Low dissolved oxygen events in the Northern Adriatic: in situ experimental insight into benthic responses before, during and post-anoxia (FWF project P21542-B17; in review)

As in the ongoing FWF project, our research strives to learn about system function by studying system dysfunction. Present knowledge about the behavioral responses and mortalities of benthic organisms is not commensurate with the crucial role this fauna plays in coastal ecosystems.
Our proposal is designed to reduce this gap. It will also substantially contribute to the current discussion on the validity of hypoxia thresholds for marine biodiversity. The present project plans to expand upon the current EAGU approach, which was designed to focus on the well-developed macroepifauna. The new approach will attempt to incorporate key representatives of the macroinfauna and meiofauna (foraminiferans & harpacticoid copepods) and will include sediment geochemistry. We will also take the EAGU concept one step further by evaluating post-anoxia developments in both the macroepifauna and meiofauna (e.g. decomposition, scavenging/predation, recovery). This is a unique effort to examine detailed responses at all relevant levels – individuals, species, functional groups, community – under natural conditions.
For this project we have assembled a top-notch team of international collaboration partners, who have provided advice for the proposal and who will help work up and interpret the samples and images/films.

• Dr. Marleen De Troch (Gent University, Marine Biology Section, Belgium)
• Prof. Dr. Jadran Faganeli & Drs. Mateja Grego (National Institute of Biology, Marine Biology Station Piran, Slovenia)
• Dr. Emmanuelle Geslin & Prof. Dr. Frans Jorissen (Univ. of Angers, Laboratory of Recent and Fossil Bio-indicators & Department of Geology, France)
• Dr. Richard Twitchett (Univ. of Plymouth, School of Earth, Ocean and Environmental Sciences, UK)

We will keep you informed!