Objective
The objectives are: to determine the biological, physical and chemical characteristics of sulphide-rich and methane-rich ecosystems; to determine the role of the biota in major geochemical fluxes in these ecosystems; to determine the relative role of symbiotic and free-living chemoautotrophic and methylotrophic bacteria and to determine the adaptations which allow eukaryotes to live in these environments.
A complex pattern of geological, chemical and biological parameters determines the characteristics of unusual ecosystems rich in reduced substances like sulphide and methane. In a multidisciplinary approach, their major physical, chemical and biological characteristics are analysed. In this geochemically complex biome the role of and modulation by bacterial and eukaryotic activities are studied. Field studies are supplemented by experimental and ultrastructural work to evidence physiological and structural characteristics of a biota largely based on chemoautotrophic bacteria. The spatial distribution of the fauna, their correlation with chemical and physical gradients and their adaptations to the toxic hydrogen sulphide, often combined with anoxia, are predominant aspects of the joint studies which focused on 4 major sites: the methane seeps in the North Sea ('pockmarks') and the Skagerrak; the shallow methane seeps in the Kattegatt ('bubbling reefs'); the intertidal sulphidic sediments of North Sea flats; the subtidal geothermally active vents in Milos (Aegean Sea).
Seep areas will be mapped using various acoustic techniques to define precise sample locations. Quantitative sediment samples will be taken with corers and determinations will be made of various parameters including dissolved reduced gases, sulphur species, biomass and species composition or both macro-and meiofauna. The nutritional dependence of the fauna will be estimated using stable isotope measurements and other biomarkers. The spatial distribution of the fauna will be correlated with chemical and physical gradients and with the physiological tolerance of key species to sulphide and anoxia.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry aliphatic compounds
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Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
PL1 2PB Plymouth
United Kingdom
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