01
The changes
Leaders
Joaquim Garrabou
Senior researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC)
Joaquim Garrabou is a senior researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC). He has been analyzing for over 30 years how the warming of the Mediterranean damages rocky bottoms and soft coral communities, and he leads a team that aims to stop mass mortalities by increasing marine protected areas. He also coordinates Observadores del Mar, a citizen science network that, since 2012, connects divers, fishermen, and sailors with scientists to collect data on species, waste, and climate change. This collective work has recently received an honorable mention from the EU for the OdM Climate project, which is already mobilizing over 500 divers to monitor sea temperature.
1. What is your current research focus, and why is it crucial for the resilience of the Mediterranean?
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing our society. Climate change has been a reality for decades, and its consequences are currently accelerating. As a researcher, I am contributing by providing scientific evidence so that the ocean continues to provide its multiple services for climate change mitigation and adaptation. In particular, my work focuses on promoting marine protected areas as effective tools to increase resilience to climate change impacts.
2. Observadores del Mar has been around for more than a decade. What makes the platform unique, and what kind of data does it collect?
Observadores del Mar is a citizen science platform focused on marine science, with the main goal of contributing to marine conservation. Over its more than 10 years of activity, it has engaged thousands of citizens, civil society entities, public administrations, and researchers from various organizations to expand our knowledge of the ocean, raise awareness about marine environmental issues, and create bridges of dialogue between the scientific community and various marine stakeholders. Observadores del Mar has provided very relevant information on five main scientific areas: the arrival of exotic species, the impacts of climate change, vulnerable species, marine litter, and biodiversity. Thanks to the collaboration of over 100 researchers, volunteer observations follow scientific protocols adapted to citizen science through specific training, providing valuable and rigorous information to support marine conservation. Probably, the most distinctive feature of Observadores del Mar is its scientific rigor and the training of participants.
3. The EU has just awarded Observadores del Mar an honorable mention. What does this recognition mean?
The award recognized one of the major milestones of Observadores del Mar: the establishment of a citizen network to monitor the effects of climate change on Spain’s Mediterranean coasts. Through online and at-sea hybrid training, and thanks to the collaboration of over 30 diving centers that “catalyzed” the participation of more than 500 divers, data was gathered on fish and jellyfish species that serve as indicators of climate change effects, as well as on mass mortalities and the blooming of the marine seagrass Posidonia oceanica. These activities were carried out with support from the OdM Climate project, which has undoubtedly led to the largest participatory monitoring effort along Spain’s coasts.
4. You said, “I never thought I would witness this species collapse.” What solutions do you see to stop the effects of marine heatwaves?
Indeed, when in 1999 we witnessed the first mass mortality event affecting populations of around thirty species along the coasts of France and northern Italy, we hypothesized that, in the context of climate change, similar events could occur again in the future. Unfortunately, this hypothesis was not only confirmed but today, mass mortality events have become the new normal in the Mediterranean. The greatest consequence is that some species are experiencing local extinctions in different areas. We are observing a radical transformation of the seabeds; the complex and diverse communities that characterize the Mediterranean are being simplified in real-time, right before our incredulous eyes.
