On April 24, 2025, the MABIK International Symposiumwas held in the auditorium of the National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea (MABIK) and in the exhibition space called SeaQrium. It was attended by the director of CNR IRBIM Gian Marco Luna with the presentation entitled “Frontiers and challenges for marine biological research in the 21st century“. MABIK is the Korean Institute dedicated to research on Marine Biodiversity. Directed by Kim Hyun-tae, the Mabik aims to contribute to the conservation of marine biological resources and the development of the marine fishing industry through the collection, conservation, exhibition and systematic research of biological resources. Since its opening in 2015, MABIK has achieved significant results in the field of Korean marine biodiversity: it has acquired about 10,000 marine species and a collection of over 600,000 specimens; this allows it to manage a considerable part of the country’s marine biodiversity, precisely 63% of the marine species officially registered in Korea. He also developed the Marine Biodiversity Information System (MBRIS), through which he contributed to the standardization and global sharing of marine biological data. Finally, it led to practical applications, such as the development of commercialised products in the areas of cosmetics and treatments for metabolic diseases, carried out in collaboration with private companies. On this page you can consult the program of the symposium.
Author: Manuela Coci
Annual Conference of the Department of Earth System Sciences and Technologies for the Environment
The Conference of the Department of Earth System Science and Technologies for the Environment (DSSTTA) will take place on 29 and 30 May 2025, in Ancona, at the Mole Vanvitelliana
The conference will address the challenges and opportunities that research will have to face and seize, also in the face of the changes that are happening at European and international level. It will be an opportunity to discuss and reflect on the future of the strategic areas of the DSSTTA, as well as on the paths and initiatives that can contribute to giving science a fundamental role in the renewed political, social and economic context. In those days it will be possible to visit the CNR Research Ship “Gaia Blu“.
The conference program and how to participate and register are available on the dedicated page.
“Linea Verde” in Ancona
The episode of Linea Verde Italia made a stop in the Marche region, and in particular in the lively city of Ancona. Researchers from CNR-IRBIM and the Polytechnic University of Marche were also involved in the discovery of the wonders and activities of the area.
The shots at sea were led by colleagues who illustrated some activities carried out within the NBFC – National Biodiversity Future Centre , the research center dedicated to the in-depth study of marine biodiversity and the development of innovative strategies for its preservation, a crucial issue for the health of our planet. Here is the link to watch the episode again
The disappearance of Gianna Fabi
With deep sorrow, the Institute for Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnology (CNR-IRBIM) announces the death of Gianna Fabi who has dedicated over 40 years of his career to marine research. In the words of the director: “Gianna was an esteemed colleague and a passionate researcher, whose scientific contribution has enriched not only our Institute, with particular reference to Ancona, but also the wider marine scientific community. She has always participated with dedication in the Working Group on Artificial Reefs; she has also contributed as an expert to prestigious working groups such as GFCM, CITES, EFARO and STECF and has built and conducted dozens and dozens of research projects”. Her death leaves a deep void in the scientific community, which will miss her strongly.
IRBIM and YACademy Collaboration
The collaboration between CNR-IRBIM and YAC- Young Architects Competitions continues successfully. Following the support for the competition “Iron Island” to write the future of ancient oil platforms, the Advanced Training Course “Concept Design for Architecture” will be held in 2025 to encourage research in design by providing concrete themes and generating solutions for modern challenges. The course includes participation as lecturers by colleagues Gian Marco Luna and Pierluigi Penna from IRBIM in Ancona for the module “Climate Change and Environmental Challenges – Habitats in the Post-Anthropocene”. The goal is to offer a structured criterion with content from various disciplines to stimulate creativity and guide designers in generating original and successful architectural ideas with an innovative approach. As sea professionals, the colleagues will illustrate the changes in marine space caused by human interaction and the scientific questions that require, for example, the creation of low-impact infrastructures. Climate change entails increasingly pressing challenges that require innovative and sustainable solutions to mitigate the effects of global warming and build a more sustainable future, even for marine ecosystems. All these challenges must be addressed with multi-disciplinarity and the meeting of professionals from different sectors. For information and dissemination of the initiative, it is possible to consult the Yacademy website. It is possible to watch presentation videos of the past competition Iron Island; and the official presentation video of the course “Concept Design for Architecture”.
Final day of the Life+Delfi project
On Tuesday, December 11, in the magnificent setting of the Mole Vanvitelliana in Ancona, the final meeting of the project Life+ Delfi, an European project that addresses the issue of interactions between dolphins and fishing activities, developing sustainable management solutions and models for dolphin-fishing interactions, was held. The day was an opportunity to showcase the work of the Life Delfi team, make a final assessment, and most importantly, think about the future. Life Delfi has produced research, monitoring, and has also built a close collaboration with fishermen to promote sustainable fishing practices. The experimentation of solutions to keep dolphins away from fishing nets included the installation of acoustic and visual deterrents on fishing gear, the promotion of alternative fishing gear, and the development of dolphin observation activities. The project also invested heavily in raising awareness among fishermen and the public about the importance of dolphin conservation, generating a great deal of information. Coordinated by Alessandro Lucchetti, with Massimo Virgili, Andrea Petetta, Daniel Li Veli from CNR IRBIM, Life Delfi was built with numerous partners: the Marine Protected Areas of Egadi Islands, Torre del Cerrano, Punta Campanella, and Tavolara, Filicudi WildLife Conservation, Legambiente Onlus
University of Siena, Blue World Marine Research and Conservation Institute (Croatia), Marine Research Institute of Rovinj (Croatia), Marine Research Institute of Split (Croatia), Marine Research Institute of Dubrovnik (Croatia), National Association of Professional Fishermen (Italy), National Association of Sport Fishermen (Italy), National Association of Amateur Fishermen (Italy), and National Association of Amateur Fishermen (Croatia). On the LifeDelfi website, you can find numerous videos and documentary material produced over the 5 years of the project; the official recording of the final day is visible here.
PER24 Campaign – Pollutants’ Environmental Research 2024
The scientific campaign PER24 – Pollutants’ Environmental Research 2024 aboard the CNR research vessel Gaia Blu started from the port of Bari on October 12 and ended on October 28, 2024. The investigations were conducted within the Italian Exclusive Economic Zone of the Southern Adriatic Sea/Northern Ionian Sea, adopting a multidisciplinary approach. Studies on sediments and the water column, geophysical surveys, and geochemical analyses were carried out.
The objective of the PER24 campaign is to assess the extent of anthropogenic alterations in the Southern Adriatic Sea and the Strait of Otranto, with particular attention to the levels of contamination present and the pathways of various pollutants from coastal areas to their deep basins. Therefore, scientific activities have been conducted and are planned in various fields: determination of concentrations of historical pollutants (heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nonylphenols) and emerging pollutants (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, bisphenol A); analysis of carbon, nitrogen, and their stable isotopes; bathymetric surveys and geomorphological characterization of the seabed; oceanographic characterization of water masses and their circulation patterns; sedimentological investigations; characterization of the microbial community; taxonomic classification of benthic foraminifera communities. All data will be made available in Open Science according to FAIR principles upon processing or publication in scientific journals. IRBIM was able to count on the participation of Federico Spagnoli (Scientific Director of the campaign), Rocco De Marco (Mission Leader), Gaspare Avanzato, Alessandro Di Cola, Chiara Evangelista, Angela Freddi, and Sarah Pizzini, who carried out all activities on board together with other colleagues from various institutions. The campaign is indeed the result of collaboration with the staff of ISPRA from the Chioggia and Rome offices, with the University of Urbino “Carlo Bo”, the Polytechnic University of Marche, the University of Camerino, the CNR-ISP of Rome, Venice, and Bologna, the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and the Fano Marine Center. Here is the final report of the PER24-Pollutants’ Environmental Research 2024 campaign.
IRBIM Day 2024
From 7 to 9 October 2024, Milazzo hosted the sixth edition of IRBIM DAY, the annual conference that brings together the staff of the four CNR IRBIM Institute’s Mazara, Messina, Lesina and Ancona locations. The main objective of the event is to promote the sharing of research and operational activities between the different locations, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and uniformity of objectives, despite the geographical distance. The first day was dedicated to an internal discussion on administrative and planning issues. Representatives of the administrative offices, the Grant Office and the competition office intervened, illustrating the news and future challenges of the Institute. IRBIM DAY was not only a moment of internal discussion, but also an opportunity to involve the local community. The Municipality of Milazzo sponsored the event and the students of the Majorana Higher Technical Institute participated in the institutional greetings. The inaugural evening took place at the MuMa, Museum of the Sea in Milazzo, thanks to the collaboration of the founder and colleague Carmelo Isgrò. The following days were dedicated to plenary sessions with internationally renowned experts, such as Rainer Froese and Geert Wiegertjes, who addressed highly topical issues in the field of marine science. A round table on “Research and Training on the Sea” saw the participation of Paola Del Negro (OGS-Trieste) and Teresa Romeo (Stazione Zoologica “Anton Dohrn” and Alessandro Sarro (Captain of the Coast Guard). The poster session offered young researchers the opportunity to present the results of their research and finally the IRBIM Poster Prize 2024 was awarded to Pamela Lattanzi. The organization of the IRBIM DAY was possible thanks to the valuable work of a group of collaborators coordinated by Gian Marco Luna, director of the Institute. To learn more: Detailed agenda and video of the works:
Sharper 2024, The European Researchers’ Night
On Friday 27 September 2024, Ancona was one of the Italian cities to light up with science during the SHARPER 2024 European Researchers’ Night.
Open-air laboratories, interactive experiments and meetings with researchers and experts involved citizens of all ages, demonstrating how scientific research is an integral part of our daily lives.
In particular, for the CNR-IRBIM from the Central stage, colleagues Andrea Miccoli and Fabio Campanella spoke about “Gaia Blu: the oceanographic ship of the National Research Counciland presented the activities of the PELASeam campaign.
For the occasion, the film of the campaign activities made by colleague Daniel Li Veli was screened.
In addition, on Radio Arancia in the “Researchers on Air” column, Andrea Petetta spoke on “Studying the impacts of recreational fishing at sea” and Martina Scanu on “the cultural value of the mussel”.
The square was also animated by various games: the “Who wants to be a marine biologist?” full of questions related to curiosities of marine organisms was conducted by Andrea Petetta, Martina Scanu, Greta Cerrone and Chiara Evangelista, while Enrico Cecapolli and Roberto Cacciamani led the game: “Don’t say fish if you don’t have it in the bag”.
Stands have been set up for: “Fishing for plastic waste: from pollutant to new resource” with Maria Chiara Catta and Ilaria Martino; the “Microscope with benthos” curated by Deborah D’Angelo and Adele Basho and the stand “Agrifish: Would you eat a trout fed with scraps?” curated by Monica Panfili; while the “Delphi” project was presented by Flavia Scocca.
Among the other colleagues of the IRBIM of Ancona who actively participated in the organization of the Researchers’ Night under the coordination of Monica Panfili, there are Maria Chiara Catta, Deborah D’Angelo, Federico Calì, Paolo Scarpini, Angela Freddi, Lorenzo Zacchetti and Enrico Armelloni.
The event has once again demonstrated the importance of creating a bridge between research and society, promoting the dissemination of scientific culture and stimulating new generations of researchers.
Moby Litter, workshop on plastic pollution in the oceans
On September 24th at the Aula Azzurra “Mario Giordano” of the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences (DISVA) of the Polytechnic University of Marche, the fifth edition of the annual workshop “Moby Litter“. The event, which focused on the persistent problem of plastic pollution in the oceans, offered an important platform for discussion between researchers, government bodies, civil society, innovative companies and educational institutions. The freediving champion Ilaria Molinari inaugurated the workshop with a touching speech entitled “Deep Plastic”, emphasizing the profound impact of this environmental problem. The Rector, Prof. Gian Luca Gregori, reiterated the strategic importance of “Moby Litter” for the University, underlining how the event stimulates an in-depth reflection on the causes, effects and possible solutions to plastic pollution, promoting a transdisciplinary approach.
This year, the workshop took an even broader approach, integrating scientific research with art and concrete action.
Among the speakers, Daniele Silvetti (Mayor of Ancona), Vincenzo Vitale (Maritime Director of the Marche and Commander of the Port Authority of Ancona) and many other representatives of academic and research institutions.
For the CNR-IRBIM , the director Gian Marco Luna opened with institutional greetings and his colleague Elisa Punzo of the Ancona office, held a presentation entitled: “Marine Litter, challenges and opportunities in the field of Blue Growth”.
The event, part of the SHARPER – European Researchers’ Night programme, funded by the European Commission, offered a unique opportunity to deepen knowledge on plastic pollution and to discuss possible mitigation strategies. At this link the poster of the event with the details of the interventions.