- Av. Altamirano 1424, 1480. Valparaíso, V Region, Chile.
The Chilean fjord region includes many remote and poorly known areas where management plans for the marine living resources and conservation strategies are urgently needed. Few data are available about the spatial distribution of its... more
The Chilean fjord region includes many remote and poorly known areas where management plans for the marine living resources and conservation strategies are urgently needed. Few data are available about the spatial distribution of its marine invertebrate fauna, prevalently influenced by complex interactions between biotic and abiotic factors, animal behavior and human activities. Patagonian fjords are a hotspot for finfish aquaculture, elevating Chile to the world's second producer of farmed salmon, after Norway, a condition that emphasizes the necessity to develop strategies for a sustainable aquaculture management. The present study focuses on the emblematic cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus, dwelling the Comau Fjord from shallow to deep waters, with the aim to illustrate population structure, demography and adaptation of the species and its potential use for the development of a sustainable conservation and management plan for human activities. The analyses of microsatellite loci of D. dianthus individuals from four sampling localities along horizontal and vertical gradients of Comau Fjord, lead to identify them as panmictic population. The results also contributed to consider a careful examination the synchrony between the temporal and spatial variations of environmental factors and biological cycle of the species as key role player in the inference of autecology of the species. This study also highlights the importance of oceanographic data in the entire process of the genetic analyses and interpretation of results. The discussion stresses the importance of molecular analyses as extremely helpful tools for studies focussing on remote areas and non-model organisms, where logistic difficulties and limited scientific knowledge hamper a better management and conservation of marine resources, and in particular the relevance of multidisciplinary approaches to reduce the extensive knowledge gap on the remote fjord ecosystems of Patagonia.
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Research Interests: Inequality and Indigenous
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This study is the first integrated assessment of the main oceanographic features of the Beagle Channel, using data from several oceanographic cruises conducted between 19-25 October 2016, 19-26 July 2017 and 18-23 July 2018 by the IDEAL... more
This study is the first integrated assessment of the main oceanographic features of the Beagle Channel, using data from several oceanographic cruises conducted between 19-25 October 2016, 19-26 July 2017 and 18-23 July 2018 by the IDEAL center (Research Center: Dynamics of High Latitude Marine Ecosystems). During 2016 transects were done between the NW entrance of the Beagle Channel up to Yendegaia bay (mid of the channel). In winter 2017, simultaneous to the IDEAL transect, a full oceanographic survey onboard M/O Bernardo Houssay (PNA, Argentina) by researchers of CADIC (Austral Center for Scientific Research in Ushuaia) was conducted from nearby Yendegaia bay to the eastern limit of the Beagle Channel (27-30 August 2017), thus closing for the first time a full, high resolution, hydrographic section along the entire Channel. During 18-23 July 2018 the NW branch and the SW branch of the Beagle Channel was surveyed.The study was funded by the IDEAL center (https://www.centroideal.cl/, award: FONDAP 15150003).
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Seasonal, diel and vertical distribution of mesozooplankton was described over the entire water column of Comau Fjord, northern Chilean Patagonia. Stratified vertical hauls we taken with a Nansen net (100 μm mesh) between the surface and... more
Seasonal, diel and vertical distribution of mesozooplankton was described over the entire water column of Comau Fjord, northern Chilean Patagonia. Stratified vertical hauls we taken with a Nansen net (100 μm mesh) between the surface and the bottom (0-50-100-200-300-400-450 m) in spring, summer, autumn and winter. Samples were scanned with a ZooScan, and abundance, biovolume and biomass were determined for 41 taxa identified on the web-based platform EcoTaxa 2.0. This dataset was generated in the frame of the co-operation between the Universidad Austral de Chile (https://www.uach.cl), the Huinay Scientific Field Station (http://www.huinay.cl) and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research (http://www.awi.de) in the frame of the project PACOC Plankton- And cold-water COral ecology in Comau Fjord, Chile. The study was also embedded in activities of the Research Center Dynamics of High Latitude Marine Ecosystems (IDEAL) (http://www.centroideal.cl/eng/)
<p>In our collective endeavour towards global sustainability, there is now a broad appreciation... more
<p>In our collective endeavour towards global sustainability, there is now a broad appreciation that producing scientifically robust knowledge requires new forms of engagement between scientists, stakeholders and society. But what is the role of Early Career Scientists (ECS) in these processes that are closing the gap between science and policy? Because opportunities to interact with more experienced peers through science refereeing are scarce, the role of ECS in the peer-review process remains minor despite ECS possessing strong academic credentials. Such engagement in the peer-review process represents a valuable opportunity for ECS and the scientific community as a whole. This opportunity provides a robust platform for ECS to understand the overall review process and editorial activities related to high-credibility publications such as those conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). During May/November 2018, 174 ECS on behalf of the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) reviewed the first and second-order drafts of the IPCC “Special Report on Ocean and Cryosphere and in a Changing Climate (SROCC)”. Here, we present the methodology, results, and lessons learned from these group reviews. Altogether, data from participant surveys on their experience and their comments catalog illustrate ECS as competent reviewers, comparable to more experienced researchers. The diverse disciplines and geographic perspectives, fostered through APECS and its partners, are currently being mobilized in the First Order Draft of the Working Groups I and II of the Assessment Report 6 of the IPCC, and will continue during the second round of reviews of these reports in early 2020. Information gathered during these ongoing reviews will add to the findings obtained during the review of the SROCC.</p>
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This study is the first integrated assessment of the main oceanographic features of the Beagle Channel, using data from several oceanographic cruises conducted between 19-25 October 2016, 19-26 July 2017 and 18-23 July 2018 by the IDEAL... more
This study is the first integrated assessment of the main oceanographic features of the Beagle Channel, using data from several oceanographic cruises conducted between 19-25 October 2016, 19-26 July 2017 and 18-23 July 2018 by the IDEAL center (Research Center: Dynamics of High Latitude Marine Ecosystems). During 2016 transects were done between the NW entrance of the Beagle Channel up to Yendegaia bay (mid of the channel). In winter 2017, simultaneous to the IDEAL transect, a full oceanographic survey onboard M/O Bernardo Houssay (PNA, Argentina) by researchers of CADIC (Austral Center for Scientific Research in Ushuaia) was conducted from nearby Yendegaia bay to the eastern limit of the Beagle Channel (27-30 August 2017), thus closing for the first time a full, high resolution, hydrographic section along the entire Channel. During 18-23 July 2018 the NW branch and the SW branch of the Beagle Channel was surveyed.The study was funded by the IDEAL center (https://www.centroideal.cl/...
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This study is the first integrated assessment of the main oceanographic features of the Beagle Channel, using data from several oceanographic cruises and a mooring. This dataset derives from an oceanographic mooring installed in the... more
This study is the first integrated assessment of the main oceanographic features of the Beagle Channel, using data from several oceanographic cruises and a mooring. This dataset derives from an oceanographic mooring installed in the center of the Beagle Channel close to Yendegaia bay. This mooring included hourly temperature measurements at 50 m and 195 m between 21 July 2017 and 28 September 2019, while temperature at 100 m was recorded from 21 July 2017 to 19 July 2018 only. The study was funded by the IDEAL center (Research Center: Dynamics of High Latitude Marine Ecosystems, https://www.centroideal.cl/, award: FONDAP 15150003).
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<p>Despite being major players on the global biogeochemical cycles, microorganisms are generally not included in holistic views of Earth&#8217;s system. The Microbial Conveyor Belt is a conceptual framework that represents a... more
<p>Despite being major players on the global biogeochemical cycles, microorganisms are generally not included in holistic views of Earth&#8217;s system. The Microbial Conveyor Belt is a conceptual framework that represents a recurrent and cyclical flux of microorganisms across the globe, connecting distant ecosystems and Earth compartments. This long-range dispersion of microorganisms directly influences the microbial biogeography, the global cycling of inorganic and organic matter, and thus the Earth system&#8217;s functioning and long-term resilience. Planetary-scale human impacts disrupting the natural flux of microorganisms pose a major threat to the Microbial Conveyor Belt, thus compromising microbial ecosystem services. Perturbations that modify the natural dispersion of microorganisms are, for example, the modification of the intensity/direction of air fluxes and ocean currents due to climate change, the vanishing of certain dispersion vectors (e.g., species extinction or drying rivers) or the introduction of new ones (e.g., microplastics, wildfires). Transdisciplinary approaches are needed to disentangle the Microbial Conveyor Belt, its major threats and their consequences for Earth&#180;s system resilience.</p>
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Practical experiments drive important scientific discoveries in biology, but theory‐based research studies also contribute novel—sometimes paradigm‐changing—findings. Here, we appraise the roles of theory‐based approaches focusing on the... more
Practical experiments drive important scientific discoveries in biology, but theory‐based research studies also contribute novel—sometimes paradigm‐changing—findings. Here, we appraise the roles of theory‐based approaches focusing on the experiment‐dominated wet‐biology research areas of microbial growth and survival, cell physiology, host–pathogen interactions, and competitive or symbiotic interactions. Additional examples relate to analyses of genome‐sequence data, climate change and planetary health, habitability, and astrobiology. We assess the importance of thought at each step of the research process; the roles of natural philosophy, and inconsistencies in logic and language, as drivers of scientific progress; the value of thought experiments; the use and limitations of artificial intelligence technologies, including their potential for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research; and other instances when theory is the most‐direct and most‐scientifically robust route to s...
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Background Multi-omics technology provides a good tool to analyze the protein toxin composition and search for the potential pathogenic factors of Solenopsis invicta, under the great harm of the accelerated invasion in southern China.... more
Background Multi-omics technology provides a good tool to analyze the protein toxin composition and search for the potential pathogenic factors of Solenopsis invicta, under the great harm of the accelerated invasion in southern China. Methods Species collection, functional annotation, toxin screening, and 3D modeling construction of three interested toxins were performed based on the successfully constructed transcriptome and proteome of S. invicta. Results A total of 33,231 unigenes and 721 proteins were obtained from the constructed transcriptome and proteome, of which 9,842 (29.62%) and 4,844 (14.58%) unigenes, as well as 469 (65.05%) and 71 (99.45%) proteins were annotated against the databases of Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, respectively. After comparing with the uniprot toxin database, a total of 316 unigenes and 47 proteins (calglandulin, venom allergen 3, and venom prothrombin activator hopsarin-D, etc.) were successfully screened. Conclusions T...
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Gwenaëlle Gremion1,2,*, Mathieu Casado3, Kelsey Aho2,4, Jilda Alicia Caccavo2,5,6,7, Nicolas Champollion2,8, Emily Choy2,9, Sarahl L. Connors10, Rahul Dey2,11, Alfonso Fernández2,12, Gerlis Fugmann2,3, Juan Höfer2,13, Shridhar Jawak2,14,... more
Gwenaëlle Gremion1,2,*, Mathieu Casado3, Kelsey Aho2,4, Jilda Alicia Caccavo2,5,6,7, Nicolas Champollion2,8, Emily Choy2,9, Sarahl L. Connors10, Rahul Dey2,11, Alfonso Fernández2,12, Gerlis Fugmann2,3, Juan Höfer2,13, Shridhar Jawak2,14, Martine Lizotte2,15, Sarah Maes2,16, Kyle Mayers2,17, Katja Mintenbeck18, Jhon Fredy Mojica2,19, Prashant Pandit2,20, Elvira Poloczanska18, Paul Rosenbaum2,21, Elisa Seyboth2,22, Sarah Shakil2,23, Maud van Soest2,24
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The Chilean Patagonia is a complex puzzle of numerous fjords, channels, bays, estuaries, and islands. The largest part of it is very remote, hampering the generation of scientific knowledge and effective management planning that could... more
The Chilean Patagonia is a complex puzzle of numerous fjords, channels, bays, estuaries, and islands. The largest part of it is very remote, hampering the generation of scientific knowledge and effective management planning that could balance conservation of the marine resources with the increasing development of aquaculture activities. The present study focuses on the deep-water emergent cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus, dwelling in Chilean Patagonia, with the aim to illustrate its population genetic structure, demography and adaptation of the species along this coast. Microsatellite loci analysis included D. dianthus individuals from twelve sampling localities along bathymetric and oceanographic gradients from the latitude 40°S to 48°S. The results showed a lack of genetic structure with an asymmetric dispersion of individuals, and relevant heterozygosity deficiency in some populations. This study also analyses the natural and human impacts affecting the region (e.g., climat...
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BACKGROUND The incidents of Aurelia sp. stinging have recently increased because of a bloom in offshore area. However, their symptoms are much milder than those from another scyphozoan jellyfish, Stomolophus meleagris. METHODS The... more
BACKGROUND The incidents of Aurelia sp. stinging have recently increased because of a bloom in offshore area. However, their symptoms are much milder than those from another scyphozoan jellyfish, Stomolophus meleagris. METHODS The molecular composition of the medusa and polyp of Aurelia coerulea was analyzed by sequencing the transcriptome and proteome. The toxicity of tentacle extract from A. coerulea medusa (A-TE) and S. meleagris medusa (S-TE) was measured by the survival rates of mice, their blood indexes, and integrity of red blood cells. RESULTS The medusa and polyp of A. coerulea are similar in molecular composition, while their gene expressions are significantly different at both transcriptome and proteome levels. A-TE displayed no in vitro hemolysis and caused mild damage to the liver, heart and kidney instead of lethality. In contrast, S-TE showed strong hemolytic toxicity, and lethal effect with serious damage to the liver, heart and kidney. The toxin screening in the medusae showed that there were similar toxin categories though the number of toxin species in A. coerulea was larger than that in S. meleagris. Among them, lactotransferrin and venom prothrombin activator were the two predominant protein toxins in the medusae of A. coerulea and S. meleagris, respectively. CONCLUSIONS A. coerulea medusa and polyp have similar molecular compositions, though there are observable morphological differences. The toxicity of A. coerulea medusa is significantly weaker than that of S. meleagris medusa of which the variation in toxin expressions is feasibly an important reason.
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Comau Fjord is a stratified Chilean Patagonian Fjord characterized by a shallow brackish surface layer and a >400 m layer of aragonite-depleted subsurface waters. Despite the energetic burden of low aragonite saturation levels to... more
Comau Fjord is a stratified Chilean Patagonian Fjord characterized by a shallow brackish surface layer and a >400 m layer of aragonite-depleted subsurface waters. Despite the energetic burden of low aragonite saturation levels to calcification, Comau Fjord harbours dense populations of cold-water corals (CWC). While this paradox has been attributed to a rich supply of zooplankton, supporting abundance and biomass data are so far lacking. In this study, we investigated the seasonal and diel changes of the zooplankton community over the entire water column. We used a Nansen net (100 µm mesh) to take stratified vertical hauls between the surface and the bottom (0-50-100-200-300-400-450 m). Samples were scanned with a ZooScan, and abundance, biovolume and biomass were determined for 41 taxa identified on the web-based platform EcoTaxa 2.0. Zooplankton biomass was the highest in summer (209 g dry mass m−2) and the lowest in winter (61 g dry mass m−2). Abundance, however, peaked in spr...
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The feeding behavior of the cosmopolitan cold-water coral (CWC) Desmophyllum dianthus (Cnidaria: Scleractinia) is still poorly known. Its usual deep distribution restricts direct observations, and manipulative experiments are so far... more
The feeding behavior of the cosmopolitan cold-water coral (CWC) Desmophyllum dianthus (Cnidaria: Scleractinia) is still poorly known. Its usual deep distribution restricts direct observations, and manipulative experiments are so far limited to prey that do not occur in CWC natural habitat. During a series of replicated incubations, we assessed the functional response of this coral feeding on a medium-sized copepod (Calanoides patagoniensis) and a large euphausiid (Euphausia vallentini). Corals showed a Type I functional response, where feeding rate increased linearly with prey abundance, as predicted for a tentaculate passive suspension feeder. No significant differences in feeding were found between prey items, and corals were able to attain a maximum feeding rate of 10.99 mg C h, which represents an ingestion of the 11.4% of the coral carbon biomass per hour. These findings suggest that D. dianthus is a generalist zooplankton predator capable of exploiting dense aggregations of zo...
Los Quetognatos son un pequeno filo de animales marinos y carnivoros, que forman parte del zooplancton que es un eslabon imprescindible entre el fitoplancton y los niveles troficos superiores, peces principalmente. Aunque hay quetognatos... more
Los Quetognatos son un pequeno filo de animales marinos y carnivoros, que forman parte del zooplancton que es un eslabon imprescindible entre el fitoplancton y los niveles troficos superiores, peces principalmente. Aunque hay quetognatos en todos los habitats marinos es en el medio pelagico donde son mas abundantes y por esta razon la presente tesis se centra sobre los quetognatos pelagicos y sus modelos de distribucion. Desde hace tiempo se sabe que el zooplancton, incluidos los quetognatos, tiene una distribucion no-uniforme o por manchas. Sin embargo existe un problema en su estudio y es que los modelos de variacion se ven alterados segun la escala a la que sean observados. El concepto de modelo de variacion y de escala estan irremediablemente unidos. Definir un patron es definir la variabilidad de algo y para cuantificar dicha variabilidad es necesario determinar la escala a la que se esta produciendo. Esta particularidad introduce el llamado ?efecto de escala?, que es el sesgo ...
Research Interests: Geography and Philosophy
The Chilean fjord region includes many remote and poorly known areas where management plans for the marine living resources and conservation strategies are urgently needed. Few data are available about the spatial distribution of its... more
The Chilean fjord region includes many remote and poorly known areas where management plans for the marine living resources and conservation strategies are urgently needed. Few data are available about the spatial distribution of its marine invertebrate fauna, prevalently influenced by complex interactions between biotic and abiotic factors, animal behavior and human activities. Patagonian fjords are a hotspot for finfish aquaculture, elevating Chile to the world’s second producer of farmed salmon, after Norway, a condition that emphasizes the necessity to develop strategies for a sustainable aquaculture management. The present study focuses on the emblematic cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus, dwelling the Comau Fjord from shallow to deep waters, with the aim to illustrate population structure, demography and adaptation of the species and its potential use for the development of a sustainable conservation and management plan for human activities. The analyses of microsatellite ...
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The manuscript assesses the current and expected future global drivers of Southern Ocean (SO) ecosystems. Atmospheric ozone depletion over the Antarctic since the 1970s, has been a key driver, resulting in springtime cooling of the... more
The manuscript assesses the current and expected future global drivers of Southern Ocean (SO) ecosystems. Atmospheric ozone depletion over the Antarctic since the 1970s, has been a key driver, resulting in springtime cooling of the stratosphere and intensification of the polar vortex, increasing the frequency of positive phases of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). This increases warm air-flow over the East Pacific sector (Western Antarctic Peninsula) and cold air flow over the West Pacific sector. SAM as well as El Niño Southern Oscillation events also affect the Amundsen Sea Low leading to either positive or negative sea ice anomalies in the west and east Pacific sectors, respectively. The strengthening of westerly winds is also linked to shoaling of deep warmer water onto the continental shelves, particularly in the East Pacific and Atlantic sectors. Air and ocean warming has led to changes in the cryosphere, with glacial and ice sheet melting in both sectors, opening up new ice fr...
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Despite the recent increase in knowledge concerning microorganisms, the processes determining their global distribution and functioning have not been disentangled. Microbial dormant stages are adapted to endure specific adverse conditions... more
Despite the recent increase in knowledge concerning microorganisms, the processes determining their global distribution and functioning have not been disentangled. Microbial dormant stages are adapted to endure specific adverse conditions related to their dispersion path, suggesting that dispersion is not entirely a stochastic process. Long-term dormancy enhances microbial dispersion, promoting the ubiquity of microorganisms. The evidence leads us to propose that there is a global, recurrent, and spatially cyclical dispersion of microorganisms that we have called the Microbial Conveyor Belt. These dispersion cycles directly influence the distribution of microorganisms, the global cycling of inorganic and organic matter, and thus the Earth system's functioning.
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The Beagle Channel (BC) is a long and narrow interoceanic passage (∼270 km long and 1–12 km wide) with west-east orientation and complex bathymetry connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans at latitude 55°S. This study is the first... more
The Beagle Channel (BC) is a long and narrow interoceanic passage (∼270 km long and 1–12 km wide) with west-east orientation and complex bathymetry connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans at latitude 55°S. This study is the first integrated assessment of the main oceanographic features of the BC, using recent oceanographic observations from cruises, moored instruments and historical observations. The waters transported into the BC are supplied mainly by the Cape Horn Current, which carries Subantarctic Water (SAAW) at depth (100 m below surface) along the Pacific Patagonian continental shelf break. SAAW enters the continental shelf via a submarine canyon at the western entrance of the BC. The SAAW is diluted by fresh, nutrient depleted (nitrate, phosphate and silicic acid) Estuarine Water (EW) from Cordillera Darwin Ice Field (CDIF) forming modified SAAW (mSAAW). Freshwater inputs from the CDIF generate a two-layer system with a sharp pycnocline which delimits the vertical distri...
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Around the Greenlandic and Antarctic coastlines, sediment plumes associated with glaciers are significant sources of lithogenic material to the ocean. These plumes contain elevated concentrations of a range of trace metals, especially in... more
Around the Greenlandic and Antarctic coastlines, sediment plumes associated with glaciers are significant sources of lithogenic material to the ocean. These plumes contain elevated concentrations of a range of trace metals, especially in particle bound phases, but it is not clear how these particles affect dissolved (<0.2 µm) metal distributions in the ocean. Here we show, using transects in 8 glacier fjords, trends in the distribution of dissolved iron, cobalt, nickel and copper (dFe, dCo, dNi, dCu). Following rapid dFe loss close to glacier outflows, dFe concentrations in particular showed strong similarities between different fjords. Similar dFe concentrations were also observed between seasons/years when Nuup Kangerlua (SW Greenland) was revisited in spring, mid- and late-summer. Dissolved Cu, dCo and dNi concentrations were more variable and showed different gradients with salinity depending on the fjord, season and year. The lack of consistent trends for dCu and dNi largely...
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Approximately half of the freshwater discharged from the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets enters the ocean subsurface as a result of basal ice melt, or runoff draining via the grounding line of a deep ice shelf or marine-terminating... more
Approximately half of the freshwater discharged from the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets enters the ocean subsurface as a result of basal ice melt, or runoff draining via the grounding line of a deep ice shelf or marine-terminating glacier. Around Antarctica and parts of northern Greenland, this freshwater then experiences prolonged residence times in large cavities beneath floating ice tongues. Due to the inaccessibility of these cavities, it is unclear how they moderate the freshwater associated supply of nutrients such as iron (Fe) to the ocean. Here, we show that subglacial dissolved Fe export from Nioghalvfjerdsbrae (the ‘79°N Glacier’) is decoupled from particulate inputs including freshwater Fe supply, likely due to the prolonged ~162-day residence time of Atlantic water beneath Greenland’s largest floating ice-tongue. Our findings indicate that the overturning rate and particle-dissolved phase exchanges in ice cavities exert a dominant control on subglacial nutrient suppl...