Finalising the paper on the relationship between the concentration of PETs in water and in Fucus vesiculosus transplants (live and devitalised).

8 October 2024

Under the leading of Antón Vázquez-Arias and against all odds (as shown at the beginning of the video), we have been collecting F.vesiculosus individuals for the preparation of transplants (live and devitalised) for one year. These transplants have been installed in 22 locations of the Galician geography in different nautical clubs (we thank them for their collaboration), together with autosamplers who have worked during the two weeks of transplantation. Today we already have the results and, in a few weeks, we will have a draft that will allow us to clarify the relationship between the concentration of PETs in the native algae, transplanted and the water in which they live.

Related news

Teresa Boquete and Carme Pacín presented posters on epigenetics and genetic diversity in Fucus vesiculosus at the IBC 2024 in Madrid, taking the opportunity for scientific collaboration.
In July 2024, we sampled F. vesiculosus transects, measuring chlorophyll fluorescence and spectral reflectance to optimize the methodology and analyze relationships between composition, PTEs, and ecophysiological variables.
In July 2024, we sampled 100 individuals of F. vesiculosus in an intertidal system to analyze how tidal height affects their chemical composition, PTE concentrations, and morphology. Results forthcoming.

Marine ecosystems and the impact of heavy metal pollution (HM).

Marine ecosystems, especially those in coastal areas, are particularly vulnerable to heavy metal (HM) pollution since they are subject to both land- and ocean-based pollution sources. Due to their toxicity, persistence, and capacity to biomagnify in the food chain, HMs pose an important threat through lethal and sub-lethal effects at the individual level that might have far-reaching consequences at higher hierarchical levels: populations, communities, and even entire ecosystems.

The cascading effects of pollution can thus jeopardize ecosystems' integrity and undermine their resilience, especially when they impact species with critical ecosystem roles, like macroalgal foundation species.