FUTURE – a warmer Future world: effects on plankton commUnities and paThogens in mediterranean vUlneRable Ecosystems
The project
FUTURE is a project financed by the Italian Ministry of University and Research – MUR which aims to investigate the effects of the forecasted climate warming on Mediterranean natural plankton communities, including several trophic levels, from bacteria to mesozooplankton. Specifically, FUTURE aims to evaluate the effects of warming on the plankton community biodiversity, the plankton food web size-structure and the abundance of potentially pathogenic and antibiotic resistant bacteria. Two different natural plankton communities from a Mediterranean artificial lake, Bidighinzu Lake, and a coastal lagoon, Cabras Lagoon, will be investigated by laboratory experiments and field monitoring activities.