JELLYFISH SWARMS : DYNAMIC COMPREHENSION
Contribution to the study of the surface plankton diversity
The photic zone corresponds to the first centimetres under the surface as well as the air-water interface. This habitat is directly under the sun radiation, subject to unrest, and this is an accumulation area for several organic and inorganic light materials like oils. This middle is unfamiliar on the Mediterranean sea. We don’t know in which extend plankton organisms are subjected to surface pollution (hydrocarbons, surfactants and micro-plastic). This complicated and diversified middle deserves an interdisciplinary approach which will be put in place thanks to samples taken for the micro-waste study.
Plankton diversity description and unknown jellyfish ecological role study
Vertical samples (down to a hundred metres) will be realized in order to take inventory on plankton species and to characterize their variability in several areas on the Mediterranean occidental basin. On that base, we will obtain a better understanding on the siphonophorae ecological role (particular jellyfish family on an organizational point of view). This link in the food chain could turn out to be very important.
