International Baltic Sea researchers meet in Tallinn

University of Tartu Estonian Marine Institute is participating in an international project to identify the biodiversity dynamics of the Baltic Sea, its causes and management implications. The annual meeting of the project takes place from 27 to 30 June in Tallinn, with workshops on topics where Estonian researchers have the leading role in the project—spatial and temporal dynamics of zooplankton and invasive round goby.

The project coordinator of the European Union BONUS project “Biodiversity change–causes, consequences and management implications” is Germany and participants are researchers from Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

The project studies the genetic basis of species and populations to adapt to the spatially and temporally varying environmental conditions of the Baltic Sea; the functional implications of the structural changes in pelagic and demersal communities; how and to what extent biodiversity varies in time and space depending on significant external factors, such as climate change, eutrophication, invasion of new species and fishing, and how the structural and adaptive changes of biodiversity in the Baltic Sea affect the ecosystem.

Lead Research Fellow Henn Ojaveer of the University of Tartu Estonian Marine Institute said that the results enable to better assess the temporal state of the regional ecosystems of the Baltic Sea and thus improve the sustainable management of the Baltic Sea.

Researchers meet on 27–30 June in Tallinn in the Ministry of the Environment in the framework of the BONUS BIO-C3 project which runs for four years (01.01.2014-31.12.2017). By today, more than 10 research articles have been publishes, including articles in the renowned journal Nature.

The project is funded from the European Union Baltic Sea research and development programme BONUS, which aims to coordinate and support marine research in the Baltic Sea region and intensify the cooperation between institutions that fund research, national programmes and international organisations. Estonian participation in the programme is funded by the Estonian Research Council.

Additional information:
Henn Ojaveer, Lead Research Fellow in Marine Ecosystems
+372 5158328
henn.ojaveer@ut.ee