Description
This ISAGS will instruct participants on the study of fouling communities usinga method that has been conceived and successfully applied for over 25 years in the United States by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC, USA). Experts of different taxonomic groups will provide lectures and laboratory activities to instruct participants on the identification of the most common fouling species of port habitats, with a focus on cryptogenic and alien invertebrate species. Attendees will be able to have their hands in the water during a field trip in the Gulf of La Spezia (Ligurian Sea) to collect samples that will be subsequently analysed in the lab. Furthermore, this ISAGS participants will jointly design an experimental study to be applied by each participant in their own country after the school.
The aim of the experiment is to carry out a large scale assessment of the bioinvasions in Europe/Mediterranean Sea. The experiment will be selected with the class, considering the feasibility and capability of each participant to perform it, but it is foreseen to be easy and non-cost prohibitive. The material that will be proposed to be used are simple bricks, PVC panels and ropes (see an example of the experimental unit promoted by the SERC in the side figure). The PVC
panels will be provided to each participant during the school.
Each participant will i) gain new competences in species identification and manipulative experiments; ii) be involved in a collaborative work with the aim to collect data “at home” after the school; iii) share the data collected for the elaboration of a collaborative scientific publication.
| Period | 8 Jan 2024 → 12 Jan 2024 |
|---|---|
| Event type | Workshop |
| Location | Pavia, ItalyShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | Regional |