Programme: ASSEMBLE Plus (EU Horizon 2020 R&I program)
Project title: MEioBenthic response to OXygen depletion in Atlantic TOURistic-impacted coastal areas and evaluation of sedimentary environment role in the development of hypoxia phenomena
Acronym: MEBOXtour
Duration: 15 January 2021 – 30 June 2022
Project budget: Costs of the Transnational Access (TA) by NIOZ-CNSI
ISMAR budget: Costs of the Transnational Access (TA) by NIOZ-CNSI
Web site: https://www.assembleplus.eu/access/accepted-projects; https://www.assembleplus.eu/about
Summary:
Our aim was to investigate: 1) the distribution of meiobenthic community according to different depositional characteristics of the studied area, 2) the meiofauna response under stressed conditions induced by eventual oxygen depletion, and 3) to what extent the sedimentary and depositional characteristics of the sea floor can contribute to the development of local bottom hypoxic conditions. We used a combined approach: i) a field survey (by NIOZ-CNSI) to characterize the depositional environment in the Eastern Carribean Sea local coastal ecosystems affected by human impact; ii) the collection of selected bottom sediments at impacted locations (by NIOZ-CNSI), as well as at pristine area(s). The active vs. passive role of the sea floor in generating hypoxic phenomena is assessed by analyzing environmental variables (lithology, grainsize, organic matter, Eh, ph, T°C), and microbial component (abundance, biomass and diversity). All these information and data are compared to those obtained in the previous projects in the Adriatic Sea (9), Baltic and North Sea, and eventually locate the shelf areas with a predisposition to hypoxia.
Contact person in ISMAR: f.alvisi@ismar.cnr.it
Partnership: CNR-IRBIM (Italia), CNR-ISMAR (Italia), NIOZ-CNSI (Dutch Antilles)
