Marine Observatory: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
Departments involved:
"Research Infrastructure for Marine Biological Resources" (RIMAR) – leader
"Integrative Marine Ecology" (EMI)
Over the next three years, SZN will consolidate its leading role in the field of marine sciences. It will do so by developing an integrated marine observatory, which will, for the first time, couple environmental information with biological and ecological data in a synergistic approach focused to the study of both the biodiversity and the functioning of marine ecosystems. The Observatory has the objective of cover the Tyrrhenian Sea (unique among Italian seas to be completely within our national territory), with special reference to the Gulf of Naples.
The main goal is to build upon the research excellence that SZN has developed previously in the study of biological and ecological dynamics and interactions, promoting the sustainable management of marine biodiversity and contributing to understanding its role in the functioning of ecosystems.
These studies will contribute to define the Good Environmental Status (GES, sensu Marine Strategy Framework Directive; MSFD). The acquisition of this knowledge is part of the themes of the National Research Plan (Blue growth) and Horizon 2020 "Protection of the marine environment as a source of food, energy and biotechnology and the choice of the tools necessary for decision makers politicians".
These ambitious objectives will be implemented through an "end-to-end" approach (from cells to ecosystems) and developing our ability to use advanced and sophisticated technologies both for the development of the biological observing systems and for the in situ sampling.
This program will be implemented through the following main objectives:
Objective 1. Marine Observatory: multidisciplinary approach to the long-term study of marine biology and ecology (Long Term Ecological Research)
Objective 2. Biodiversity and functioning of marine ecosystems
Objective 3. Marine Biological Conservation
