Co-development of climate services for adaptation to changing marine ecosystems

CoCliME is an interdisciplinary European research project led by the Marine Institute in Ireland involving researchers from 12 European institutes and seven countries who have studied harmful algal blooms (HABs) and their societal consequences across six European coastal regions. Through a knowledge co-development approach, researchers and decision-makers in this pilot project have enhanced knowledge about current and potential future HAB risks and their management in Europe, as well as contributed to prototype tools and services aimed at reducing the societal consequences of HABs now and in the future. Climate change is affecting marine ecosystems globally, with consequences for nature and society. Under CoCliME, researchers from CICERO and the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) have worked closely with researchers and stakeholders from across Europe to gain new knowledge about the linkages between harmful algae, climate change and health and economic activities in the North and Norwegian Seas. The growth of harmful algae is an important indication of marine ecosystem health. Harmful algae are affected by both ocean physics (temperature and wind stress) and increased supply of nutrients to the sea from human activities such as agricultural runoff. Research suggests that changing climatic conditions are affecting the geographical and temporal distribution and amount of harmful algae, and that there has been an increase in coastal HAB events in many parts of the world since the 1980s. A key focus of the CoCliME project in Norway was to co-develop services that could improve the management of HABs and reduce the societal impacts and consequences of blooms. Although algae blooms are a natural part of marine ecosystems, some species in Norwegian waters are known to produce biological toxins (biotoxins) that can have a negative effect on marine organisms and ecosystems and the people who depend on them for recreation and income. The Chrysochromulina leadbeateri algae bloom that occured in the Lofoten area in the spring of 2019 is one example. The bloom resulted in major mortalities of farmed salmon and losses for affected companies in the affected region and led to an increased focus on harmful algae that cause fish deaths Under CoCliME, IMR and CICERO interviewed and mapped aquaculture stakeholders experiences with HABs and their needs for information. Through discussions with the aquaculture industry, policymakers and the government administration, it became clear that monitoring and warnings for harmful algae are an essential first step for enhancing preparedness for and responses to HAB events. The Institute of Marine Research built further on this knowledge to develop a nationally comprehensive and standardized monitoring program for harmful algae along the Norwegian coast at the request of the government. As a part of these efforts, a web portal, http://algestatus.hi.no has been set up that shows weekly and monthly updates on algae status along the Norwegian coast, with a focus on harmful algae that can result in fish deaths. Based on existing data on when and where harmful algae occur, researchers can say something about risk periods for algal toxins in different parts of the country. This type of information will provide the industry and the administration with information about periods of the year where there is a greater probability of HAB events that may affect farming activities and where preventive measures can be initiated to deal with the increased risk of algae blooms. Long-term monitoring will ensure knowledge that can be combined with information about climate change to provide a better understanding of how algae blooms may develop in the future. The Norwegian researchers provided concrete recommendations on priorities for developing marine ecosystem-based climate services under the UN Decade of Ocean Research for Sustainable development (2021-2030), based on project-wide results and lessons learned from CoCliME. The recommendations highlight that there is a need to understand the multi-risk decision-making context of stakeholders affected by HABs, to approach the process of knowledge co-production in transdisciplinary projects as a learning process, and to connect basic research on HABs more closely to societal needs. Opportunities for developing both short- and long-term services for managing HAB risks as part of changing marine ecosystems are further discussed.

1) A transferable framework for co-developing HAB-climate services for use in marine ecosystems 2) 32 Scientific publications in reputable journals/book chapters/international reports (to date) 3) 10 Service Specification Sheets for developing prototype HAB-climate services, with 53 products co-developed by the scientific partners in collaboration with potential users of the services in the different regional sea cases 4) New datasets, regional ocean models, HAB climate projections and software to manipulate and visualise the datasets 5) New knowledge for policy makers 6) New and improved HAB monitoring efforts and alerts (Mediterranean and Norway) 7) Information graphics for policy makers and the public 8) Capacity building within and beyond the project consortium 9) Lessons learned to improve future transdisciplinary projects 10) New networks and increased dialogue with co-developers and users 11) Enhanced European research collaboration on HABs-climate research

The CoCliME project will co-develop and co-produce bespoke, proof-of-concepts or prototype marine ecosystem climate services and a transferable framework for climate services development, to support informed decision making relevant to climate change-related ecological and socio-economic impacts across different coastal regions. To achieve these objectives the newly established CoCliME consortium brings together a transdisciplinary team of natural and social scientists, decision makers, and users of climate services that will dynamically interact to identify common and priority climate change-related vulnerabilities and solutions in six European coastal areas (Atlantic, Baltic, Black, Mediterranean, North and Norwegian Seas case studies). In these areas, CoCliME will focus on coastal ecosystem status indicators (e.g. harmful algal blooms, marine biotoxins and pathogens, marine microbial biodiversity) that can be markedly influenced by climate change and have direct impacts on human health (food-borne poisoning and water-quality related health disorders), economic prosperity (fisheries, aquaculture, tourism) and social wellbeing (recreation). From the very start a co-production and co-development approach to climate services will identify the information and knowledge needs of decision makers and users, and facilitate and accelerate local, national and European decision making concerning adaptation to climate change impacts. This marine ecosystem climate service framework will feed into mechanisms such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Marine Spatial Planning, national monitoring and reporting requirements, and climate adaptation planning to ensure the protection and sustainable use of Europe´s marine and coastal ecosystems for future generations.