Sea-surface warming, sea-ice melting and related freshening, changes in circulation and mixing regimes, and ocean acidification
induced by the present climate changes are modifying marine ecosystem structure and function and have the potential to alter the cycling of carbon and nutrients in surface oceans. Changing climate has direct and indirect consequences on marine life and on microbial components. Prokaryotes (Bacteria and Archaea), viruses and other microbial life forms are impacted by all these factors, with cascading effects on biogeochemical cycles, food webs, and the metabolic balance of the ocean.
In this presentation I will illustrate here a range of case studies of climate change and the potential consequences on microbial functions and virus-host interactions. These interactions are indeed potentially crucial to modify future global scenarios. Marine microbes and viral-prokaryotes influence directly and indirectly the gas exchange between the ocean surface and the atmosphere and the carbon sequestration capacity of the oceans, thus actively interacting with the present climate change. Understanding the biotic feedbacks of the oceans will be crucial to predict with accuracy dimension and impact of global climate change in the future.
