BIOMAS: BIOenergetic Modeling Approach for Sargassum dynamics – BIOMAS AAP « Sargassum2 »

Vigencia: 2022- 2026.

Responsable: Dr. Daniel Robledo Ramírez

Financiamiento: ANR, Agence Nationale de la Recherche Francia

Resumen: Understanding and forecasting the proliferation of holopelagic Sargassum in the tropical Atlantic requires progress in modeling the transport and biology of the macroalgae. Current models focus mostly on advection, and biological knowledge of Sargassum fluitans or S. natans is outdated. However, there is now strong evidence of the presence of three co-occurring morphotypes of Sargassum, with possibly different physiologies, and that the nutrients controlling their growth may vary considerably among regions. We need to gain knowledge of the morphotype-specific response to changing environmental conditions and of the origin of nutrients to improve our capacity to simulate and forecast Sargassum biomass. 
The main objectives of BIOMAS are to acquire the necessary knowledge to build an individual-based model of Sargassum growth, to include that model into a drift model, and finally, to perform simulations of the integrated growth-drift model to forecast Sargassum morphotypes proliferation at a seasonal scale. The consortium has expertise and experience in Sargassum biology, laboratory and field works, DEB, and drift modeling, and is already involved in Sargassum research. Pan-Atlantic sampling will occur through the involvement of Brazilian, Mexican, and African partners. The general public, including schools, will be engaged through a smartphone app that will serve both citizen science and results dissemination.