Rocky shores are areas of high diversity and productivity providing goods and services. Since hum... more Rocky shores are areas of high diversity and productivity providing goods and services. Since humans are altering nature at an unprecedented rate, producing shifts in important parameters for life such as temperature, habitat availability, water quality, among others, it is expected that species will respond by changing their natural distributions and/or abundances. To understand how species will respond to such changes, it is necessary to learn the processes that determine these patterns. The South American Research Group on Coastal Ecosystems was established to assess marine diversity and biomass along both coasts of South America through an international collaboration. The main goals of SARCE are to: (1) Test hypotheses about latitudinal gradients and patterns of local and regional biodiversity, (2) Identify the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, (3) Assess the effect of environmental gradients and anthropogenic stressors, (4) Carry out capacity building and training activities aimed to solve environmental problems for the benefit of society. The SARCE network has sampled the coasts of nine countries around South America with a standardized protocol in more than 150 sites (2010-2014), ranging from 11º North to 55º South. This chapter provides a description of the biodiversity of the sites sampled by SARCE, along with a review of the uses and services that these ecosystems provide to human populations and the main threats and impacts these uses have caused.
The jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas is the most abundant cephalopod species in the southeastern Pacif... more The jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas is the most abundant cephalopod species in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, which supports the biggest cephalopod fishery in the world. Due to its growing economic importance, the population growth and distributional expansion of this squid is being increasingly studied. Nevertheless, some basic features of the biology of D. gigas are still unknown or have been poorly investigated. In this review we summarize the known information regarding the biology and ecology of this species in the southeastern Pacific Ocean; we focus on the Chilean region in order to propose hypotheses and research lines for a better understanding the life history of this organism. Available data on the size structure, reproduction and genetics of D. gigas allows us to propose hypotheses related to the squid’s life history traits. Based on the current literature and publications of colleagues, we propose two hypotheses regarding the effect of spatial variation on the life history...
Intertidal zones are represented by sand, rock, or the interface between both. Sand flooding is a... more Intertidal zones are represented by sand, rock, or the interface between both. Sand flooding is a periodic physical disturbance affecting sandy beaches and adjacent rocky shores. The interaction of these disturbances with additional, stochastic disturbances is unclear. Here, we investigate the response of intertidal rocky-shore macrobenthic communities to both, periodic and unpredictable disturbances; i.e. seasonal sand flooding and the Maule 8.8 M w mega-earthquake, respectively, in the southern central coast of Chile. A 13-month hierarchical monitoring programme was started in February 2010 (i.e. before the earthquake), and included six intertidal rocky shores nested within “zones” (either affected or not affected by flooding) and within “area” (either the earthquake “rupture” area located 400 km south). The analysis of our beyond BACI design showed different effects of sand floodings and the earthquake on mid-intertidal species richness, abundance, and structure. Species richness...
Rocky shores are areas of high diversity and productivity providing goods and services. Since hum... more Rocky shores are areas of high diversity and productivity providing goods and services. Since humans are altering nature at an unprecedented rate, producing shifts in important parameters for life such as temperature, habitat availability, water quality, among others, it is expected that species will respond by changing their natural distributions and/or abundances. To understand how species will respond to such changes, it is necessary to learn the processes that determine these patterns. The South American Research Group on Coastal Ecosystems was established to assess marine diversity and biomass along both coasts of South America through an international collaboration. The main goals of SARCE are to: (1) Test hypotheses about latitudinal gradients and patterns of local and regional biodiversity, (2) Identify the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, (3) Assess the effect of environmental gradients and anthropogenic stressors, (4) Carry out capacity building and training activities aimed to solve environmental problems for the benefit of society. The SARCE network has sampled the coasts of nine countries around South America with a standardized protocol in more than 150 sites (2010-2014), ranging from 11º North to 55º South. This chapter provides a description of the biodiversity of the sites sampled by SARCE, along with a review of the uses and services that these ecosystems provide to human populations and the main threats and impacts these uses have caused.
The jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas is the most abundant cephalopod species in the southeastern Pacif... more The jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas is the most abundant cephalopod species in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, which supports the biggest cephalopod fishery in the world. Due to its growing economic importance, the population growth and distributional expansion of this squid is being increasingly studied. Nevertheless, some basic features of the biology of D. gigas are still unknown or have been poorly investigated. In this review we summarize the known information regarding the biology and ecology of this species in the southeastern Pacific Ocean; we focus on the Chilean region in order to propose hypotheses and research lines for a better understanding the life history of this organism. Available data on the size structure, reproduction and genetics of D. gigas allows us to propose hypotheses related to the squid’s life history traits. Based on the current literature and publications of colleagues, we propose two hypotheses regarding the effect of spatial variation on the life history...
Intertidal zones are represented by sand, rock, or the interface between both. Sand flooding is a... more Intertidal zones are represented by sand, rock, or the interface between both. Sand flooding is a periodic physical disturbance affecting sandy beaches and adjacent rocky shores. The interaction of these disturbances with additional, stochastic disturbances is unclear. Here, we investigate the response of intertidal rocky-shore macrobenthic communities to both, periodic and unpredictable disturbances; i.e. seasonal sand flooding and the Maule 8.8 M w mega-earthquake, respectively, in the southern central coast of Chile. A 13-month hierarchical monitoring programme was started in February 2010 (i.e. before the earthquake), and included six intertidal rocky shores nested within “zones” (either affected or not affected by flooding) and within “area” (either the earthquake “rupture” area located 400 km south). The analysis of our beyond BACI design showed different effects of sand floodings and the earthquake on mid-intertidal species richness, abundance, and structure. Species richness...
Uploads
Papers by Roger Sepúlveda