GOBCAG
Biological Oceanography and Global Change
What we do
The Biological Oceanography and Global Change group at the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) has been working since 1981 on the effect of physical phenomena on the distribution, physiology, and ecology of marine phyto-, zoo- and ichthyoplankton. His activity has focused mainly on the study of the oceanography of the Canary Current and the African upwelling, although we carried out research in polar (Arctic and Antarctic), temperate (Baltic Sea, Norway, Iceland, ..), and tropical oceans (tropical Atlantic and Pacific).
The group collaborates with researchers both at the national and international level. As a result of these collaborations, we obtained projects financed by official entities such as the European Union, the Spanish Ministry for Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education of the Government of the Canary Islands, as well as by private entities (Norsk Hydro, Norway).
Result of these projects are the more than hundred fifty publications in both national and international journals. This research activity is complemented by the training of PhD students through the program in "Oceanography and Global Change" from the ULPGC.
Research Lines
The Ocean Carbon Pump and Climate Change
Carbon export and sequestration in the ocean is of paramount importance to assess the role of the ocean to mitigate anthropogenic induced climate change. Vertical migrants can enhance the biological carbon pump by transferring carbon at depth due to the so-called active flux. This scarcely known process jointly with particulate (passive) flux is hypothesized to match biogeochemical flux estimates in the ocean. Our group is having a leading role in the assessment of the active flux in the ocean by measuring zooplankton and micronekton migrations using large nets, acoustics, and optical systems, in order to disentangle the role of these organisms in carbon export and sequestration.
Plankton physiology and ecology
Physiological processes such as feeding, egestion, respiration, excretion, and growth are key processes to understand the transfer of energy and matter in the ocean. During the last decades, we have been working on the role of micro-, meso-, macrozooplankton, and micronekton in the ocean carbon flux from the Arctic to Antarctic waters. We allocate an important effort to unveil the relationship between physiological processes such as respiration, nitrogen/carbon excretion, and growth, as well as the enzymatic proxies normally used in oceanography to estimate the role of these organisms in the carbon pump.
Physical-biological interactions in the ocean
The effect of the physical frame and climate on the diversity, abundance, biomass, distribution, physiology, and ecology of plankton communities is of importance to study the natural variability of life in the ocean. Then long-term monitoring of physical-biological coupling is a key strategy to understand future changes in the pelagic ecosystem related to increasing temperatures in a high CO2 planet. In this context, the study of mesoscale processes such as fronts, eddies, and filaments, and processes related to eastern boundary currents such as upwelling systems or oligotrophic gyres are also main objectives for the research group.
Fisheries Oceanography
The ecosystem approach to fisheries is opening new perspectives for the assessment of recruitment in fish and crustacean populations. In a context of overexploitation of the major fishing grounds, the knowledge of spawning areas and larvae drift is of paramount importance for fisheries management. We are interested in the study of the interaction between the upwelling off Northwest Africa and the Canary Islands, mainly the transport of fish and crustacean larvae to the islands. This process is of interest for local fishermen as for instance filaments promote an increase in small pelagic fishes, giving rise to a biological connectivity of clear socio-economic importance.
Recent Research Projects
SUMMER
“SUMMER: Sustainable Management of Mesopelagic Resources” Ref. 817806, European Union. H2020, 2019-2022, IP for the ULPGC: Santiago Hernández León https://summerh2020.eu
TRIATLAS
“TRIATLAS: Tropical and South Atlantic climate-based marine ecosystem prediction for sustainable management”. Ref. 817578, European Union. H2020, 2019-2022, IP for the ULPGC: Santiago Hernández León, https://triatlas.w.uib.no
RES-COAST
“RES-COAST: Herramientas de planificación de Infraestructuras y Gestión de Riesgos para el desarrollo de Economías Costeras resilientes al cambio climático en África Occidental” (MAC2/3.5b/314), Mac-Interreg European Union, 2020-2023, IP for the ULPGC: Dr. Alonso Hernández-Guerra, https://proyectorescoast.itccanarias.org
MAC-CLIMA
“MAC-CLIMA: Sistema de Observación Meteorológica y Oceánica como Heramienta para el fomento de la Resiliencia y Adaptación al Cambio Climático en el espacio de cooperación” (MAC2/3.5b/254). Mac-Interreg European Union, 2020-2023, IP for the ULPGC: Dr. Alonso Hernández-Guerra, https://mac-clima.energiagrancanaria.com
DESAFÍO
“DESAFÍO: DisEntangling Seasonality of Active Carbon Flux In the Ocean” (PID2020-118118RB-I00), Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología (CICYT), 2021-2024, IP: Santiago Hernández León, http://biologicaloceanography.blogspot.com
