Eukaryotic marine plankton are now threatened by numerous harmful anthropogenic influences and global climate change, which affect the number of species and their natural cycles. The studies proposed within the BioPlan project aim to uncover interactions between these communities and climatic and anthropogenic environmental influences by identifying changes and trends in the number and structure of phyto- and zooplankton, their biodiversity, the frequency of occurrence of toxic blooms and the mechanisms of toxin production and bioaccumulation.

In addition to new results, we will also use the long-term data available at the Institute on the abundance and structure of phytoplankton and zooplankton to investigate climate-related patterns. We will study toxic phytoplankton species under natural and experimental conditions. Using integrative taxonomy, we will explore the potential of genomics in determining biodiversity indicators in a range of planktonic eukaryotes (photoautotrophs, heterotrophic/mixotrophic protists, multicellular heterotrophs) in the central Adriatic Sea.

By determining the chemical properties of natural lipophilic and hydrophilic toxins in marine organisms, we will investigate the process of bioaccumulation of toxins in natural and cultured bivalve species. The proposed research will contribute to the scientific knowledge of the planktonic communities of the Adriatic Sea, strengthen the scientific development of all scientists involved and of the institution itself, and enable the continuation of multidisciplinary scientific research even after the completion of this project.

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