2023-04-01 to 2026-03-31
Approx. 1,4 mil. EUR
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Deep Sea Biodiversity and Conservation Research Team, Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR) – University of Porto, Matosinhos, Portugal
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Invertebrate Department, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Mediterranean Institute of Marine and Terrestrial Biodiversity and Ecology, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
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Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology & Aquaculture, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Heraklion, Greece
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Department of Environment, Ionian University, Zakynthos, Greece
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Department of Natural History, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
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Department of Biodiversity and Conservation, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, Republic of South Africa
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National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN), Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain
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Spanish Institute of Oceanography – Oceanographic Center of Gijón, Spanish National Research Council, Gijón, Spain
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Pharmacognosy – Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden
Marine sponges (phylum Porifera) are widely distributed across the oceans and form highly-structured habitats – sponge grounds, gardens and reefs – that play key functional roles and deliver numerous ecosystems goods and services. They serve as habitat and nursery to various species including commercially exploited fish, and bath sponges have been harvested for centuries for their spongin skeleton, thus supporting local communities’ livelihoods. They are also recognised as prolific sources of compounds with pharmacological potential. However, sponges and their habitats are increasingly threatened by human activities (e.g. fisheries, climate change, deep-sea mining) in marine areas both within and beyond national jurisdictions. Despite significant advances in recent years, knowledge of their biodiversity, distribution, biology and ecology is still sparse and largely fragmentary. This gap in knowledge integration hampers their inclusion in conservation frameworks, compromising the establishment of ecologically representative, interconnected and resilient networks of protected areas. The SponBIODIV project will fill-in such gaps, and generate knowledge and tools that will allow the design of conservation and monitoring strategies, and support the implementation of policies for better management and protection of marine biodiversity, from national to European scales and beyond.
SponBIODIV will establish diversity and distribution baseline knowledge and deliver tools to improve management and conservation of sponges across the Atlantic and Mediterranean, at the levels of genes, species, and habitats. The project is anchored on the establishment of a trans-European and pan-Atlantic network of research organizations that will engage with key stakeholders to support evidence-based policies for management, conservation, and restoration of marine biodiversity, from coastal areas to mesophotic and deep-sea ecosystems.
By combining legacy data and samples with new ones collected through a multi-national survey on case study areas, our project will:
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Examine patterns and identify hotspots of bio- and phylodiversity of sponge species and habitats at various spatial scales;
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Identify ecological/genetic corridors and refugia areas between species and regions, combining biophysical modelling and population genomic approaches;
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Develop new methodologies for wider biodiversity detection and monitoring of sponge habitats by harnessing the potential of sponges as natural samplers (nsDNA);
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Assess the current conservation status of species and habitats in line with major international processes (e.g. IUCN Red List and OSPAR);
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Engage relevant stakeholders for co-production and co-delivery of data and practical tools to inform management, conservation, and restoration efforts.
SponBIODIV will promote dialogue with key stakeholders by establishing an advisory board, participate in science-policy-society fora and organize capacity building activities.
Moreover, the project will deliver data, knowledge and tools on biodiversity, connectivity, and resilience of sponge species and habitats in support of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030, and global efforts of the Convention on Biological Diversity, UN Agenda 2030, the UN Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030).