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Description
To realize the project, we will analyse water and sediment samples collected near Svalbard, at east Greenland
shelf and Jan Mayen shelf. The sedaDNA will be extracted from 6 cores from the same area, four of which
have already been collected. A total eukaryotic eDNA will be analysed using 5 molecular markers, spanning a
large range of taxa, from phyto- and zooplankton to zoobenthos and benthic foraminifera. More than 80 million
of DNA sequences will be obtained for each marker using Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology.
Their analyses will provide information about the transfer of DNA from the surface to the sediments and its
downcore preservation. In parallel, geochemical and palaeoceanographic data will be collected in order to date
and characterize the core layers, from which sedaDNA samples have been obtained. The planned analyses
will include radiocarbon 14C, 210Pb and 137Cs dating, stable isotopes and Mg/Ca in benthic foraminifers,
sediment grain-size distribution, TC and TOC, alkenones, IP25, and dinoflagellate cyst assemblages. These
proxies will provide a complete set of information about paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental changes that will
be compared to the changes of eukaryotic diversity inferred from sedaDNA sequence data.
Our project will provide a unique insight into the impact of climate change on Nordic Seas biodiversity focusing
on its most inconspicuous but ecologically essential microbial and meiofaunal components. We will use
sedaDNA as a new promising palaeoceanographic proxy complementary to the traditionally used microfossils.
The innovative character of the project consists in integrating multitaxon analysis of sedaDNA with the existing
palaeoceanographic proxies in order to reconstruct changes in eukaryotic biodiversity during the postglacial
period. By analyzing millions of DNA sequences archived in the sediments we expect shedding new light on
the relationship between global warming, biodiversity changes and carbon burial.
Summary of project results
Recent simulations of future climate change predict a continuous increase in air and water temperature. The Arctic is especially vulnerable to climate change, as it is warming faster than any other region on the planet. One of the major challenges of modern science is predicting the magnitude and direction of these changes. The past is key to the future; therefore, exploring the climate and environmental changes in the geological past is key to understanding current changes. In our project, we overcome this limitation by analyzing DNA from marine sediments. The genetic material of an organism may be preserved in sediment for hundreds of thousands of years. Thus, the marine sediments provide invaluable archives of almost everything that has been living there in the past.
In our project, we analyzed sedimentary DNA from both modern samples and sediment cores, allowing us to document the biodiversity in time and space. We integrated these data with classical paleoceanographic proxy to document climatic and environmental changes in the Nordic Seas during the last 20,000 years and their impact on marine biodiversity.
Our results are an important contribution to the study of biodiversity in the Nordic Seas and provide insights into the relationships between environmental change and the evolution of marine communities. In particular, our study has identified the eukaryotic groups that respond strongly to climate changes and water mass circulation. This has opened the door for their use as new proxies in future Arctic paleoclimate research. Our project has allowed the integration of analytical methods from different scientific domains and created an efficient method to monitor the past and present marine environment. The methodology and the data obtained will serve as a reference for other studies, e.g., studies on the molecular ecology of marine organisms or biomonitoring studies on the taxonomic diversity of different groups of organisms. Therefore, our results have the potential to bring about innovative molecular tools in a wide range of environmental sciences. Our understanding of the current impact of global warming on Arctic ecosystems is based largely on our knowledge of past climate change. During the project, we have made great efforts to raise awareness of climate change and its effects on Arctic ecosystems. We also introduced people to the largely unknown world of tiny single-celled organisms, which are often overlooked despite their importance to marine ecosystems.
Summary of bilateral results
The bilateral collaboration within the project is well visible and satisfactory. Namely, in the aftermath of the project three joint research papers have been published (please note that six joint papers were declared in project indices). Also, two joint proposals for further funding have been elaborated.