Climate change in coastal and oceanic areas

South Atlantic case study

Abstract

Context: The presence of dominant species can affect the biodiversity of coastal and oceanic areas, altering the local ecosystem. This seems to be the case of the seedling of Dalbergia Ecastophyllum (L.) that has been showing accelerated growth in the coastal and oceanic region of the APA da Baleia Franca, in Santa Catarina, in the southern Atlantic of Brazil. Species blooms are natural events that occur in coastal and oceanic zones, however, when they become dominant species, they can be associated with the presence of external factors related to climate change. At the same time, changes in the availability of phytoplankton in the ocean may indicate ecosystem disturbance in the South Atlantic. Methods: In this work we intend to investigate the systemic relationship of ecosystem disturbance between coastal and oceanic zones in the face of heterogeneous temperature changes (IPCC, 2021). This relationship is considered fundamental to understand the correlation between different levels of temperature and the impacts on the coastal and oceanic ecosystem of the South Atlantic, the area where whales breed. Results: Data are collected from specialized databases to estimate oceanic biomass in the South Atlantic region, growth of the Dalbergia Ecastophyllum plant in the perimeter of the Baleia Franca APA and environmental variables (local morphology) and climate related to temperature, for the period of 1970 to 2020. The integrated understanding of coastal and oceanic ecosystems is of great relevance to support policies in the face of the emergence and heterogeneity of climate change.