Project

MEECE - Marine Ecosystem Evolution in a Changing Environment

Funding body

EU FP7

Website

http://www.meece.eu/

Project abstract

MEECE uses predictive models that consider the full range of drivers to explore the responses of the marine ecosystem in a holistic manner, rather than driver by driver as has been done in the past. MEECE will explore the impacts of both climate drivers (acidification, light, circulation and temperature) and anthropogenic drivers (fishing, pollution, invasive species and eutrophication).

This innovative approach will help scientists and decision makers to respond to multiple driver impacts with appropriate, knowledge-based, management applications. MEECE will also go a step further and provide methodologies to evaluate these new decision making and management tools.

• Review the impacts of the drivers on the marine ecosystem.

• Scenario test the impacts of drivers on the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems.

• Develop indicators of ecosystem status.

• Develop a coupled model system to predict ecosystem response from plankton to fish.

• Create a model library of ecosystem modules couplers and decision support tools for management concerning the EC Marine Strategy, EC Maritime Policy and the EC Common Fisheries.

Within MEECE SAHFOS will:

• WP1 (Tasks: T1.1, T1.4, and T1.6) - compiling a plankton data set for model validation and providing information on non indigenous plankton

• WP4 (Tasks: T4.1, T 4.3) - contributing to the hindcast validation of end-to-end North Sea models (e.g. ECOSMO, ECOSIM_ECOPATH)

SAHFOS researchers

Dr Priscilla Licandro