The eutrophication of coastal waters (understood as a disproportionate increase of algae cause by an excessive supply of nutrients in the environment) lowers the quality of water for various human uses and can also cause the elimination of areas of Posidonia oceanica.

The supply of nutrients in coastal waters can stimulate the development of algae that grow on the leaves of Posidonia oceanica (epiphyte macroalgae), negatively affecting its growth and survival.
As a reaction, herbivores, feeding on these algae, can reduce the negative effects caused by an excess if nutrients in the environment.

Current knowledge does not allow us to predict the evolution of ecological equilibrium between Posidonia oceanica and the epiphyte algae colonising them after a growth in the supply of nutrients, nor identify what levels of development of these can be considered indicators of eutrophication of coastal waters.

 

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Team

Principal Investigator : Joaquín Tintoré

Participan Investigators: Toni March