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Professor, Department of Sciences, Faculty of Liberal Arts | Adolfo Ibáñez UniversityKeynote – Long Time Series and broad Spatial ScalesBernado is a marine ecologist with a strong interest in understanding how physical processes influence ecological processes ranging from larval dispersal to population and community dynamics. For nearly 30 years, he has studied coastal communities worldwide over large spatial and temporal scales, with a special focus on upwelling ecosystems. More recently he has shifted his focus to the study of the co-evolutionary processes between humans and the coastal environment over even longer temporal scales, working with colleagues ranging from archaeologists to sociologists. Currently he is a principal investigator on two large initiatives dedicated to the study of the socioecology of coastal environments, the Millenium Institute SECOS, and the Millenium Nucleus UPWELL. |
Presentation:
Humans and climate are key drivers of the ecology of rocky shore intertidal communities. Using 25 years of ecological and environmental monitoring at field sites between 28-36°S, and cross-Holocene environmental and archaeological records from shell middens at 31°S and 25°S, we aimed to understand long-term, large-scale changes in the dynamics of ecological communities along the Southeastern Pacific ocean. Through major environmental changes across the Holocene species composition of archaeological shell, middens remained relatively stable, yet variation in richness, diversity and eveness of mollusks was largely associated to technology. On the other hand, long-term environmental and ecological monitoring of rocky shore intertidal communities revealed striking effects of recent climatic variation. The progressive poleward migration of the South Pacific Anticyclon since the mid 2000’s has changed the coastal upwelling regime and have shifted regional patterns of larval arrival rates. The changes in the abundance of non-fished dominant sessile species are already appreciated in landings of artisanal fisheries targeting closely related species. Together, our results indicate that the strong effects that humans can have on local ecological processes are bound to interact with large, climatic-scale processes that can shift bottom-up processes and cascade into fishers’ decisions.
Presentation Slides – Bernado Broitman
