REEForest at the 57th European Marine Biology Symposium (EMBS)! This year the meeting was held in Naples, to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Federico II University and the 150th anniversary of the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station.
Sara d’Ambros, one of our researchers, presented a poster on the analyses conducted on Gongolaria barbata, formerly known as Cystoseira barbata. This is a species that is widespread in the Mediterranean and shows great morphological variability. In order to study this variability, genetic analysis methodologies were combined with morphological analyses. Our researchers identified 3 distinct forms for this species due to the different ecosystem conditions in which they grow and not to intraspecific variety.
EMBS hosts conferences with an ecological focus, reflecting current community interest with sessions dedicated to biodiversity loss, to the effects and the possible adaptations to climate crisis. Much space is obviously given to the conservation and restoration of marine ecosystems. As part of the REEForest project, we hope that this approach will become increasingly important in the European conference landscape!