The aim of the project is to provide insight intolong-term changes in zooplankton communities of the Adriatic Sea and to definetheir responses to rapidly increasing environmental changes. The project willintegrate historical data on plankton communities of the Southern Adriaticbasin across detailed vertical layers (from the surface down to 1200 m depth)over the past 20 years. In addition, field campaigns will collect samples fromthe open sea and from the Great Lake on Mljet Island, providing insight intothe current state of plankton in these two systems. Along with data on theabundance and vertical distribution of plankton populations, the targetedspecies (the calanoid copepod Calanushelgolandicus) will be used to obtain information on biomass dynamics,population relationships, and physiological responses of copepods to stressfulenvironmental conditions (increased temperature). The project is expected toyield valuable data on the secondary production of the Adriatic Sea and itslong-term dynamics, as well as on the response of zooplankton to acceleratedchanges in the marine environment, which ultimately affect the next trophiclevel, such as fish stocks.
Project objectives:
C1. Establishment of a new research team and successfulcoordination among its members
C2. Successful implementation and dissemination of theproject
C3. Determine long-term trends in secondary production,abundance, and composition of Adriatic zooplankton, and identify the influenceof abiotic and biotic parameters on the dynamics of their populations
C4. Determine the dynamics of abundance, biomass, andgenetic structure of C. helgolandicuspopulations in the southern Adriatic and in the Great Lake on Mljet Island
C5. Submit a new project proposal to an external fundingsource
Budget:61810.69 EUR
Projectduration: 01.10.2025. – 30.09.2029.
Projectleader: dr. sc. Marijana Hure
Teammembers:
dr. sc. Mirna Batistić
dr. sc. Rade Garić
dr. sc. Jakica Njire
Nika Pasković, mag. biol.
Marija Rusković, amg. biol.
dr. sc. Priscilla Licandro (Naples, Italy)
dr. sc. Vittoria Roncalli (Naples, Italy)
