankton Community Dynamics in Subtropical, Eutrophic Coastal Regions

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge LA

Investigators

Abstract

Technical description Drs. Sibel Bargu, Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University and Nihayet Bizsel, Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology, Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey have initiated a new international collaboration to study questions relating to the influence of nutrients and temperatures on phytoplankton dynamics. The focus is on changes in phytoplankton diversity, the related functions, and productivity in space and time with the goal to understand the impact of climate change on coastal marine ecosystems. The sites selected for comparative study are two subtropical, eutrophic coastal regions in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Aegean Sea. Aquatic systems are exposed to a variety of impacts that originate from both natural and human-induced stressors. With climate change, the temporal and spatial growth conditions for primary producers and their species-specific adaptations will be altered in coastal waters around the world. Although similar hydrological environments in different oceans are expected to have similar phytoplankton assemblages, human induced and climate related stressors such as: changes in nutrient bioavailability and increase in temperature could yield geographic differences in phytoplankton species and genetic diversity, their productivity, and other associated functions in their environment. The Izmir Bay and Louisiana Coastal waters are the selected sites for improving understanding of the eco-physiological mechanisms that determine ecosystem responses to natural or anthropogenic stressors within the context of phytoplankton ecology. Broader description Comparing the similarities and dissimilarities of the two systems in the context of phytoplankton ecology offers significant opportunities to understand the impact of climate change on coastal marine ecosystems. Beyond the scientific contributions, the project will initiate a promising, new bilateral collaboration with Turkish researchers, offer a unique international research opportunity to an undergraduate student from Louisiana State University, and will contribute significantly to the development of a follow-on large-scale, multidisciplinary research project that will be submitted to the Biological Oceanography Program in GEO/Ocean Sciences.