Lead institution:
Universita degli Studi di Padova – Italy
DeuteroNoise aims to characterise the noise pollution caused by maritime traffic in selected sites of the North Adriatic Sea, Lagoon of Venice, North Sea, Black Sea, and Barcelona shore, and test its effects on behaviour, nervous system and sensory organs, immune system, and resilience in marine invertebrates closely related to vertebrates (deuterostomes): hemichordates, echinoderms, cephalochordates, and tunicates.
These animals are common in European seas and cover different levels of the trophic network. Noise level will be detected on site and simulated in the laboratory. A behavioural, morphological and genetic survey will be conducted on sampled animals living in polluted vs non-polluted areas.
Moreover, animals will be exposed to noise in laboratory-controlled conditions to verify its effect on larval, juvenile and adult stages at individual level and over generations. Comparative studies will allow to: highlight causes of noise pollution in the different basins; determine how species react to it; identify its genetic and morphological signatures; predict sensitivities in closely related animals that cannot easily be studied in laboratory or on-site; predict noise pollution and infer the best practices to reach the Good Environment Status of European basins.
Lead Contact: Lucia Manni (lucia.manni@unipd.it)