Yellow gorgonians form a marine animal forest (Photo: Lorenzo Bramanti)
From the 7-9 July 2022, 28 scientists from 17 countries will meet at the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research in Bremen, Germany, to talk about marine animal forests, the largest biome on the Earth planet. Marine Animal Forests (MAFs) are biological assemblages mainly composed of suspension-feeding animals like sponges, gorgonians, hard corals, bryozoans, bivalves, etc., that form canopies like the trees or shrubs on land, thus creating lush marine forests. To study, preserve and regenerate the MAFs in the world´s oceans, the European Union approved the MAF-World project (COST Action CA20102) in 2021. From IMBBC, Assistant Researcher Dr. Thanos Dailianis participates in the project and will join the event discussions on the network’s goals until 2024 such as summer schools, scientific articles, as well as the possibility of new projects and funding.
more info: https://www.leibniz-zmt.de/en/news-at-zmt/news/overview/marine-animal-forests.html