PELASeam campaign on the CNR-Gaia Blu ship

On Monday, July 23, 2024, the “PELASeam” Pelagic Sea Mountain campaign began. The campaign is coordinated by Fabio Campanella together with Andrea Miccoli of the CNR-Institute for Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnology in Ancona. It will last about two weeks with the aim of exploring the pelagic productivity, biodiversity and ecological roles of two seamounts in the Tyrrhenian Sea, “Vercelli” and “Vavilov”. Numerous researchers from the various CNR IRBIM centres are involved in the campaign, namely: Martina Scanu, Daniel Li Veli, Federico Calí, Sara Bonanomi, Alessandra Campanelli, Giuseppe Caccamo, Rocco De Marco, Claudia Sacchetti, Gaspare Avanzati, Monica Panfili, Luca Bolognini, Deborah D’Angelo and Maria Chiara Catta. The campaign is the result of the collaboration with the CNR-ISMAR – Institute of Marine Sciences, CNR-ISP of Polar Sciences, the Polytechnic University of Marche, the University of Palermo and the OGS – National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics, thanks also to the technical support of the University of Padua. In the vicinity of the two submerged mountains, water samples will be collected for the analysis of the chemical and physical component and biological samples will be collected through plankton net, to examine biodiversity at various levels of the marine food chain. On board the Gaia Blu, acoustic, optical and visual observations will be carried out to study the marine fauna and its interactions, and large volumes of water will be filtered on board for the study of the animal community present in the immediate vicinity of the mountains, through environmental DNA analysis. The information will contribute to a greater understanding of seamounts and their role in supporting marine biodiversity: this will also allow the development of strategies for the sustainable management of resources, all under the auspices of the NBFC-National Biodiversity Future Centre.