Sommaire

    Mis à jour le 08/07/22

    The Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) is characterized by the presence of an active coastal upwelling system supporting intense coastal fisheries and aquaculture activities, but it also hosts pronounced and shallow oxygen minimum zones and variability related to ENSO events. Thus, coastal resources experience important fluctuations of environmental factors sometimes leading to extreme situations (marine heat waves, hypoxia…). A comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of such extreme events (drivers, intensity, frequency) and their consequences on the resources is still highly lacking and key to propose sustainable management strategies. The characteristics and the relative ecological importance of each type of events may vary within the considered area (sub-region, type of resource…). Tackling these questions efficiently requires both a multidisciplinary research effort and the comparison between different in-situ conditions and types of resources.

    The IRN activities will promote an integrative multi-disciplinary, multi-scale, and multi-sites (Peru, Equator, Mexico and Chile) approach based on the complementarity between field observations, laboratory experimentations, and physical, biogeochemical and ecological modelling. In coastal “laboratory sites” we aim at implementing high frequency field monitoring of environmental factors (temperature, oxygen, salinity, pH, fluorescence…) in order to document the in-situ variability of the environmental conditions experienced by living organisms and characterize the intensity and the frequency of extreme events. We will especially promote the development and use of hand-held and low-cost monitoring instruments. High resolution regional hydrodynamic/biogeochemical model will be implemented to characterize the drivers and dynamics of extreme events. Field monitoring and models will be used to design realistic laboratory experiments in order to evaluate the effect of extreme events on the physiological responses of coastal resources. The effects of these stressors will be integrated into DEB-based models to quantify effects of environmental variability on resource’s life traits.


    The IRN is built on active existing collaborations and will combine a wide range of expertises (oceanography, ecology, physiology, biochemistry, modelling) aiming at addressing common scientific questions. Sharing approaches, methodologies, tools and experience, will be achieved by the organization of annual workshops. The GDRI-Sud will promote links between research and training by supporting mobilities for student co-tutoring within the consortium.

    Période : 2021-2024