Prsentation PowerPoint

The EuroMarine Research & Education Vision

Euromarine General Assembly, Bremen 17-19 January 2012MARBEFMARBEFMGEEUR-OCEANSBuilding Scenarios for marine ecosystems under anthropogenic and Natural forcings/ Biogeochemical cyclesOmics resources and tools for marine organisms and marine ecosystemsMarine Biodiversity and Ecosystem FunctioningFrom Genes to Ecosystems in a changing OceanClimate change, Acidification, Anthropogenic impact, invasive species, Habitat disruption, Open Oceans, coastal systems, interface earth/sea

METHODOLOGY FOR A COMMON EUROMARINE RESARCH VISION3 days workshop in July 2011 in Roscoff ~ 30 scientists from the 3 NoEsDistributed in 3 working groups integrate and help cross-fertilizingWG1: Understanding Marine Ecosystems for Healthy OceansWG2: Building Scenarios for Changing OceansWG3: Marine Science as a provider of new concepts and as a driver for innovationDraft strategic document2nd workshop in Ste, France in February 2012Research ChallengesEXPLORING MARINE DIVERSITY FOR PROVIDING NEW CONCEPTS AND FOR DRIVING INNOVATIONIMPROVING UNDERSTANDING OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONNING AND NATURAL CAPITALUNDERSTANDING AND RESTORING ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING AND HEALTHBUILDING SCENARIOS FOR MARINE ECOSYSTEMS UNDER CHANGING OCEANS

EXPLORING MARINE DIVERSITY FOR PROVIDING NEW CONCEPTS AND FOR DRIVING INNOVATION 1/2

Eukaryotic tree of life (Baldauf 2003)Develop forefront knowledgeEvolutionary Biology, Developmental biology, Cell biology, Neurobiology, Environmental BiologyImprove understanding of :Major biological and biogeochemical processes in coastal seas & oceans (Omics)Complexities of biological interactions in the marine environmentRegulatory mechanisms operating from molecular to ecosystems (epigenetics)Develop new biological models and promote the development of ecologically-relevant models (phenotypic plasticity)System Biology, Modelling

Facilitate InnovationBlue BiotechnologyFood (e.g. sustainable aquaculture)Energy (e.g biofuel, biogaz)Health (e.g novel drugs)Environment (e.g non toxic antifouling) Industrial products and processes (e.g biocatalysts, bipolymers)Horizon 2020 prioritiesEXPLORING MARINE DIVERSITY FOR PROVIDING NEW CONCEPTS AND FOR DRIVING INNOVATION 2/2

IMPROVING UNDERSTANDING OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONNING AND NATURAL CAPITALUnderstanding the capacity of marine ecosystems to deliver goods and services to society and quantify anthropogenic impacts

Elucidate the links between marine diversity, ecosystem function and provision of ecosystems goods and servicesQuantify and model the capacity of marine ecosystems to deliver goods and servicesUnderstanding the combined effects of global change (acidification, global warming, sea level rise, hypoxia etc..) and anthropogenic perturbations (deep sea mining, gaz exploitation, invasions, fishing, aquaculture) on marine biodiversity and marine ecosystems services Support Marine planning, define and prioritise management mechanisms and policy strategies

Understand the impact of different human activities and environmental change on marine ecosystems in socio-economic terms

UNDERSTANDING AND RESTORING ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING AND HEALTHHow to value ecosystem Health?Define Ecosystem health: (modeling, indicators)Define the capacity of marine organisms to adapt to environmental and anthropogenic changes over spatial and temporal scales use of Omics approaches on ecological-relevant modelsDefine the role of viral and microbial ecology in ecosystem functioning and healthDefine the potential role of marine biodiversity in providing resilience in the provision of ecosystem servicesApplication of the ecosystem health concept in ecosystem conservation and restorationHow to keep marine ecosystem healthy? How to restore damaged marine ecosystems? How to restore depleted resources?

Development of Marine Ecological EngineeringDevelopment of Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture (IMTA) Development of the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries and Aquaculture

Restauration of damaged marine ecosystems NEED FOR BASIC RESEARCH, SURVEY & MONITORING AND INTEGRATIVE APPROACHES

8BUILDING SCENARIOS FOR MARINE ECOSYSTEMS UNDER CHANGING OCEANS (1/2)Combine disciplines to address complex questions- Evaluation of processes within the genes to ecosystems continuum- Use Physiology and Omics approaches for model building- Develop system biology approaches for parametrisation (data and metrics)

Use of indicators as predictors of responses of species and communities to environmental changes includes an understanding of the underlying biological concepts and evolutionary adaptation and plasticity as variables and limits for modelsDefine and Implement a strategy for the next generation ocean models Develop marine ecosystem/ecoscope data basesDevelop a strategy to validate, test, compare and combine different modelsDevelop a unified community marine biochemical/ecosystem Framework by understanding key processesDEFINE A COMMON AND INTEGRATED MODELLING FRAMEWORKA set of coherent, plausible stories designed to address complex questions about our uncertain future

BUILDING SCENARIOS FOR MARINE ECOSYSTEMS UNDER CHANGING OCEANS (2/2)Develop and use Narrative scenarios to link scientific issues and to inform Marine resource management and PublicNarratives scenarios make use of a variety of knowledge sources in order to explore potential ecological futures by telling stories about events that could happen in the future (50-100 years) and what their potential consequences on ecosystems and society may be (see IPCC ): Different socio-economic trends different scenariosProvide a European Marine Focal Point and Resource Centre for IPBES

Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem ServicesAn IPCC for biodiversity: Single, credible, recognized and independent international scientific expertise in the field of biodiversity , created on June 2010 www.ipbes.net

Euromarine consortium will take a leading role in contributing to the IPBES initiative to build scenarios for marine ecosystems in the context of Global Change as an advisory panel of expertise On multi-sectorial programs relevant to narrative guided future state projectionsFor guiding research input into higher stakeholders/advisory bodiesBUILDING SCENARIOS FOR MARINE ECOSYSTEMS: a summaryKnowledgeModelsProjectionsNarrative scenariosNew cross disciplinary process modelsFreeze existing models developmentNext model frameworkRepositery1st ensemble generation projections2nd ensemble generation projectionsFreeze new models development1st generation2nd generationTime scaleStakeholdersevaluationevaluation

- Concepts, experiments, observations, socio-economics- Omics, Physiology, Evolutionary ecology, Marine diversity, BiogeochemistryGenes-Cells- EcosystemsParallell development of knowledge, models, projections and narrative scenarios11LETS TRY TO SUMMARIZE A BIT.

Innovation

Understand, modeling

Conserve, restore, plan and manage

Develop knowledge

OMICS

Build Scenarios

New concepts in Biology and Ecology

Strengths: Critical mass, high level of expertise, visibility, willingness, organization, unity

Weaknesses:

Suboptimal communication among broad disciplinary domains Insufficient number of cross-disciplinary links to education necessary to address larger system-based questions. Difficulty in maintaining long-term collaboration due to funding cycles and fragmented nature of funding calls that may exclude key areasCurrent lack of validated models that can inform the IPBES

IMPLEMENTATION of the VISION 1/2

Threats:

The current trend towards short-term economic gains at the expense of fundamental research that feeds the long-term, innovation pipeline.

Needs:

Improved communication tools for raising public awareness and influence policy decision makingDevelopment and implementation of a long-term integrative framework for responding to the challenges of the ocean in a global change contextIntegrated training of the next generation of marine scientistsIMPLEMENTATION of the VISION 2/2Educational ChallengesRestructure graduate programmes that will better integrate species and process approaches in order to implement a genuine systems approach

Create the distributed infrastructure necessary among universities and institutes that will allow next-generation scientists to particpate and be rewarded in interdisciplinary projects

Link fundamental research to societal priority areas (food, energy, environment, health, industry) --BUT recognize that fundamental research is essential to the applied-pipeline

Develop a team science approach by embracing skills and concepts from other disciplines

Foster appreciation, linkages and respect between fundamental and applied research trajectories.

Develop communication skills that will improve networking among disciplines and cultures.

Collaborative research is the futureWhat does the educational landscape need to be?

From compartmentalizedTo distributed and integratedEducational ChallengesRestructure graduate programmes that will better integrate organismal and process approaches in order to implement a genuine systems approach

Traditional streamingOceanographyPhysicalChemicalBiologicalMarine Ecology/BiologyBlue water

Community ecologyBEFPopulation ecologyEvolutionary EcologyGenetics/GenomicsEcosystem approachClimateSpeciality domains, e.g., coral reefs, kelp forests, rocky shores, soft shoresBiodiversitySystematicsBiogeographyBEFConservationInvasive speciesPollutionEconomic valuationPolicyCoastalSpeciality domainse.g., water columnDeep sea, vents, abyssalBlue water + coastalFisheries + AquacultureBSc-MSc-PhDEcosystem approachEcosystem end-to-endPopulation dynamics & Global changeEcosystem ServicesExample result from traditional streamingHow does the open ocean ecosystem function?

Process drivers: Nutrient cycling, energy flow, foodweb dynamics, light, temperature and other physical factors; organisms themselves often conceived as a compartment, e.g., primary producers.

Species interactions: competition, predation, phenology, succession, life cycle, bloom dynamics and other biotic factors; physical processes often overlooked; e.g., key phytopankton species not initially appreciated for their differential functionality.

Historical processes: evolutionary changes, biodiversity (phylogenetic depth); ecologists dismissal of the role of evolutionary change, e.g., selection, adaptation, effective population sizes to ensure resilienceEcosystem approach of the oceanographers, biogeochemistsCommunity approach of coastal marine biologists from ecological theory perspectivePopulation geneticist, single-species approach

Artificial compartmentalization, static quality, with little possibility for interaction and synthesis19Proposed streamingDevelop a network process question.

Description, function, experiment, modelSpatial-temporal scaling issuesLevel: genes, individuals, populations, communities, ecosystemsTools: ship based, engineering, physics, chemistry, biology, molecular biology, systematics, modellingIntegration of species-process approaches to understand ecosystem functions

Understanding complexity as it applies to marine ecosystems

Combining models with ecological theory, etc.

20Educational ChallengesDevelop team science by embracing skills and concepts from other disciplines (within and outside of science)

Specialist in 2 fields and basic competency in 1-2 othersAt least one cross-competency outside of scienceBSCMScPhDPost-docSr. ScientistRestructuring the educational landscape of marine sciences

Educational ChallengesCreate the distributed infrastructure necessary among universities and institutes that will allow next-generation scientists to participate in interdisciplinary projects

EMBRC and ASSEMBLE programmes are a first stepGenomics TechnologiesInformaticsHigh performance Culture facilitiesMesocosmsSpecialized instrumentationCulture and tissue banksClimate modellingEuropean PhD program in Marine Sciences via Erasmus Mundus or Marie Curie Programmes (2014+)Environment (systems ecology, modelling, conservation, building scenarios)Food (sustainable ecosystem-based fisheries, aquaculture)Energy (biofuels)Health (blue medicine)Industry (blue biotech, omics)ExampleEducational ChallengesDevelop communication skills that will improve networking among disciplines and cultures

Foster appreciation, linkages and respect between fundamental and applied research trajectories

Mobility programmes for PhDs, Post-docs, Technicians, Sr. Researchers for cross training in specific competenciesVia: Euromarine Fellowships administered by POGO-SCOR 2012-2013. Call in April.IMPLEMENTATION of the educational vision Strengths: -Critical mass, high level of expertise, visibility, willingness, organisation, unity-Euromarine consortium represents ~75% of marine science degree programs in Europe

Weaknesses: -Practicalities of how to coordinate funding, quality assurance which encounter many legal obstacles in different countries Threats: -Funding cuts for fundamental research that directly affects education-Instability of funding mechanisms between universities and EU, i.e., ball in your court

Needs: -Greater flexibility among universities to develop joint-degree programmes-Stronger quantitative backgrounds-Long term EU support to develop a multi-stream PhD programme in marine sciences -Longer-term mobility schemes, i.e., > 3-yr funding cycles. -Change in the granting and reward system that will allow academic scientists to work in team projects without threatening their academic career advancement.

?What Euromarine (WP6) is doing: -Review of BSc, MSc and PhD curricula-Development of active database resource for degree and training programs in marine sciences-Development of pro-active curriculum trajectories-Establishment of multi-level mobility programs for specific competency training-Will apply for a European PhD program with at least three streams (ITN or EM) in 2013

Input we would like to have from you? -What can your institution offer?-What ideas do you have ?-Are there additional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that should be considered?THANK YOU