INBALANCE

Invertebrate-Bacterial Associations as Hotpots of Benthic Nitrogen Cycling In Estuarine Ecosystems

Project title: „Invertebrate-bacterial associations as hotspot of benthic nitrogen cycling in estuarine ecosystems (INBALANCE)”
Project No. 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-01-0069
Project duration: from 2017-12 to 2021-12
Summary: Project aim – quantify target microbial nitrogen transformations processes in benthic invertebrate hosts (suspension filter feeders and deposit feeders) and identify specify of animal-bacterial associations along spatial and physical-chemical gradients (geography and eutrophication). The project is step forward in disentangling the complexity of benthic nitrogen cycling and integrates traditional (process rates measurements) with more recent ones targeting transcriptomic.
Planned results: Results will provided quantitative information about ecological interaction between microorganism and they benthic invertebrate host in regulating nitrogen cycling in shallow. Targeting not only rates, but also metagenome, our approach would make it possible to depict the complete nitrogen cycle, and validate the importance of quantified pathways, which is relevant for future environmental monitoring programs. This will be essential to preserve coastal habitats as requested under the Europe Union (EU) Directive and in order to achieve a good environmental status as required under EU Marine Strategy Framework directive.

Project is founded from the European Social Fund according to the activity No. 09.33.3-LMT-K-712 "Improvement of researchers qualification by implementing world-class R&D projects of Measure"

Recent news

The hunt for the King Crab

During the last days of summer 2018 the PROJECT team visited western hemisphere below the equator for the field sampling of crabs and the microbes within them. With the help of wonderful people from Oceanographical station of San Paulo University field survey was done smoothly, samples collected properly and delivered back to Klaipėda unharmed.

From boreal to polar circle

While a big part of the PROJECT team was conducting the chironomid experiment in warm and sunny Klaipėda, few team members went to polar Svalbard in the search of burrowing polychaetes and filtering bivalves and their microbes, of course. Big thanks for IO PAN (Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences), the crew of the research vessel Oceania and prof. Jan Marcin Węsławski in particular for making it possible.

The poster on PROJECT activities was presented at ASLO 2018 conference.

Plans for Future

Tobia Politi will present his first poster in ASLO 2019 meeting hosted by Puerto Rico.

Field sampling in the Sacca di Goro lagoon (coming May).

Field sampling in boreal estuarine environment (coming August).