Scientific news

From 30th May to 3rd June, the ICM hosts the course "Modelling aquatic ecosystems With Ecopath, Ecosim and Ecospace". It is a 30-hour course (15 theoretical and 15 practical) that deals with concepts and procedures about models of aquatic ecosystems, and introduces the ecological modelling software that can be used in personal computers.

Researchers of the ICM participate in an international study that maps the distribution patterns of the two most abundant genera of marine phytoplankton: Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus. These organisms play a key role in the carbon cycle by absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide, and are the responsible of about 25% of the primary production of organic matter in the oceans. The work, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), defines new phytoplankton populations in certain areas of the oceans.

From 30th May 30 to 3rd June, Barcelona hosts the V International Symposium on Jellyfish Blooms, the most important event about this topic, which is celebrated in Europe for the first time. The organizing committee is formed by scientists from the ICM –with Veronica Fuentes and Josep Maria Gili as main organizers–, the University of Alicante and the Natural Science Museum of Barcelona, with the support of the Barcelona Aquarium, which is the venue of the event.

Russian roulette is a game of deadly consequences subject to luck. The life of its participants depends on the chance that the trigger detonates the single bullet left in the cylinder. A study led by the ICM, with three researchers of the Department of Marine Biology and Oceanography, reveals for the first time how a parasite of dinoflagellate algae randomly attacks its hosts, similarly to that macabre game. In this analogy, the likelihood that a bullet is fired corresponds to the algae susceptibility to the infection.

A research project led by Rafel Simó, of the Department of Marine Biology and Oceanography, has been selected for the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE), an initiative of the recently created Polar Swiss Institute. From December 2016 to March 2017, scientific teams from all over the world will board the Russian research ship Akademik Treshnikov for this expedition around Antarctica.

Located in the southwestern Mediterranean, the seamount has been named after Francesc Pagès in memory of the ICM scientist, biologist, and expert in gelatinous plankton and jellyfish. This seamount was mapped during the SARAS international campaign, on board of the Ramon Margalef vessel, and is included in the Atlas of the Mediterranean Seamounts and Seamount-Like Structures, recently published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.