ECOAQUA: Biodiversity and Conservation

Affiliated Research areas

• Biostatistics
• Applied plant sciences, plant breeding, agroecology and soil biology
• Products and Processes Engineering
• Legal studies, comparative law, law and economics

Scientific Areas

• Not available

Keywords

• Marine Conservation
• Ecosystem Services
• Artisanal Fisheries
• Aquaculture Interactions
• Marine Spatial Planning

Summary

- Ecology for marine organisms and ecosystems: Characterization of structuring marine organisms in coastal and marine ecosystems. Analysis of trophic networks and relationships between different levels of ecosystem organization. Assessment of the main anthropic and natural stressors that condition the composition and structure of these coastal and marine ecosystems.
- Artisanal fisheries and fish behavior: Assessment of the main characteristics of fishery resources and demersal fish stocks. Evaluation of fisheries biomass and determination of responsible fisheries management strategies. Characterization of cephalopods and other deepwater fisheries. Behavioral studies in fish and benthic invertebrates.
- Conservation of biological resources, management and management of protected marine spaces: Systematics and analysis of keystone species in coastal and marine ecosystems. Design of marine protected areas and their management plans. Assessment of major interactions between aquaculture activities and coastal/marine ecosystems. Evaluation of the effect of global change and introduced species on the structure and composition of coastal/marine ecosystems
- Coast and Maritime Planning: Ecosystem approach is applied in the management or planning of human activities in the coastal and maritime space, valuing the related economic, social and environmental aspects and prioritizing the protection of the marine environment.
- Marine trophic chains and environmental challenges (Catmar): This research line focuses on generating key knowledge about zooplankton ecology and the dynamics of marine food webs, assessing their responses to both anthropogenic stressors such as climate change and natural ones, including seismic activities. The proposed approach addresses major environmental challenges affecting the structure and good environmental status of marine ecosystems.