The ongoing Black Sea Bio-Optical Cruise supported by the European Space Agency (ESA), led by the Joint Research Center (JRC), and performed onboard the Akademik Research Vessel of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, focusses on satellite ocean color validation activities but also aims at supporting investigations on alien phyto- and zooplankton marine species.
The ongoing Black Sea Bio-Optical Cruise supported by the European Space Agency (ESA), led by the Joint Research Center (JRC), and performed onboard the Akademik Research Vessel of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, focusses on satellite ocean color validation activities but also aims at supporting investigations on alien phyto- and zooplankton marine species.
These species have demonstrated catastrophic effects on the native biodiversity and ecosystem services. A team of scientists from Bulgaria (Institute of Oceanology- Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Varna), Romania (National Institute for Marine Research and Development “Grigore Antipa”, Constanta) and JRC (Ispra) is conducting a surveillance on alien plankton species in the Danube Delta Region in the Western Black Sea. These collaborative activities include the assessment of the current spatial distribution of already established alien plankton species as well as spotting new invaders for the Black Sea.
Alien species data availability and accessibility is scarce in the Black Sea. All collected data on alien species will supplement the Black Sea regional data and become available through the European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN; http://easin.jrc.ec.europa.eu).