From 23 June to 3 July, Dr Chiara Giommi, a technologist at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, CRIMAC – Calabria Marine Centre, together with colleagues from the Sicily Marine Centre, took part in the tunsic2026 oceanographic campaign aboard the research vessel Gaia blu.
The campaign, organised as part of the activities of the CNR DSU and scientifically coordinated by the CNR ISMed, was carried out by a joint scientific team comprising researchers from the CNR-ISMed, the CNR-IAS, the CNR-IRBIM and the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn.
The expedition, which took place between the Strait of Sicily and the western Ionian Sea, was dedicated to studying the reproduction of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) and the processes that govern the pelagic ecosystems of the central Mediterranean.
The sampling activities, carried out using various instruments for collecting and analysing water and marine organisms, were complemented by experiments on tuna eggs and zooplankton. The aim is to understand how the warming of the central Mediterranean might influence the energy consumption of the zooplankton community, by measuring their metabolism through oxygen consumption.
Our heartfelt thanks to PyroScience for their support and for sponsoring some of the equipment used at sea.
